by Ursula Rucker
ON THIS DAY
THERE WILL BE NO TALK OF WAR
OR POLITIC
OR DISASTER
OR DEATH
LOVE IS ALIVE TODAY
SO WE WILL SPEAK ONLY OF LOVE
THERE WILL BE ONLY LOVE
ON TONGUE
AND LIP
AND IN HEART
AND THOUGHT
AND IT WON’T BE THAT HOLLYWOOD TYPE OF LOVE
NOT T.V. LOVE
NOT DIMESTORE NOVEL LOVE
AND CERTAINLY, NOT MAINSTREAM MUSIC LOVE
LOVE
LOVE
YOU KNOW, LOVE
LOVE THAT HAS BEEN WORKED ON
LIKE GARDENS AND TERM PAPERS
LOVE THAT HAS BEEN NURTURED, LIKE CHILDREN
AND WELL, LIKE CHILDREN
LOVE THAT FALLS, CRASHES EVEN, BURNS
BUT DUSTS OFF, FIXES UP…AND RISES
RISES
MORE BRILLIANT THAN BEFORE
PHOENIX LOVE
YEAH, PHOENIX LOVE
SO, LET US SPEAK ONLY OF LOVE
HEALING LOVE
NO HERBAL OR OVER-THE-COUNTER LOVE
REAL HEALING LOVE
LIKE GOD LOVE
LIKE MOTHER’S LOVE
LOVER’S LOVE
CHILD’S LOVE
LIKE, BEST FRIEND LOVE
AND CHANGE THE WORLD LOVE
HUMAN LOVE
HUMANS LOVE
LOVE SOFT
LOVE HARD
BUT JUST LOVE
ENJOY THIS NEW GARDEN
WORK ON IT TOGETHER
AND IT WILL BE PERENNIAL
IT WILL GROW…YEAR TO YEAR
IT WILL BE BEAUTIFUL
IT WILL WIN BLUE RIBBONS AND EVERYTHING
FOLKS WILL COME FROM FAR AND WIDE JUST TO SEE IT
AND WISH THEY HAD IT
HAD THIS KIND OF GARDEN
THIS KIND OF…
LOVE
LOVE
Ursula Rucker is a Philadelphia born poet, mother, activist, and recording artist. She has been performing, recording and releasing works for over 20 years. Ursula has traveled and toured extensively, throughout North America, Europe, Asia, Australia, New Zealand and Africa…sharing her poetry…her heart and soul. She is dedicated to art as/for social change…and committed to freedom fighting, truth-telling and peace-(and a little trouble 😉 making through her chosen art form. Ursula believes in taking her art as far as it can go…whether it be through teaching, activism, lecturing, conducting workshops, merging it with music and recording or rocking mics and stages. To date, Ursula has released five solo albums (Supa Sista, Silver or Lead, ma’at mama, Ruckus Soundsysdom, SHE SAID)…as well as collaborated on over 100 songs, in a wide array of musical genres, with producers/artists from around the world (such as King Britt, Bahamadia, The Roots, 4 Hero, Jazzanova, Louie Vega, Incognito). Ursula was awarded both the Leeway Foundation’s Art for Change & Transformation Awards. She is the feature of a documentary short called POET. Last year, she successfully premiered her first one-woman show/live memoir My Father’s Daughter and is touring with it. Currently, Ursula is working on her 6th solo album and planning her first book project.