Des Instants...

...Sous les eclairs dechirant le ciel et les tambours de pluie battant sur les toles, nos silhouettes se tiennent vers la fenetre entrouverte, de cette chambre a moitie illuminee d'un jaune ocre de bougies. Ses deux mains empoignent mes hanches, son torse couvre mon dos, alors que la moiteur de sa bouche inonde mon cou. On respire fort le parfum enivrant de la terre fraichement rajeunie par la pluie, melee au doux parfum du vieux bois de la piece. On renouvelle les promesses de passion et de tendresse comme tous les soirs, fortifiees avec le temps, parce qu'elles sont encore plus vraies aujourdhui qu'elles ne l'etaient hier. Parce qu'elles sont plus mures, et qu'elle s'immiscent les unes dans les autres sans se perdre les autres dans les unes. Il me tient fort et me dit que demain sera encore plus beau et nous avec...

Immigrant Name

She sat in the middle of the class

Standing out like charcoal in snow

With her long traditional Kente outfit and her head wrap

Eyes focused on his gesticulating hands

Lips and jaws clenched.

Her fingers fiddled with her bracelets

And the soft touch of them, reminded her of home

She thought more of it now that it had snowed

The coldness made her nostalgic of the warmth back home

She dived in her memories

Memories she edited in her mind

Making them more beautiful than they had probably been

Like we do when the present does not live up to the past

The instructor asked students' names

And from where she sat,

With her back straightened by nervousness,

She glanced and saw intimidation painted on some faces.

Peers who like her, couldn't call this new place home

She watched them chew their names with insecurity

And watched him repeat them with disdain

Names that came out with a new layer,

A layer of superiority.

She followed the count with her eyes as it went on

And finally it was her turn

“What’s your name?” he asked

With a sudden hesitation

As though she never knew her name,

She gave a blank stare.

A stare that screamed she didn't belong

She thought of what her easiest name was

Of what name will be softest

Of what name he will easily enunciate

The African that she was, wondered

And for a moment that seemed for like ever,

She forgot what she was supposed to remember.

Remember she wears the name of a queen

Like her grandmother did before her,

Like her grandchildren will after her.

With a tone wrapped in pride

Sounding every syllable slowly, she said 

“I am Djou-ko-o Ke-le-ke-e Ko-me-ke-lah”

Making sure he paid attention

And pronounced it right.

She remembered at last!

That her name was a memory

Like the sun that shines every day, reminding her, she was here

She dare not hide it for heavy tongues

Tongues lazed by scorn of differences

Tongues weighed down by fear of the unknown

For she was here before being

And she’ll be here after

                                                                      

                                                                                     ̶ Immigrant Name

VIBING ON: NANDI MNGOMA

I was on Youtube and by whatever magic, I fell on her music. Absolutely awesome. Sweet South African house music. Though I could only find two music videos from her, in her case, that's all I needed lol. Nandi Mngoma is a South African artist, born in Kwazulu natal. She is an actress and a singer, to say the least.
I do hope she has more in store for listeners like myself. Her music seems to be some sort of electro-house pop, with of course, south African touches. I am in loooove. Both songs have a very positive energy. From the beat, to the lyrics, and of course to her contagious smile. Just listen and enjoy.

Bald is NOT the new sexy. It will ALWAYS be sexy. It's a classic, and she wears it, oh so well!

                                                      Nandi Ngoma- Good times

                                          Franky ft Nandi- Tonight

Promenade

Blue skies, water and adults running around with kids, is one of the best remedy I have to uplift my mood. Took a long walk along the beach and the pier the other day. Days where my only worries are which pair of sandals I should wear, haha! Relaxing days. Anyway, here are some pics.

A colorful kite a little boy was playing with.

Met a new friend who let me play with his drums :)

Kids and adults 

The pier

Art is everywhere!

Bisous!

Unwept tears

Unwept Tears

We were keepers, we always had
We stuffed the soul till it was mute, till it was numb
Souls that feared rejection
Souls burdened by untold stories
Stories we tucked away
Souls drenched in unwept tears
Immobilized tears, like water trapped in oil droplets. 


Lumps of frustration choked by denial
A recurrent fogginess in our eyes that vanished as quickly as it was formed
Tears that pride dried, like clothes under the sun
Chronic sadness.
A sadness that even smiled
Smiles we faked so well
Tears we didn't dare to shed, years ago, yesterday.


We were told to be strong
“Strength does not cry” they said
No one to say it was okay to let go
“Strength retaliates” they said
No one to say it’s okay not to keep scores
Strength was courageous, ironically not enough to cry
Not enough to be vulnerable
No one told us, we’ll wake up one day feeling like life lived us.


Today though, we want to cry
Tears should fall
Trickle down our jaws
With a touch that feels maternal
Like rain after a long drought
Restoring the soul’s fertility anew
Today we weep till vulnerability resurfaces
Weeping the unwept
Sweeping the unswept
Till we beam again
Till we feel again

Coco M 
  
Photo: Unknown photographer

Hiking

I'm currently in Arizona, the weather is friendly. Super hot but windy and so why not do things Arizonans do? Last week I went hiking in a little town called Camp Verde. Another one of those spontaneous trips. Spontaneous trips are the best. I highly recommend not planning too much when travelling for fun. Business trips are totally different though. I usually leave it to faith to decide what happens and I do my best to get the most out of it. Get the basics. Know how to get there, current weather and points of interests. That's about it. It's okay if you get lost, that's part of the fun. You should not come back as you went. There's always some information you gain, unless of course you didn't want to. One of my mantras: "Go, wander, experience and learn." Life is not a destination, it's a process. It's all in the process, you might as well enjoy every tiny little bit of it.

 When I mention travel to people around me, first thing that pops out of their mouth, is money. Travelling does not have to be costly. It does not have to be international, it could be from a town to another town or in between villages. No need to feel like you have to break the bank to wanderlust. It's more of passion and keenness to do so, than anything I believe. Am a typical wanderlust. A lust that I could never satisfy. The world is just too big to visit every corner. (I'll try though, hahaha). Now that I think of it, we never fully know a country, we think we do, but most people don't. I don't even know my own country. I plan on revisiting soon, very soon :) 

Arizona for the most part is a desert landscape, but you'll be surprise to see pine trees all over in the northern part. It's much cooler in the north than it is in the south (Phoenix). Camp Verde is caught up between those two extremes. It's warm but windy. Just right!

                                                             View of the Sedona Bridge

                                              I was not ready for those hills lol. Taking a break

                                                                  Calling it a day! 

                    So that was Camp Verde, or at least a little part of it. Till we meet again beautiful. 

I'll love to leave you with all these quotes on travelling, heaven knows I have a lot of those, but I'll leave two and a link to several of them. It might inspire you, who knows?

Have a good day or night. 

"I haven't been everywhere, but it's on my list"- Susan Sontag (I loooove this one, it sounds just like me)

"Not all those who wander, are lost"- J.R.R Tolkien (Wanderlust, yeah?)

Here's the link: Travel Quotes

VIBING ON: ANDY ALLO

One of the main reasons why Internet is awesome is the ability to discover new stuff even when you are not really looking. Andy Allo is one of those discoveries, talk about true serendipity. So who is she? This 24 year old was born in Bamenda, Cameroon, where she learned how to play the piano at an early age. She then joined the Iconic Prince's band- The New Power Generation-where she was a guitarist and a singer.

Prince and Andy Allo performing.

The talented lady already has two albums. One released in 2009, called Unfresh. My favorite song on that album is "Knew you at all".  For an album called Unfresh, it's pretty refreshing. 

Her second album, "Superconductor" dropped November 20, 2012. 

Prince collaborated on 3 songs: "Superconductor", "Long Gone" and "The calm". Artists such as Maceo Parker and Thrombone Shorty also feature. My only question is why didn't anybody tell me about her? I feel like I've been missing out lol. Anyway, better late than never. 

"Superconductor" is a brillant album. A concoction of Neo soul, R&B and Funk. My favorite tracks so far are (in no particular order): 

1- Yellow gold (Can't help but think of Black Gold by Esperenza)

2- If I was a king (Lifts up my mood instantly)

3- People Pleaser (So funkkky and filled with energy- my new workout song)

4- One step closer (Good meditation song/ when sitting in a park and wandering)

5- Long Gone (Late at night. It could be used to lull the atmosphere) 

The Next Big Diva (as voted by BillBoard) currently appears on the cover of the wedding magazine, NOUVEAU. 

I'll be looking out for her future concerts and shows. I cannot wait to see her perform. We can only wish her the best, and hope the soul in her music stays the same or even better, grows.  

Toyin Odutola's Pen

Last week, while on Tumblr, I stumbled across this amazing artist. I don't think I've ever seen anything like this before. There is so much details in her work, from the hues, to the lines, to the intricate hair details. It's not a painting and to me it's not exactly a drawing (It is). I will rather say she INKS. Her materials? Pen ink, marker and paper. Sounds simple right? Well, not really. In her work, the skin is no longer this flat, dull surface. She contours the skin amazingly well, giving you the impression the lines were calculated. She expresses Identity through the human physique.

Toyin Odutola, born in Nigeria, is a graduate of California College of Arts. This 28 year old recently had an exhibition titled, "My Country Has No Name" at the Jack Shainman Gallery in New York, where she currently lives and works. I so wish I was there. Looking forward to her next exhibitions, maybe the west coast will be graced by her work soon. Too much talent for adequate words. Let her work speak for itself. 

             
                    

So, which one is my favorite? None, I love them all. She has more on her Tumblr and on her website.

Tumblr: http://tobia.tumblr.com/ 

website:http://toyinodutola.com/ 

Jack Shainman Gallery images: http://www.jackshainman.com/artist-images79.html

VIBING ON: NTJAM ROSIE

Ntjam Rosie is a Dutch-based singer of Cameroonian descent who sings so eloquently from her soul. Her music intersects various sounds. If I may, it's like listening to Esperenza Spalding and Erykah Badu at the same time. I wanna say her style is Afro-jazzy-soul but no matter how you want to classify it, one certain thing is, it's definitely appealing to the ears and soul. If you love the two artists above, you should check her out.

  She has that calm soothing voice.

                                                       
P.S: I can't help but to love her afro and style! :)

YSWARA. It's tea time!

                                                                   YSWARA

YSWARA, Curator of precious African teas. Made in Africa for the world. Luxury products in Africa? It might sound so antagonistic at first given the image most people have of the continent, but a luxury product is more than a product. It's a dream, an imagination that goes into creating a product and the reflection of an identity through a piece. Because it is an identity and a dream, luxury has a market everywhere, Africa included.

 Swaady Martin-Leke is the Founder and CEO of YSWARA.

 It was Swaady's dream to capture true African luxury, change the world's perception of Africa and produce a luxury brand that is truly African in origin, nature and tradition. A brand that goes beyond the traditional ethnic crafts already available all over the world. A somehow face lift of the continent. The mission statement is so powerful. The creation of those products of very high quality, appealing both the local and global customer,  has a deeper meaning. It's a whole image she is marketing and selling. She is selling a dream, and for that, she deserves praises. It will take more people to reinvent the image of Africa to change, but it's one step at a time. We'll get there. With its 23 teas, all having an African name, either from a kingdom, a queen or a place; Blue Kivu, Makeda, Nandi...just to name a few, she realized her dream. 

It's tea time!

Like they say where am from: "O Bosso!" meaning, Keep Going.

I'll leave you with this quote:  

Tea is instant wisdom- just add water! ~Astrid Alauda

Few links to know more about YSWARA: 

http://www.yswara.com/

http://edition.cnn.com/video/data/2.0/video/business/2013/06/17/marketplace-africa-swaady-martin-leke.cnn.html