Often We Take Turns On Top
(a sonnet for my baby)
often we take turns on top
in our marriage no one is relegated to the bottom
each of us has a vehicle plus our own lives
to live & deep love we share with numerous others
i cook fresh food improvising without recipe
you like firm avocado, coconut cookies, yellow
grits slow simmered to a buttery thickness, after dinner
you clean the carpet while i do the dishes
with sagaciously selected colors, your careful eye has
subtly curated our space into a dwelling place divine
here a delicious quiet permeates the atmosphere
sometimes we talk, other times we listen
to music or revel in the silence of mutual contentment wherein
my heart is your sacred shelter & your smile my holiest shrine
—kalamu ya salaam
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Musical composition: "Coming On The Hudson" by Thelonious Monk
Kalamu ya Salaam – vocals
Stephan Richter – clarinet
Wolfi Schlick – tenor
Frank Bruckner – guitar
Recorded: May 31, 1998 – Munich, Germany