AlaBek

*fka Rebecca Akame

[alabek]

Planted Ebony Roots

(PC: New York Times)

It’s all so evident

I’ve been given clarity

Reaping what another sows

You dig at the roots of my sanity

Tug at the origins of my excellence

And beneath my pride,

Triumph, and anticipation

You attempt to plant a seed of sorrow,

Doubt, and frustration

On my unchartered land

A plot even GPS won’t suggest

Yet the fruits of which you digest

But I digress…

Because

For a moment

You rained on my parade

Watered my insecurities

And watered down my expectations

I got lost in your thunderstorm of uncertainty

And whirlwind of self-pity

Yet I’m not held by your charade

Man, you’re so damn uppity

With your mockingly pleasant salutations

A strange mix between serendipity

And deathly archaic insanity

Your seed won’t take hold

Won’t be planted in the mind of my soil

Trying to spoil and soil my mind

There’s no place on my land

For any of this kind

You can’t ingrain your brains

In the grains of my gains

For none of my harvest

Was meant for you to obtain

What I’ve made fruitful

It’s mine just the same

That’s all I’m saying

So, before you attempt

To blow this tree down

And set fire to its trunk

Know there’s one myth

That needs to be debunked

State a fact that leaves

Even philosophers stumped

My planted ebony roots

They’ll never give up

[alabek]

Proverbial "I" #1 - Wisdom Rights by AlaBek, inspired by the Book of Proverbs . . . #alabekpoetry #alabek #poetry #wisdom #guidance #solomon #proverbs #leadership #wise #growth #knowledge #faith #spirituality #writing #writer #Christian #grace #learning #I #eye #proverbial #poem #rights

[alabek]

Go get your blessings chile! #alabekquotes #alabek #writing #blessings #blessed #wisdom #advice #moveup #grace #mercy #uplift #life #poetry #writer #joy #pride #embrace #nomistake #selfconfidence #selflove

[alabek]

Social Work

Heart young and soul mature

Dream advocate by trade

Dreamer by nature

A world saved from itself

Is what I’m fighting for

--AlaBek

[alabek]

I'm officially done! Just two weeks of chilling until graduation 🤗 ••• (Pictures from top left to bottom: Saturday night Flower Party, celebrating graduation through Tea Time with my research advisor, bathroom selfie on my last day of field, posing with my poster during the poster session today!) . . . . . #lookmama #wemadeit #countdowntoMSW #alabeklife #MSW #dreamadvocate #nolongerintraining #therealdeal #graduation #firstgen #firstgeneration #haitian #haitianamerican (at UNC School of Social Work)

[alabek]

"Can't Trump That", by AlaBek Full poem pictured and in link in bio. . . . #alabekpoetry #socialjustice #trump #politics #resilience #blackgirlmagic #blackboyjoy #poetry #riseup #freedom #liberation #spokenword #words #wisdom #faith #hope #love #selflove #revolution

[alabek]

Can’t Trump That

I have lived to see many an up, hoping for so few a down

Only to be let down by doves repossessing my crown

Carving my smile into a frown

Worse yet, a scowl

Leaving me with nothing left but a howl and a towel

To wipe up our blood they’ve shed and scraps of cornbread

“Look how well the pigeons are fed”

Though we lay bruised, broken, and red; left for dead

Worse yet, raping us in our own beds

And all that’s left to be said

All that’s showcased as fact

Is the idleness of a sub-human people

“You can’t trump that”

See, biology states Black people are animals

And Latinos travel through drug channels

Muslims are too much to handle

And frankly, women only breed scandals

See, it’s written in the textbooks

Scripted like recipes in cookbooks

It’s all the concoction of the same crooks

Go ahead and take a look

For yourself, and you won’t see yourself

Leaving you feeling less than an elf

Not even secondhand to a jolly, ol’ White man

You’re left like a broken toy on an after-Christmas sale shelf

And when you internalize these self-loathing acts

You can’t trump that

At least, that’s what they say

Injecting poison so our hopes waste away

Their words so foul, they have tooth decay

Reminding us together our children can’t play

Reminding us every second, every hour, every day

But would they still rise if that were the truth?

Super humans transformed in fortitude phone booths -- 

Barber shops, churches, and mosques too -- 

Bind us together to clap back that root

Black girl magic, black boy joy, 

Black and brown spirits you can never destroy

White occupation is a momentary decoy

To the ebony revolution due to deploy

No matter what regime

No matter who claims supreme

One thing remains indisputable fact

The warrior blood of a resilient people

You can’t trump that

[alabek]

Learn to embrace imperfections; as humans it's all we ever have known and all we ever will know. Our imperfections, when allowed, sculpt and mold us into a better version of ourselves everyday. We never reach living perfection, but we reach loving imperfection. Henceforth, self-love manifests.

AlaBek, 3.19.2017

[alabek]

"Beautiful" poem graphic Full poem: http://alabek.tumblr.com/post/149573326758/beautiful Img Src (https://www.pinterest.com/pin/277745501996157571/)

[alabek]

Love Illuminated

“We love because He first loved us.” 1 Jn. 4:19

I tried to find the words, the meter, the rhyme – a poem – to introduce what is about to be unveiled, but nothing quite fits. I know what love is, but I don’t know what it looks like. I don’t know if it can be seen through a card, through a souvenir bracelet, or through a carnation. I don’t know how it is supposed to be received either. But I know love never fails. I know love conquers all. I know that love will always remain. I am fully aware it drives out fear – even the very fear I feel right now. Yet, I realize this fear only exists, because this love has been discouraged, and I further realize that the same love that can drive out fear in some can produce it in others. So I proclaim unabashedly that this love – my love – still remains even as your fear does. There is something about finding the endless source to love that allows my love to keep spouting even when I feel like I’ve been sucked dry. Even when it feels like I love in vain, I know that I would not have it any other way. If I were to leave here with any regrets, it would be from believing that I have loved enough. There is no cap for this kind of love. It cannot be contained or restrained. It cannot be shrouded by darkness, yet it is in this darkness that it can be seen. So even as the darkness that seems to surround you pushes away at the love I try to bring, it will only shine brighter. The harder you push, the stronger love will push back. The more apparent that light – this love – will be. I say this not to request you continue pushing back as you normally do, but rather I know it is characteristic of you. I know that you shy away from love. It is a pattern you have kept consistent from year to year. Yet if you paid attention to the pattern that love keeps, you would realize that love always wins.

-AlaBek

[alabek]

BEAUTIFUL

by AlaBek

This beautiful, young, black woman

Full of strength, beauty, and youth

Can barely utter the words

“Take me as I am”

Because what does that mean to you?

---------------

Were you the white slave owner?

Believing that means you can rape her

Behind your white wife’s back

But in front of her black fiancé’s eyes,

Taking her as she was,

A sweet virgin

Saving it for the man she loved

But you call her a slut the moment

They find out she’s pregnant

The moment your façade begins to crumble

“She bewitched me with those devilish dark eyes of hers.

Don’t you see she has no soul and wanted to take mine?

Kill her to kill the soul she’s taken,

The soul of the baby that lies within her”

And so she dies

With a soul she didn’t willingly receive

Lynched for an act she didn’t commit

For being taken as she was

But you think now she can say

In this day and age,

Because times have changed,

“Take me as I am”?

What does that mean to you?

---------------

Are you the black lead quarterback?

Ruling the hallways with your pants hung low

And your cap cocked high

Throwing her burning glares

Claiming on the fly

“Black girls have too much attitude,

White girls are where it’s at.”

Yet behind closed doors

You say to the same girl

“Hey, that’s a nice rack”

Running your hands up and down her back

Unhooking the bra, removing the straps

Unbuttoning the pants, smacking that ass

And the following day you’ll claim the same thing

With your white girlfriend on your arm

Wearing her like a bracelet would a charm

And you think taking her as she was

Meant for only one night

Because all you wanted was just a little bite

That’s all she’s good for, right?

To get a little love when ya’ feeling tight

Nah, bra, that’s a lie

And now she’s at home crying

Weeping

“Take me as I am”

But what does that mean to you?

---------------

Are you the overly pompous college professor?

Who doesn’t even know how to pronounce her name

“Latisha, Latoya, Boniqua, same thing”

The one who doesn’t call on her when

She’s clearly raising her hand

Thinking that on her thoughts alone

She could never stand against

The ruling class’s overall opinion

And when she’s the only one to have something to say

You are surprised by her response

Stating,

“You’re one of the smartest black girls I know,

You may be the next Oprah”

When honestly professor

She’s the only black girl you’re even acquainted with

At this moment

If that’s the case professor

Look for a whole line of “Oprahs”

In the next decade

Because they are EVERYWHERE

You simply refuse to acknowledge

Their own repertoire of knowledge

Every one or two that grace your room

With their “ethnic” presence

You say you’ll take her as she is

But when she states she’s from the Bronx

In proper English, you exclaim

“You’re not Black enough”

No professor

That’s not taking her as she is at all

What degree out there could possibly give you

The right to undermine your student’s abilities

And solely hers?

She shouts back

“Take me as I am”

But what does that mean to you?

---------------

Are you the overly controlling father?

Who shoves her head around whenever you see her new “do”

“Going natural is for troublemakers,”

He screams,

“You’re nothing but a troublemaker

Who needs a good weave

Or a box of Dark-n-Lovely No-Lye”

Because for some reason he believes

That the same hair his genes blessed her with

Is somehow cursed and retched

Keeping her from existing in the household

Telling her to

“Come back when your hair’s back to normal!”

Ha, normal…isn’t that what she was,

In all senses of the word?

All she asks of you Papa,

All she says is,

“Take me as I am,

As I was born to be”

But what does that mean to you?

What does that mean to she?

---------------

Are you the overly insecure girl?

Who stares at herself in the mirror

Pinching the fat under her skin

Poking the muscles rippling down her back

Inspecting the colors of her eyes

And everything that lies behind them

Do you believe you are more than all of that?

That you are worthy of more than just a slap

To the face by what seems like the rest of the human race?

Do you believe you are beautiful?

Do you believe you are intelligent?

Do you believe you are strong?

For I believe you are so by design

The color of your skin is not a neon sign

Claiming your ignorance or damnation

But a testimony to the dark struggle

Others like you have been through

Flaunt this in your youth

And flaunt this in your elderly days

But flaunt it with humble praise

For to take you as you are

You must be what you want to be taken as

And willing to stand by it

No matter what meaning the others have

So tell her in the mirror

“It doesn’t matter what it means to you,

What it means to she

But what really matters is what it means to me,

With grace and respect

Take me as I am, and that means all I happen to be”

[alabek]

“To Love a Black Woman” poem image. Full and original poem posted here.

ImgSrc: (slodive)

[alabek]

Real Inspiration poem image. Made in honor of my mother’s birthday on February 5th. Gone but never forgotten. Original link here.

[alabek]

To Love a Black Woman

By AlaBek I could not fathom nor cannot describe The pain I feel when I pass by As they probe me with condemning eyes And ask, “Of all things, of all deeds, To love a Black woman, Why?” To be misread as Overly promiscuous, angry, independent, and preoccupied, Where does the love for the Black woman lie? It resides in the bosom of her misunderstood chest In the recesses of her womb craving an unemptied nest It bellows from the caverns of her throbbing mind Yelping to be treated as one of a kind Because There is no kind like her No shade comparison Could compare to the complexity That is massively more Than the amount of melanin in her skin Always referred to as sisters But never considered next of kin You see, she holds her head high But all you think when she passes by is “Girl, bye” And yet her confidence never subsides And still your arrogance arrogantly presides So, where does the love of the Black woman reside?

It lays broken and bruised in a relationship about to capsize As you criticize her for having a larger rump size Oh my gosh, why does she have to compromise, The fullness of her lips and the breadth of her hips For the latest in White beauty ideal fashion tips? She is ever unique, never mimics Belting out the latest limericks Poised but never posed Realer than you’ll ever know You scream, “Say it ain’t so!” But what could you understand Of the flow of that Black beauty, though? To love a Black woman Here’s how it should go

Always lead with a proper proposal Never mistake her for a distressed damsel Simply listen to her stories worth telling Don’t ask her to enunciate the spelling Of the words to her tale Sorry, honey, her tongue’s set sail Into the turbulent seas of an enslaved history Would you like the code to her linguistic mystery? Because then you can understand that her sass isn’t malice And her spice isn’t callous It’s the boldness of a ruptured servant Broken free of all definitions subservient Bask in her ethereal elegance Dare to be entranced By all that she has to offer And pray she doesn’t suffer As she bowls out all the love she can muster All the while never losing her luster Let her radiance shine Don’t push her behind Jennifer Hudson, living under your spotlight Just let the Black woman shine bright Because her darkness belies the diamonds Hidden in her coal mine skin But didn’t you know that under all the pressure she’s been given The precious gem of self-love would finally set in Enwrap your fingers in her kinky curls But ask first before giving it a swirl Stars in her eyes, get captivated Truth in her speech, get elevated To love a Black woman OH! To love a Black woman Wouldn’t you know To love a Black woman Means feeling your heart grow To love a Black woman Means letting your heart show To love a Black woman Means she could finally let go Oh, to love a Black woman Say it is so

[queensbkc]

So regardless of whether this works out or not romantically speaking, you’ve had a good run for the first time. Life is full of improvements. Gotta upgrade now. Either in man or in relationship status.

Becca, on dating and break-ups (via queensbkc)

[alabek]

An Idea poem graphic. Original post here.

[alabek]

My Poem

By AlaBek

The reason for writing

Is that there is a need for release

And no clear understanding of how to go about it

But knowing clearly why one needs to go about it

An antagonizing agonizing desire to be understood

and to understand one's own understanding

Yet we never really comprehend the complexity of our own understanding,

and there lies the loophole in our complex comprehension

Deviating from the truth of life

We complicate the world with our muddled explanations

for why everything is all that it is

and is to be

But this could easily be mended by faith

in the veracity  of life

that lies in similar words to these

whose reason for being written

lies in a need to reveal and  release us to

the route to clear understanding

and how to go about seeking  it

though not  necessarily knowing clearly why

one needs to go about it

Other than a simply clear premonition

that it brings life

or a purpose to one's life

A calling without clearly defined words

Like a poem...

Words of a poem, of a poet,  are just a release from this mutiny

This hostile takeover of the divine truth

Call it divine intervention through a pencil's tips

transferred from the transparently invisible lips

Of a divine intermediary

A divine voice

To ungodly fingertips

That calls out to you by your most intimate name

And awakens every possible troubling heart-wrenching fear

Every. Possible. Troubling. Heart-wrenching.  Tear.

And despite the troubling turmoil this transpires

The tumultuous downpour of depression raining

and reigning within your very inner being

reaching beyond your heart that is only a blood-pumping muscle

but grappling onto your soul that is the only life-giving vessel

You realize  that these troubling heart-wrenching tears and fears

Are part of  the antidote to victory

For without them, it would never be possible

Never be obtainable

To know, to understand, the  absence of loss

In the end

The reason for writing is very simple

The aforementioned  voice that reached  out to me

Pulling me off the edge of an unforeseen cliff by my ear

With my very most intimate name

Wants to save me from my most troubling

heart-wrenching

fears and tears

To alleviate me from the folly of man,

from  my  idiotically complex comprehension

of understanding myself

understanding my need to release

understanding this very release

He gave me the words to my poem

by virtue of He being the Word

Therefore He reposes  within me

Through this poem, through our words

My soul that was dead before He awakened it

Now is alive with His speech

His demeanor

His life

His words

My love

My struggles

My transparency...

My fears...

My tears...

My Poem