Today I figured I would post another poem I made mention of in our Loving Without Expectation Class the other day: ‘Seduction’ by Nikki Giovanni. This may be as good a time as any to confess that I have a greater love for the written/read word as opposed to the spoken. I found this poem when I was a teenager and fell in love with it. For some reason after I thought about referencing Kahlil Gibrans ‘The Prophet’ this one popped in my head next. “Hm! Lemme go back and read that one again!” I thought. It wasn’t an obvious choice, or so I thought. Of course revisiting the piece reminded me why it posed itself as such. Perhaps I should let you read it first: : : : . . . . . .
‘Seduction’
one day
you gonna walk in this house
and i’m gonna have a long African gown
you’ll sit down and say “The Black…”
and i’m gonna take one arm out
then you-not noticing me at all- will say “What about this brother…”
and i’m going to be slipping it over my head
and you’ll rap on about “The revolution…”
while i rest your hand against my stomach
you’ll go on-as you always do- saying
“I just can’t dig…”
while i’m moving your hand up and down
and i’ll be taking your dashiki off
then you’ll say “What we really need…”
and taking your shorts off
then you’ll notice
your state of undress
and knowing you you’ll just say
“Nikki …isn’t this counterrevolutionary…”
* * *
Okay, I can’t lie. What I love first about this piece is that the woman, imagining this encounter with her lover STARTS the poem by visualizing what she will be wearing when this moment arrives. This happens to me often, so I can appreciate it and kinda have to laugh to myself (corny confession but hey, it’s true). Seriously, what I love about this piece is that it’s a beautiful example of this woman imagining herself loving freely without expectation in addition to having a confidence and almost blatant disregard for whether or not her lover will reject or reciprocate her actions of ‘seduction’ . …There is apparently some question of whether he will willingly give her his undivided attention or not and put down his other mistress if only for a moment. …His other mistress being work, the cause, or in this case, the revolution. Many of us have had those moments where we envisioned ourselves doing something BOLD to reclaim our power and look good doin it. …Sometimes we acted, sometimes we didn’t and sometimes well, the vision probably had to suffice or was better than the actual moment in real life! It says so many things! It says, “these are MY feelings and I own them, proudly!” She’s feelin’ herself, and that’s always fly. It’s a testimony to THE POWER OF A WOMAN! …And women are powerful beings, if you didn’t already know. Lastly it’s a stunning example of someone (her) showing strength and vulnerability at the same time and I don’t know about you but I always think that’s HOT. Seduction is beautiful. …It’s open, it’s honest, it’s an act of giving….it’s just the shyt and I think we’d all agree on that.
…As I was posting this, I’m afraid I got sucked into yet another Nikki G. poem that I figure we should save for another day. ..But you know it’s killin me inside to hold it until next time! Anywhoo. ….What are your thoughts on this one???
“…Conjurin’ up seductions of the mind in Studio5”. -hk
