I Pray, Too

Thanks to BrothaSoul for the invitation to this fresh space. On the way to the forefront...

In the spirit of introduction to The Gay Poetry Spot:


I Pray, Too

Like Ms. Angelou before me,
I pray these wings are gonna fit me,
that God won't punish me for trying to fly,
won't make me another Icarus, only to die
so close to reaching the sun,
'cause I gotta get off the ground if I don't wanna die,
gotta put on these new wings and learn how to fly,
or else I'll perish
from lack of wonderment,
lack of air.
I know you don't care,
'cause to you, I'm just another Mexican
screwing up in this world.
God forbid I be this brave,
or this bold.
You want me to stay on the ground,
away from all that's profound,
but I got plans to take me around
this world.

God, I pray these wings are gonna fit me
'cause I've never tried them on before,
never tried to get up off the floor,
but here I am, shooting for heights, unlike before,
when I just tried to
survive...

I want to be alive,
to know the sun of my own smile,
let it shine on me for a while--
let these new feather feels the air because,
listen, y'all:
I've got so much to share, you wouldn't believe.
Like Alicia Keys sings,
only joy comes from sorrow,
so tomorrow,
I plan to cash in on all I've been through;
I plan to hold on and cling to
my faith, which has brought me to this point,
where I pray to God,
"Please let these wings fit me.
Let me be happy so close to the sun
before you sing down your axe,
before you melt all the wax
from these delicate feathers."
Listen to my pleas as I'm down on my knees,
"God,
let
these
wings
fit
me,
or else you've doomed me

to an unfulfilled life,
full of nothing but strife,
with no hope of redemption."

I've paid my dues
feather by feather.
I've charged all I can to this account.
Don't make me sit and count on my fingers
every time they've lied,
every time I've cried,
every single sigh
that's passed through these lips,
every pair of hands that have grasped these hips
only to tear up these wings
so that I can only sing the blues.

And I love some Billie Holiday,
but I want my own day
to fly away from pain,
from all that has drained me.
Like Icarus before me,
I dare not to be scared of consequence,
to give way to wonderment
of all that's before me.

I just pray these wings are gonna fit me.