Saturday, February 3 at 8:00 a.m. on The Local Take on Jazz 91.9 WCLK, I talk to Sabreen Jolley. Jolley is a Clark Atlanta University student who has self-published a book of poetry, Same Sky, Different Light.
Same Sky, Different Light is a collection of poems that highlights the stories and emotions of multiple people through the art of spoken word. Sabreen explains that she has been writing and performing poetry since she was nine years old, anywhere she could as she honed her craft. What started as a novel evolved into a collection of poems that together make up her book, Same Sky, Different Light.
Back when life seemed simple/Sabreen Jolley
Peace prompted smiles rested upon your face so contented.
As if the sun had given birth to it.
Promptly began to fade as the stab of life’s sorrows pierced deeply through your mind.
Delivered itself to the front steps of your heart strings,
Causing that once effortless smile to become forced.
Only noticeable in the presence of those you allowed to care for you
Oh, where is that happiness that once bloomed like cherry blossoms in Washington?
Perhaps, consumed in those old lingering memories of what used to be,
And what could have been.
One who’s strength once needed no permission to push through the door of possibility.
Now, forcing you into the most vulnerable and unprepossessing state I’ve ever seen you in.
Now legs that once were not afraid to present their beauty or reveal themselves strong
Are now hiding behind long pants and floor length skirts to mask the wounds and blisters;
Now the crown that rested on your head outlined with silver ornaments and black gold
Has now fallen after such a long walk with a bended neck.
Now the Grace that once was like Jones is no longer recognizable or conceivable.
Now the heart that was once able to beat to the drums of smooth jazz and sunny afternoons;
Full of joy and pleasantness is now bitter; living in regret and slowly dying.
Oh, where is the vibrant woman I used to be so graced to be in the presence of, but now hide from?
Perhaps, allowing the things she hid intrinsically to manifest outwardly thus living her death slowly.
Perhaps, consumed in those old lingering memories of what used to be and what could have been.
Perhaps, consumed in the vast memories of when life seemed simple.
For more information on Same Light, Different Sky by Sabreen Jolley
