Ink Black Psalms
Sung to Harvesting .
The coded color of my DNA
existing within
my melanin rich skin
masks an unquenchable thirst
that hungers - frenetic, demanding
drowning me in a constant
resonant jangle and clang
forever written in parchment.
The Ancestral voice of Black
is not merely sound
it is mystic presence, a living archive,
a chant that echoes through generations
ever poised - edged to freedom
the pulse of inner Black
speaking through shadow and soul
a molecule
needing satiety and surfeit.
Black Is My Favorite Color
you may see me as neutral
but Black remembers - never forgets
It crawls deep under my skin
i press it down deep below my soul
supressing the constancy
Black is not absence
it is presence, that strum
chords beneath epidermis,
a hymn older than light...
never shouting...
but resonating
a low, ancestral thrum
that curls like smoke
through marrow and bone,
whispering truths
the daylight dares not name.
It is the ink of lineage - beginnings,
the womb of stars,
the cloak of the unseen
that wraps around
what cannot be spoken
but must be felt.
It anchors - proud
I run................I fly
Black does not chase.
It waits.............
Patient as a Well,
deep as forgetting,
familiar as breath
when the world turns inward.
It knows my name
before I speak it.
It sings in the cracks
of my laughter,
in the pause between
heartbeat and mute suppress.
And when I try to peel it off -
this second skin,
this shadowed Psalm -
it only presses closer,
never binding,
but reminding...
I am not alone
in the dark.
I am the DARK...
and the voice
that echoes within it.
π€ The Voice That Never Lets Go
is not a voice you hear -
it is a voice you remember.
Before language, before breath,
it was already purring
in the bones
remembering
your grandmotherβs laughter,
grandfather's poetry of the hunt
in the silence between drumbeats
where gods once danced.
Blackness asks not permission...
But enters like dusk,
soft-footed and sovereign,
curling around your ribs
until your heartbeat syncs
with its ancient rhythm.
It may speak in riddles
the crack of firewood,
the murmur of cotton fields,
the moan of oceans
that swallowed pain
but could not erase them.
It is the voice of the unforgotten -
those who walked barefoot into storms
and knitted the heavens
into the cries of their shadows.
You carry it.
Not a burden,
but a birthright.
A shadowed figure rising from the well
The ripples of sound - vibrations
stories, names, griefs, and songs.
The listener - eyes closed, skin aglow,
receiving the voice not as noise
but as inheritance.
I am not alone
in the dark.
I am the embodiment - the soul
of the COLOR
DARKLY...BRIGHTLY
BLACK!
(NALLEN). 9/11/2025
To Mama Africa
and
Remembering another 9/11/2001.
A luta continua. Everywhere.
About the Creator
Novel Allen
You can only become truly accomplished at something you love. (Maya Angelou). Genuine accomplishment is not about financial gain, but about dedicating oneself to activities that bring joy and fulfillment.
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Comments (32)
Beautiful...
Well-wrought and accolades well-deserved, Novel!
This winds and weaves. It's such a beautiful read, more like a journey, both inward and out. Truly marvelous, Novel! My congratulations!
Beautiful writing, and Congratulations!
All the Ancestors are smiling! Exquisite writing. full to the brim of songs...a testament in Psalms. Well done on your win! πΆππΆ
Congratulations Novel! Well-deserved win. Beautiful piece
This is a viscerally rich piece that dives deep into an ineffable sort of existential wonder, love in your strength of identity and a beauty of your heritage. Congrats you really blew me away!
π€© Back for the best of reasons, my friend! Super congrats on this magnificent work or art that speaks the god-honest truth! So glad this one was recognized!
Beautiful relay of the literal and metaphorical power of lineage.
Congratulations on your win!!!
Wooooo I was so glad to see your name pop up on the top of the winners list! π Congrats, Novel! A powerful poem that holds such importance.
WOW. I am strongly reminded of Maya Angelou - your own voice, vibrant and strong, but like separate wicks in the same candle, making an even brighter flame.
This is an incredibly powerful and moving piece. Your exploration of Blackness as an "ancestral voice," a "living archive," and a "hymn older than light" is simply stunning. It captures the profound depth of lineage, memory, and presence. This poem is not just read; it resonates deeply, reminding us that heritage is a constant, anchoring force. Congratulations on winning, you truly deserved it!
Wow! What a joy to see this, such a deserving work of art. Congrats on this achievement.
Big Congrats on the win!! So well deserved! This is just phenomenally done.
this read so epically, congrats on a well deserved win.
Powerful piece. I can't know it, but I exalt it. Wonderful images. "Patient as a well" carries such immense weight.
Wow. This is absolute excellence in writing, stand out in every good way. Iβm awed. Iβm also kicking myself for missing this until now. 25 days ago, i think I was already subscribed so Iβm not sure how I missed it. I donβt read every single thing from every writer I follow (canβt keep up) but I admit a lot of my read choices come down to titles grabbing me or not, and your title absolutely piqued my interest, so I think Iβd have read it right away if I had noticed it sooner. Wish I had read it sooner but Iβm glad I read it now! Masterful command of language and emotion here, I think this may be one of my favorite reads on vocal so far. I love the sense of identity, strength, history, and pride that youβve woven through every line. Very glad you won with this, because you deserve the recognition! Great art, this is what poetry can actually be :)
Nothing short of outstanding, Novel; so many memorable lines from start to finish. Congratulations on your winβ£π₯³πΉπ
Stunning, Novel! Vocal got it right. So beyond happy to see this, and your voice, at the top ππ
π Again... We See You & We Are Proud!!! π
A stunning and sinewy ballad. There are so many lines that ring out beautifully. I am going to be hearing "jangle and clang" in my head for a while - stunning onomatopoeia. But it's so much more than a beautifully written poem. Its power is evident throughout. This is so deserving of the win. Great work!
This is beautiful. The wording forces you to feel...an ancestral forboding, perhaps? The line breaks leave you no choice but to continue to read. It's feral, yet controlled. I'm honestly still reeling from it.
Wooohooooo congratulations on your win! ππππππ
Congrats on your well-deserved win my friend! My day is now made! Way 2 go No to the No No! Brava! π«ΆπΎππͺπΎππΎππΎππΎβπΎ