Akwasi Agyeman

A Sister's Face

Did you ever look at a Sister's face
I mean did you ever really look at a Sister's face
Did you ever look and see the strength there
Did you ever look and see the determination
Did you ever dare to look at a Sister when she's mad
and see the anger
Did you ever look at a Sister 5 months pregnant
and see the radiance
Did you ever see a Sister when she's smiling all over
and see the joy
Did you ever see a Sister when she's crying
and see the pain
Did you ever look at a Sister's face late in the day
when she's holding
her child and see it go soft all over,
no hard lines there, just curves and roundness
and softness
Did you ever just look and see the beauty there
I mean did you ever really look at a Sister's face?

Hi!

Sister looked at me
and
her eyes said,
take a minute
to talk to me, Brother
just ask me my name
and how I feel today;
Won't take much of your time,
Don't want to marry you
or tie you down,
Just want to say hello,
and
maybe -
BE YOUR FRIEND.

There's No Joy in Your Face

I look at your face and I see,
and it's a beautiful face
I'm not saying that it isn't
but
I look at your face and I see NO JOY THERE
I mean I look at your face and I see the marks, lines,
signs, of too many lovers, husbands, boyfriends,
companions, soulmates GONE
OR
Maybe I'm reading your face wrong
Maybe what I see is just uncertainty,
confusion, hopelessness
I can't be sure
but I know
I look at your face and I don't see any joy there.

Agreeing to Disagree

I don't agree with you
and
I'm not mad at you
I don't agree with you
and
I don't want to argue about it
I don't agree with you
and
I'm not going to try to convince you that I'm right
I simply don't agree with you.

Learning

At first I didn't know
how to express my love
or so I thought
Then I found that I
really didn't know how
to love.. .
I learned to love
and how to express
my love
and I thought that
was all
Now I'm learning
how to recognize love
and accept it
as well as give it.

Cover Design: Joseph McNair