COFFEE WINE and WORDS Poetry

Today's guest is Birdman 313, reciting his poem 'A Thousand Miles From Nowhere.' You can follow him on IG: @author_poet_birdman31355

Today's poem is 'Cultural Schizophrenia' read by C. Imani Williams. If you'd like to share your poems with us, email us at [email protected] or visit www.coffeewinewordsmag.com for instructions on submitting! Follow us on Instagram: @coffeewinewordsmag 

My first year in Vegas, I had a call center job for a short time. On my first day they made me pick a nickname, 'Tammy' instead of using my full name, so I would sound more appealing to the people I called. Needless to say that job was crappy anyway, and I didn't last longer than a month. This poem is for all the Black and brown girls who have gone through life in America with unconventional, not-so-normal, or hard to pronounce cultural names. Let them choke on it, but you correct them every single time. 

This poem is featured in The Black Girl Poetry Scrapbook, available on chardypublications.com!

This is a poem about Billie Holiday. More of an ode to her career and legacy. If you're familiar with her music, then you might notice that I blended some of her song titles into the verses. I hope you enjoy it!

Maybe if more people listened to artists, the world would be a better place. 

This is a poem about mother nature. Cherish the one who gives us life.

This is a poem written by Mantra Lotus and read by Chanel. It's from her book Brownslip: A loose woman's memoir. Also, check out her podcast 'Hello Goddesses' available on Spotify!

Written and read by Chanel Hardy. A poem about assimilating to white beauty standards and how those standards shape our entire existence. 

As 2020 comes to a close and we welcome in the new year, here is a reminder that when it comes to our art, nothing is more important than being heard.  Check out this poem and others from my poetry collection, 'I Had a Dream About You' available on Amazon.