Black Love Poetry is mainly from African-American poets.

Modern black love poetry has several unique features. A lot of the poets featured here use pseudonyms both as mask and art, speaking euphemistically of course.

Initiation into the world of black love poetry is an introduction both into the realism and existentialism of modern urban life. Because most its poets are created in the crucible of American inner city projects, with its attendant hedonistic and exploitative riders, they project a strident culture, fiercely insular and often misogynist in practice. One might then wonder how black love poetry is sustainable in this unlikely mix, but as we will discover, even here like the human spirit, love either as parody or salvation is thankfully rather hardy.

Modern Black love poetry is mostly feminine. Sometimes its in praise of love, oftentimes in despair...but it never fails to affirm the strength of the human will to overcome adversity:

Lust

by Lynesha Lima

Lust is capable of disguising itself as many emotions.

Once involved intimately this can cause commotion.

If you don't discover what is beyond lust,

you will be stuck in a place of mere touch.

No words to speak, no trust to keep, no love

that's deep, just pain to reap.

For the moment it my satisfy,

but that moment will soon pass by.

By then you'll realize

that phase was truly a disguise.

But perhaps if you wait a short while,

find out whats beneath that beautiful smile.

Talk about your interests, form a bond or two.

Then when the time comes emotions will be true.

Faux

How can I feel nothing yet I pretend to feel something

what to me is so surreal is to him such a big deal

he talks of loving me, I feel nothing when he is hugging me.

I have no temptation, I feel no sensations,

now I face my realizations,

all along I have been faking,

wearing these different faces,

so I had him mistaking,

falling in love with what I was creating,

Infatuated,

every move I made I debated,

said the right words because I knew that he

related.

Smiled when he smiled, tried to be intimate.

Somehow I couldn't push myself to that limit.

Wanted to love him but the feelings wouldn't

come,

even though he swore that I was obviously the

one.

Still I could find myself wanting another,

Even pictured his best friend as my lover.

What kind of person am I, well i'm simply human.

Wishing I never got nobody caught up in this confusion.

Texting You

I smiled at the phone when your name

appeared on my screen.

I read your message repeatedly like I was a fiend.

I replied quickly and impatiently waited to hear

your ringtone.

What an obsession I have with you and this phone.

When you send that smiley face,

all my troubles erase.

What a great day I have,

when you send a joke to make me laugh.

Sometimes our conversations are deep,

I love to text you until you fall asleep.

Then early in the morning you apologize,

I roll over and read your words with sleep in my eyes.

Then I usually reply don't worry its alright,

You ask how was my night.

I think to myself how polite,

wanting to dial your number and hear your voice,

But obviously I made another choice.

Now we secretly send our words through these

messages frequently,

talking about things not possible in our reality.

Black love poetry as the next example illustrates often employs the language of pulp fiction and street slangs. As a feature of modern poetry, black love poetry is merely a reflection of the age and the growing influence of informality (some would say mediocrity) in modern artforms.

Up and Down!

by Andiswa Dontsa

Love is blind

Love is not blind

I am blind

Like a yoyo!

You pull me up and push me down

I get enough of that

Funny I don't move…I still choose to stay

And blame my vision on love

It is all love…I think to myself?

Heartbreak part of love

To love deeply

Is to love with all thy heart

Mine is in pieces

How can it do the purpose

I get over you

No I try to get over you….. not to hard coz I don't

want to

As soon as I am …I think…I am over you

There you are

Suddenly moon and stars come into view

In a second it is all dark again

Is it ever gonna shine?

Is there any glow?

Am I trying…seeking what's not there

Love accepts all pains and is patient

Maybe my love is patiently waiting for someone

out there!

But I am blind…

Thoughts of You

by Keda Jeantine

I'm thinking

of you right now...

How your deep bass baritone

voice sounds

over the phone.

The sounds of the

words you whispered to me

over the long

conversations we had

occupy the very

thoughts of my mind.

I'm thinking

about you this moment.

How your brown eyes smiled

as bright as the stars

at midnight

at me

when we had met first.

It was the first,

"Hello my name is-

and it is my pleasure to meet you"

that you had me.

Had me.

All of me.

The very desires of me.

The loving of me

rushed unhesitantly straight to you.

I'm thinking about

you as the seconds

rush by my vivid daydreams of you.

You live in the very home of my daydreams.

The daydreams I dream of:

You.

Loving You.

Knowing You.

Delighting myself in You.

I'm thinking of you

this night.

Tonight

closing my eyes to a deep sleep.

Sleeping next to me

I see

the sweetnes of your face

cuddling in the pillows of my soul.

The heavens are above

and the angels of love

declare that it is meant for us to be...

Forever.

And on our bed we journey.

Travelling to a world of us

in a realm of exhilaration

wrapped in rhapsody

reaching higher

and higher...

Then we fall

Fall into the bright light of the risen sun.

It's morning.

I'm thinking about you

even when I'm removing the

very crusts from my eyes

from a deep sleep

a deep dream

about us.

The all-consuming passion that dominates the last example is a feature of black love poetry we shall become increasingly familiar with as we proceed on our journey...

Famous Black Love Poetry 1

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