2005-06-10 - 5:17 a.m.
i went all the way to dc
ulterior motives
i wanted to go and see our short
in the film festival
see the crowd's response
i wanted to compete in the poetry slam
but i wanted to see her more
wanted to look into her eyes
and see an answer to a question
i hadn't thought of yet
what do you ask someone who's been gone 20 years
i wanted to surprise her
see the shock on her face
when she opened the door
and i was standing there
soo much older
a little bit wiser
same faces
different lives
same love
in a different way
i went to the house twice
first time no luck
just a neighbor who knew
immediately who i had to be
told me to leave her a note
let me keep the pen
told me to come back soon
next time
a neighbor who could have cared less
but he did say her name
and told me she did live there
before returning to his backyard cookout
to balance out my weekend of
prize money and accolades
clubs and kicking it
new friends and old ones
celebrities and networking
she never answered the door
there was a little plastic package
with a pair of african earrings in it
left on the welcome mat
i figured they were for me
a parting gift
i took them of course
graciously
because i needed to leave with something
anything
and this was something
so it had to be enough
i left her my number
and my departure date
of course she didn't call
gotta have a little bitter to go with that sweet
especially in chocolate city
