Words 'n Rhyme
Poetry Page
Long before I ever gave any thought to producing a documentary, or gave any thought to doing anything even remotely connected to filmmaking - what I wanted to be was a writer. It was in discovering the books, "Just Give Me a Cool Drink of Water 'fore I Diiie", by Maya Angelou - and Nikki Giovanni's, "Cotton Candy on a Rainy Day" - that I thought; "Wow! This is what I wanna do"!
Well, while writing isn't something that I make a living at, the attraction to it still hasn't left me. On this page, you will find a few of my "poetic expressions." I hope you'll enjoy them.
Peace & Blessings!
M. J. Washington
Bad Reception?
Flipping thru the t.v. channels, I see, no one there representing me
Oh yeah, there's black folks on there, skin color like mine, it's true
I just don't see much goin' on, that I can really relate to
'cause almost everybody's a comedian, and the comic routines abound
it just seems that in my daily routine, there ain't that much laughter to be found
But there are those I do support, lest poor ratings lead to their destruction
and sometimes when there's too much drama in my life,
I just pause for a commercial interruption
There's just got to be more progress made, is all I'm tryin' to say
before I not only give up my cable, but throw the whole t.v. away!
Yeah, the new millenium's here, ain't that just fine and dandy
but how much progress have we really made since the days of Amos & Andy?
So, in conclusion, flipping thru the t.v. channels, I see
no one there, really representing me
Then the idea occurred, could be I'm seeking perfection
and here I was starting to think
we were just getting some bad reception.
What I Liked About Home
Mama always called oatmeal "mothers oats" and cooked her hamburgers a bit too hard, but navy beans she had down pat, yeah, navy beans she had down pat and that's what I liked about home
And we (almost) all got along on the street(s) where I lived Of course, there were cousins across the back way, and grandma across the front And I don't remember nobody speaking of fear I just can't remember nobody speaking of fear, and that's what I liked about home
And Miss Feola always smelled so fresh her house had to be the cleanest in town Everything I needed was in walking distance, and those streets were just one big playground Yeah, those streets were just one big playground And that's what I liked about home I mean I really liked this about home
Both poems are from my chapbook, "The Words Just Jumped Right Out!", Copyright 2005. "What I Liked About Home" also appears in the recently published anthology, "Along These Rivers".
The photo below is of me and my cousin, Jenny. She was one of those "cousins across the back way"! The photo was taken by Ruth E. Hendricks, at Pittsburgh's, Three Rivers Arts Festival - May 2008.
