Ebony Stewart – The Blood

Curated By Ralph

"The Road Not Taken" is a source of inspiration for me, because it encourages me to seize opportunities and chart my own course in life.

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Ebony Stewart, performing at the Button Studio.

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Button Poetry is committed to developing a coherent and effective system of production, distribution, promotion and fundraising for spoken word and performance poetry.

We seek to showcase the power and diversity of voices in our community. By encouraging and broadcasting the best and brightest performance poets of today, we hope to broaden poetry’s audience, to expand its reach and develop a greater level of cultural appreciation for the art form.


Many times i am asked if i have children And since i don't I am then asked if i want one A woman without words I have so many words to cover all of my Hurt feelings A womb with so many complex transitions They laugh When i respond with the name of a poem I've spoken in existence into and looks Just like me claiming a baby Is not the same thing as a poem and a Poem is not the same thing as a baby but Neither are easy to make despite what You think Both are made from love a last minute Show me blood and brains what you really Can do Conceiving at night Both are inside of me screaming Both can keep you up all night It's only by day break i know we've made It Splitting or bursting upon exit or entry After a catalog of days have gone by Some push and come unexpectedly Some stop breathing Some cry their way through life because Neither are easy to have or keep alive The blood The poem My child had to come out one way or Another For which

For which you are never truly prepared For There is no manual on how to raise these Poems I did the best i could with what i had Babies require all of me Poems require all of me Both i have to care for Shield defend and stand behind Even if the baby is not happy Even if the poem is not a point of pride Both are a privilege and a chore I cannot say that motherhood or writing Is always appealing I cannot say that children are always Satisfying Poems are selfish Always demanding attention Tugging pulling asking wanting the page The pen this world it's hunger I had to abandon myself for a poem i'd Give anything to Have paid dearly in time for my children To love me back because Being a mother is not A luxury And that is what it means To be a writer too Patiently waiting to be blessed because A woman without is not a woman i guess But i've pled to god before you were so Rudely curious I plead and ask god to honor me with a Baby

Who whom i can adorn And know what's the matter And god keeps giving me poems And i've come to learn wanting one and Having one Is not a solution But an expectation If i'm going to call myself a writer And before i can hate you for Not being me All these little lexi's i get to nurture Or neglect help them find their voice It's true I'm not always a good parent But you're not a writer So i wouldn't expect you to understand

Hey... I'm Jasper!

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