LIORALAND

I sit on the edge of an old rocking chair at the windowsill

The birds are chirping and my tears are falling

drip

drop

into the abyss of my black coffee

I huddle my hands around the warm mug

and I feel in colors like I usually do

Have you ever felt a color?

I slip into a deep, burgundy desperation to soak

to soak up the heartbreak, the only true place to be right now

to soak up the oxygen, because I can still breathe 

to soak in the wisdom of those who have cried out before

against the ruthless fist of oppression

Patti wills my ears to open with her expanding radius of clarity

She assures me with all of her might that, “People Have the Power”

I sit still while I pray we do

Marvin asks me, “What’s going on?”

With urgency, he reminds me gently

That “only love can conquer hate”

The Wailers shake the paralysis out of me

I get up, I stand up

And I stare straight into the eye of the fight

At that very moment

My mind lures me away like a flickering firefly

I chase it to an imaginary scene

What if our spirits had a choice before arriving on Earth?

What if we were shown all that would be in store,

and were given a choice to enter this life or not

I ask myself, with trepidation

What would I have chosen?

If I saw with precision,

the violence

the hatred

the confusion

the destruction

the suffering

the injustice

all inseparable from

the joy

and the love 

If I saw it all, what would I have chosen?

I consider all the shades of life I’ve seen before

From the splendid to the putrid

Moving images flash before my eyes

Clicking and shining like an old projector

There they are

Just like a moon river

The highlights and the lowlights aglow

There inside a single breath I could feel 

All the chords that make up a human heart

Played all at once

Equally exquisite

and excruciating

I sink and I float

Suddenly, the singing birds remind me where I am

And I return from that strange daydream

Unsure of whether it’s been a minute or sixty

The question lingers

What would I have chosen?

I inhale, pulling in a slow slurry of blood curdling truth

George Floyd’s cries for help echo in my throat

Eight minutes and forty-six seconds of breathless pleas

Someone, somewhere watched a pot of water come to a boil

in the same amount of time

.

.

.

His heart screamed out for the love of his mother, no longer on this earth 

Then, on a lifeless body, two more minutes and fifty-three seconds of murderous force

The human family falls to its knees

Fingernails scratching the earth we share

Face to the ground in misery and sorrow 

moaning, leaking out the cruel infection 

that plagues us all 

.

.

.

My coffee is stained  deep, dark blue

Salty now from an ocean of tears

Somehow I know

That even all of the ugliness 

doesn’t darken the brightness

of the resilient goodness in people

All of the atrocities don’t lessen

the healing power of love

As Mandela said,

“People must learn to hate,

and if they can learn to hate,

They can be taught to love,

for love comes more naturally

to the human heart than its opposite.”

I rest my hand on my heart’s center

Both worn in and worn out

And I feel it

In the shifting, groundlessness of life,

the only consistency

is the golden flame of love

that lights everybody’s way

On 

and on

it flickers

All the hearts come and go,

doing their humble part 

The “glimmer of humanity” 

is always “just enough”

to keep us going

Nelson felt it

George felt it too

Though we do, the flame never dies

So it goes

.

.

.

.

.

We carry on to feed the golden flame of love

The one true thing

that lights the way

just enough

to keep us going

Nelson felt it

George felt it too 

Verse 1

Lately romance isn’t flowing easily

No, no, no, nobody, nobody is doing it for me

Not really something that I worry much about

But sometimes the double standards make me wanna shout!

Pre-Chorus

I don’t know where it’s going

But I know where it’s been

And that’s just how I’ve been living

If you’ve been wondering

Chorus 

Yeah it’s all goo-goo-goo-goo-goo-goo-GOOD

It’s all good

And I am go-goo-goo-goo-goo-goo-GOOD

I’m all good

Verse 2 

January babies know how to stay warm

I somehow, somehow found the sun in the eye of the storm

And now I’m lounging in the music like it’s St. Tropez

They see me losing all my worries like a holiday!

Pre-Chorus

I don’t know where it’s going

But I know where it’s been

And that’s just how I’ve been living

If you’ve been wondering

Chorus

Yeah it’s all goo-goo-goo-goo-goo-goo-GOOD

It’s all good

And I am go-goo-goo-goo-goo-goo-GOOD

I’m all good

Click here to watch the video for Good 🌴

Dear John,

After careful thought and consideration, I decided to pass along a helpful guide that focuses on your opportunities for growth, for the love of women everywhere.  

I realize you may never have received an adequate sex education outside of the misogynistic and violent portrayals of sex in porn. As a result, your view of women in general may be narrower than it should be.

I believe in a universal sisterhood, and I don’t want another woman to suffer. I fear you’ll never learn without explicit instructions, so here is my community service.

1. Consent is necessary for any and all sexual interaction. If you’re unclear about what constitutes consent, it is: freely given, reversible, informed, enthusiastic, and specific. If you feel put out by the requirement of consent, it’s best not to initiate any sexual activity at all.

2. If you want a woman to sleep with you consensually, it’s a good idea to learn how to make her feel good in bed. The only way to learn is to ask her.

3. If you feel like a woman has “ruined the moment” when she describes how to make her feel good, you may want to see a therapist to figure out why you are turned off by a woman voicing her desire. 

4. If a woman no longer wants to have sex with you, and you still want her to, it’s best not to storm out in anger. A woman always reserves the right to change her mind at any time. If she seems upset, you may want to ask her what made/is making her uncomfortable. 

5. It’s not the responsibility of any woman to be “patient” with harmful and abusive tendencies you may have. Women are not rehabilitation centers for badly behaving men. 

6. Women are allowed to vocalize their desires and are allowed to ask for what they want. Pleasing your partner does not mean doing what satisfies your own urges. Pleasing your partner means listening to what she says she likes, and doing it because you want her to feel good. Women aren’t dolls for you to do things to. Women are human beings whom you do things with. 

7. Finally, if you don’t want to be spoken to like a 4-year old, don’t act like one.

I hope you’ll keep this guide for safekeeping and allow this information to help you prevent harming another woman in your life. 

Lastly, if you ever decide to pursue a colleague (again) and she puts herself in a vulnerable position to take a chance with you, please remember that if you disrespect and mistreat her, you are putting her livelihood at risk because no woman wants to continue working alongside a man who mistreats her. By the way, your position of power does not equate a nondisclosure for wrongs committed. 

When you grow up and learn these lessons that will help you earn the respect of the kind of woman you say you want, don’t worry about thanking me. Just pay it forward.  

To my Sisters reading this, the ones who share my blood and the ones who share my heart...

Stay hungry and stay true to the yearning within. 

Sincerely,

Verse 1

I see you in my dreams sometimes

But when I’m wide awake

I get along very well without seeing your face

Yeah I’m feeling pretty good here with me, myself and I

But sometimes at night I wonder if I ever cross your mind

Do you think about me? 

Do you think about me?

When you’re lookin’ at the trees, when you feel a warm breeze

Do you think about me?

Do you think about me?

Do you think about me? 

When you’re stopped on the street

Before the light turns green

Do you think about me? 

Verse 2

Sometimes I crave to hear your voice, but I don’t dare pick up the phone

Cause I quit that some old love that left me feeling so alone

And I know we’re moving on, and kissing other people too

Still I wonder if my lovin’ keeps a little hold on you

Do you think about me?

Do you think about me? 

When you’re lookin’ at the trees, when you feel a warm breeze

Do you think about me?

Do you think about me?

Do you think about me?

When you’re stopped on the street

Before the light turns green

Do you think about me?

Do you think about me?

Written by LIORA.

The premiere of Lioraland is tonight at 7 pm ET on YouTube. Tune in for a live performance of “Do You Think About Me?” 

Here’s the link to subscribe to the LIORALAND channel and watch live performances of my new original music :)

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCy2aFKi8XcKe68pWR9Dxd-g

The first performance is coming very soon 🦋

Scroll down to read the opening chapter of LIORALAND 📖✨