The poet in me died
Last night.

She was shot in the head
With a high caliber hand gun
And left to bleed out.

I found her curled up
In the farthest corner of my mind,
Tears leaking from unseeing eyes.

I pulled her into my arms,
And as I rocked her,
Whispering nonsensical words
Of apologies and promises,
She roused.

She stared at me
As though I was a stranger,
An unknown entity touching
Her person.

I wept soundlessly.

She refused to speak,
Instead she wrote
On the ground
With her index finger,
With her blood."For me to live,
You must write."

She then pointed
At a desk upon which
Sat a note pad and a pen.

That last gesture
Was too much for her,
And she fainted away.

I made my way to the desk.
As I sat, I felt a sense of
Peace, of coming home.

With pen in hand,
My mind filled with words
Fighting to be released,
To be written.

With each stroke of the pen,
The poet grew stronger.
The bullet popped out,
The wound healed,
The blood disappeared
And the poet came to.

I was so focused
On what I was writing
That I didn't notice
That the poet had approached
The desk.

It was only
When I felt her hands
On my shoulder that
I noticed that the poet was there,
And she whispered in my ear.

"When you don't write,
I die and when you write,
I live."

She placed the gun
On the desk next to the note pad
And walked away, fading away.

And so I write
So that the poet may live.

--

'The Expressionist' is a 365antigua.com literary arts collaboration with August Rush Productions, and is a forum to highlight the work of Expressions: Poetry in the Pub members. In order to be eligible for consideration as a featured poet, you must be a member of the Expressions Facebook page and a regular performer at the popular open mic nights, which is held at Heavenly Java 2 Go every 2^nd and 4^th Tuesday in the month.

The Expressionist 365 Antigua page will be updated with new content twice monthly; the day before every ‘Poetry in the Pub’ night. Poets that meet the requirements that are interested in having their work featured on the site can email augustrush.antigua@gmail.com for more information.

Our first featured Expressionist is no stranger to the spoken word community in. She is a staple at multiple open mic events and a regular contender in local literary competitions. Kimolisa Mings is her name, and her lyrical ammunition is one to be feared.

“For a long time I never thought of myself as a poet, I simply wrote poetry. I wrote without the limitations of poetic styles or templates and create something that is truly my genuine voice. I wrote my first poem for a English assignment and because my teacher encouraged me, I continued. It was only through such events as Expressions: Poetry at the Pub and other open mic events that I was able to get feedback and added encouragement to do something that is as natural to me as breathing. In 2009, I started my first blog, Kim or Lisa, www.kimolisa.blogspot.com which is an archive of most of my poetry. In the future, I hope to publish a book of poetry, perhaps a few, until then check out my blog and leave a comment.” –Kimolisa Mings

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The author/poet reserves ALL rights to the poems published on 365antigua.com. No part of these poems may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means without the prior written permission of the author.