what you need to know about ithaca

On November 10, 2011, the Haitian Students Association of Cornell University brought me to Ithaca, New York to perform poetry. I loved every minute of my quick and memorable visit. The students were hospitable and bright, Cornell's architecture is stunning and, like the T-shirt slogan says, "Ithaca is gorges."

new poem: kissed there myself

kissed there myself

my poem wears a skirt

& tells the truth

the only blush on her 

brushed on cinnamon 

her name

she shameless 

flaunts sequins clutches 

dutch wax headscarves

struts in hand painted clogs 

for comfort & fishnet stockings 

just because

my poem will 

turn her head if

you call oshun 

holds mirrors for court 

conch shell for microphone

wears midnight liquid eyeliner

what braves

skinny-dips

chango storms & tears

what savors a lover’s searching 

tongue

what staves off

a stranger’s wet disses 

she river rocks the house regardless

tactile reflection

the only yellow on her a gift 

from an old worshipped sun

my poem 

borrowed one of frida’s skirts

gold dusted & seaweed hemmed

solar flared 

with five embroidered roses 

azure beads 

one pocket full of graphite pencils 

the other heavy with citrine & yes

skirt long 

to cover the stiffness of legs 

running in time 

with ella’s gibberish

saturday long 

to catch the wind like a monarch

the only stain on her my own

inky thumbprints

& the lipstick 

i kissed there myself

© 2011 by Lenelle Moїse

new poem: every second monday in october

every second monday in october

christopher of arrogance
born on halloween
arthritic midas hand
lost pawn of spanish queen
a cross across the water
bloodshed for sugar, fame
flagship of terror, colón:
list the dead after his name

arawak precursors plagued
by his greed & occupation
the old earth, wide & round
before his underestimation
the holy spirit danced
before europe dubbed her hips
before the alligator, slaver, navigator
corrupted stars, maps & ships

© 2011 by Lenelle Moïse

new poem: gift a sea

gift a sea

after i became
grandfather called me dry
nasty names
stood small in my kitchen
baking hisses at midnight
praying rocks
against the women
in my love

but before
when i was tiny thirsty
he bought me a vintage typewriter
heavy & teal it splashed under my palms
a thrifted gift a sea in my blood
the first tool
my damp fingers used
to cool & name my self.

© 2011 by Lenelle Moïse

inspiration: tony orrico

My favorite works of art combine rhythm and grace, expose process and celebrate human effort. These ingredients are palpable in performance artist Tony Orrico's Penwald series. He engages every inch of his dancer's body to make elegant bilateral drawings. Orrico doesn't just use graphite on paper - he is graphite on paper. It took an athletic 1000 strokes to make "Penwald: 1: 1 circle," below. It's a self-love portrait! Symmetry, focus and breath.

Don't you want to try it? More mesmerizing possibilities here.

tell tempt make risk

women taking up space

"We still aren’t accustomed to women taking up space, to women filling our visual fields, to women holding our attention with their stories. Solo performance is a richly evocative genre that does all of these things with clarity and power." -Jill Dolan. Read more here.