hurricanekatrina, louisiana, new orleans, poetry, spokenword poetry, writers

9th Ward, I Saw You

March 9, 2025 nikki skies 1 Comment

I finally saw where you ran. I finally saw where you climbed. I rode on the freeway you slept.

I wept.

I saw your cobble mixed streets and humidity strangled window panes

the markings on your porch remain / your neighbor remain refrained from returning

and we partied on Bourbon Street.

I saw how you thought it’d be safe to stay / I saw where the levee gave way

…the Mississippi lived up to her name, Mighty.

like yellow stained teeth from coffee and smoke / I saw

the flood stains that remain against your doors and fences and house panels

up to 6 feet / too deep for grandmother and her 55 year old niece

and we partied on Bourbon Street.

and I saw the roofs where you climbed / the shot gun houses with attic crawl space

for the young to cling to who were small and few

I know how you pray / so I know you thought it’d be safe to stay

forgive us for not pouring some spirits on the streets for your soul of mind.

9th Ward, I Saw You. I saw where you met Katrina.

inspired by a New Orleans visit 6/2013 -copyright nikki skies 2013

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I am Sybrina Fulton.

March 7, 2025 nikki skies Leave a comment

If no one hears her cry, does it still hurt?

If we listen to her pillows, will we hear her screams trapped like crashed waves in seashells?

art, girlfriends, poetry

Girlfriends

March 6, 2025 nikki skies Leave a comment

If I could take a moment and tell you how I still hated me after the

nights of building / and black power audio tapes

maybe you’ll understand

why I anchored your blues / and never questioned your intelligence.

Allow me to explain how being fitted your friend

meant cooking link sausages to connect us with nothing more than / flesh&bones

Ascension not attainable to neither one of us who recognized and loved

a good argument

some hot gossip.

My cotton pillow ironically enslaved my thoughts on what could have / should have

been said sorry

I stepped from the ship to walk the land. Girlfriends

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Who Runs the World?

March 5, 2025 nikki skies Leave a comment

Back in my glory days of this blog, I hosted She Chronicles, and queried submissions for blog postings on and about women. I did this for at least 4-5 years and met a lot of people. A lot of amazing writers and educators. I had the thought of posting for inquiries but realized that would only be stress for me and most likely damper my mood to write.

I still want to do something to honor Women’s Month and our contributions to the world. I don’t know how I will do this yet… maybe to ensure I continue to push towards my dissertation writing I will write about the women I will include in my scholarly studies. Maybe? What are ya’ll doing this month?

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no matter how tough…

March 4, 2025 nikki skies Leave a comment

art, child rearing, family, friendships, heaven, love, parenthood, summer vacations

happy muse/happy me

March 3, 2025 nikki skies Leave a comment

This is like seeing an evening rainbow after an afternoon of thunderstorms. Like, listening in a comatose stance to the radio hip hop mix and then coming alive when some old LL Cool J comes on!

This one is definitely a song to dance to with your children! My girls and I have claimed this as our summer song! We dance and sing in the car and we don’t care who is watching!

This is perfect timing for me as I am being visited by my muse and this time around I am listening and taking care of her! Enjoy and have a good day!

speak on love
nskies

actress, african american culture, art, blackhistory, civil rights, daughters, family tree, playwrights, purpose, theatre, womens month

some days i feel like, attallah shabazz

March 2, 2025 nikki skies 1 Comment

the oldest child. the one who clearly remembers. I am the one who appears to have “kept it together”. the one sought for direction and clarity.

Attallah Shabazz is the daughter that can silence a crowd with her commanding beauty and strikingly visible resemblance to her father, Malcolm X. Attallah became the artist to this family that was thrown in the political arena. She is a lecturer, playwright, director, producer and performer. She mirrors her art to her father’s message to continue to elutriate ill perceptions. She has found her own voice to preach her own gospel of human rights and self-esteem.

In an interview, Attallah speaks of having coloring books and reading books that depicted persons from black history. She continued, “So when I went to school and parts of me were omitted from history books, I knew the hole wasn’t in me, it was in the books.” Some days I feel like Attallah Shabazz because even though I learned the hole wasn’t me later in life… when I did find out, my art began a path that had a natural commitment to preserving my community and its’ vernacular.

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A Win is A Win

March 1, 2025 nikki skies Leave a comment

For the first time in a long time I actually can account for what I accomplished this past week. This is exactly what I need to stay motivated to continue to change my habits. Having seven days to not have to work or organize really let my brain slow down. I have a page of maybe 6 or 7 things I have committed myself to do every week and grade myself afterwards. Things I need to do like… take my vitamins daily, get at least 7 hours of sleep, walk at least 8,000 steps a day, things like that. Well… this week I received a 61% on my list so I failed myself. I know that sounds harsh but I still feel amazing because I have a clear list of things I do for me.

Try it. Especially for parents, teachers, students OR folks who are all three like me. I wrote down things I should do everyday for my well-being and things I want to change habits with. I mark them daily and today I gave myself a grade. Like I said, I don’t feel bad because even though I technically failed, I can account for things I only did for me.

(for those new… I am writing unstructured these days so that I can get back into a writing habit.)