Stanzas will simultaneously snatch your soul with its smooth statements in its stylish stature. Poetry has not expired from entertainment, and some think that this creative outlet is starting to resurface in mainstream media. In this week’s entry of the series “The Pen and Our People” I would like to highlight some of our own alumni and current students from Saint Xavier University who have a real way with words.
Ashley Newbill, a former student from Saint Xavier University studied in Bio / Pre-Health as a major with a music minor. Many knew for her service and chill vibes that lured the attention of anyone who was in her presence. However, many did not know her hidden talent of matching nouns and verbs to create a message only she could deliver.
Shealyn “Shea” Scott is a junior education major here at SXU. She is known by many for her artistic mindset and creative taste in entertainment. Not only does she write poetry, but she also makes words come to life by writing her own plays, like “She Kills Monsters” which will be premiered on April 14th-15th! Shea has a tasteful touch in writing that is impactful to the mind and refreshing to the soul.
Kyla “KT” “Ms. Mamas’ ‘ Turner is a senior strategic communications major who is heavily involved in the writing world. She has been a writer since the age of seven and performing her poetry for more than eight years; sharing stages in a multitude of cities and states. She is known for her hysterical haikus and fire figurative language that resonate with her audiences.
Today, we have a treat for you that’s embedded in sweet, tasteful truths. In a month of cold Chicago climate, I bring to you a warm message. Below is a poem written by Ashley “Ka$h” Newbill titled “Lifetime Love.”
Lifetime Love
By: Ashley “Ka$h” Newbill
I want that love that’s on the tv shows
That wake up in the morning to the sun making your face glow
And even if it’s cloudy or raining you still shine
And if the sun never rose again I’d be just fine
Cause you are the sun, the moon, the stars my baby
Couldn’t imagine how life would be if I wasn’t yo lady
You know I’m independent so that’s bold of me to say
But for you I’ll be soft any day
My world been so different since you came
Stuck on you like Whitley on Dwayne
I love the way your hand fits perfectly into mine
On some avatar vibes, like how they tails intertwine
Okay that’s a lil weird but I know you get it
I love the way you love anything I’m interested in
We move to our own beat like blues or funk
Our own Love Jones, left or right, I’ll dance with you to either one
You’re my best friend and can’t nothing get between us
I swear you love me more than Martin loved Gina
I love the way you look at me like I’m the only one
As if I’m the only woman you ever wanna lay eyes on
You’re my 3 stacks baby and I’m your Lady Badu
Whether it’s this lifetime or the next my only soulmate is you
You take me to climax without sex, like Tupac said Jada did
Our love is legendary, baby you’re my fresh prince
I know God made you just for me from the very same clay
And He continues to bring us together, every second of every day
I love the way you love me
I pray you never leave
But if you ever do
Trust that I won’t be far behind you
Because behind every great man Is a woman even better
And by your side is where I’ll stay, always and forever.
artist’s hands
Shealyn “Shea” Scott
sometimes my hands
are artist’s hands
and i use them to sculpt
a mirror image of myself.
i press into the clay
and carve out my cheeks
and hollow out my eyes
and seal every corner
with a caressing thumb.
i look at myself
as a creation.
i look at myself
and resist the urge
to mold myself into better art—
something more moving,
something more striking,
something more valuable.
i throw myself into the kiln
and wait for the surface
to bubble up and crack.
i throw myself into the glaze
and wait for the color to distort
and leave me stained in the wrong hue.
i throw myself into the light
and parade my replication—
for prestige,
for adoration,
for retribution.
Look at her, I urge the crowd,
See her and be awed.
I hide behind the sculpture
and pretend not to hear
the expert’s criticism
or the stranger’s false praise.
I hide behind my sculpture
and pretend not to see
the unflattering curve of her neck
or the lack of symmetry in her face.
I hide behind myself
and pretend not to be
an imitation of something else
or just another piece in the exhibition.
sometimes my hands
are artist’s hands
and i use them to distort myself.
sometimes my hands
are artist’s hands
and i use them to destroy.
sometimes my hands
are artist’s hands
and i use them to play God.
Pass on Pride
Where are the manners in man?
Calling for me like I sent you
Lickin’ those crustified lips with lust that hasn’t even been secured yet
Talkin’ bout “Wassup witchu?”…..
Nothing sir.
Your pride is not appealing
Pushin’ P paid the piper
Now you’re lonely
I can tell what you eat won’t sustain me
Feeding your ego left your soul hungry
I would rather starve than to eat the toxins of your so called “fruit”
The labor was lacked, just like the nutrition in this relation before it could have began
The notion to your treason is the reason you are solo in this season
It’s a difference…
Between pimpin’ in privacy and being alone by default
Your verbs are at fault
Mistaking your misogyny for manhood
Putting your foot down a little too hard has cracked the foundation of vulnerability
Flexing on your inner G knowing that was not our shared energy
Childish
A fetus in a man’s body
A true baby that’ll never be mines or give me a seed to carry
Too eager to please–
Without an ounce of tease
The lack of attention given when clothes are on is sickening
But the moment that skin gets revealed
You mixed emotions with Trojan
I’m not even the chosen one,
Just the one you chose in the moment
Later on you swimming in the seas of Jess, Jaz, Julie, and Jaylen
Hittin’ these Jazzybelles while floating in my well will send you to a place more lifeless than Hell
Ponder on that thought while you view your clothes kissin’ concrete
Instant karma covered in tattoos
And I will shade in the consequences of absence with the same needle you sowed deceit with
A discrepancy, how snakes slither through this land on the daily
King Cobras on King Drive
Anacondas on Ashland
Poison plastered across Pulaski
And you think I am going to trust you easily?
Like mugs ain’t cheating on their wives and sides and got the audacity to memorize the lyrics to “Loyalty?”
Kendrick and Rihanna will not be impressed
And neither am I
That’s why I’ll take a pass on your pride