Cali Poem by Romella Kitchens

I am asleep and I dream I am in a jeep.

The driver is strong, protective...

A child of mine in this life, a previous life

or another.

The jeep is open.

The hood fearless, beckoning and back.

And, we wind faceless and unseen up

a curving California road

towards an inn which rejects us

simply due to my being Black.


I tell the sea gulls and the water:

I am created in His image and,

that should have been good enough.

The ocean of God swells even more

due to my tears.

God sends the winds of His massive

palms to dry my tears and they dissipate

into the miraculous.

Cali, it has been years since I have

seen your face.

Cali, at the mention of your name

I come all undone and wanting no

matter who doesn't love me or

want me around.

My soul follows the gulls out beyond

your sensual body lines.

And, Cali I am utterly, undeniably

Yours.