Born in the Summer - an excerpt

I was born in the middle of the summer...
early am...the month of July. 
I cry and smile when I'm happy...
my silence tells you when I'm not...
thinking long, dreaming vividly, walking rapidly in my destiny...
each passing year I cherish more...
growing wiser, grateful, loved monumentally by my mother, my family, my friends...
those that matter...learning new ways to reciprocate that love, to celebrate daily...
this journey on earth we share...a child of God...I AM...
still dancing the road of my story...the road to free...
hugging that cool breeze when it visits on hot humid days in July...
I was born in the middle of the summer 
and every drop of sweat on my brow proves it!  

by Shonnese C.L. Coleman

The Hudson

The Hudson River, Pier 45

This river drips...rushes...drains into the Atlantic

Ocean waves hello and goodbye at each onlooker

The story of its origin is visible in mountains

an origin deep low-flow in the center of a valley

the gray blues and sharp-edges rising and falling

when wind blows...toes grip wood planks above

disturbing the peace on humid summers eve

some still grieve for what drifts in its depths...

but tonight we dance...we dance on the Hudson

and bless the waters that nurtures our every move

              by Shonnese C.L. Coleman, 7/18/17 NYC