I wrote a new poem about the intersection of black love and freedom, and how black couples should nurture black love in the midst of racial trauma and violence in America. The strength to love while black is grounded on the liberating message of Blues and Jazz. I dedicated the poem to a “girl whose color is black and life.” The poem is called “Jazz in the Moon.”

“Jazz in the Moon”

When I look in the mirror, who do I see?
I see ME, a man dressed in a black body,
I see YOU, a black woman dressed in your color that is life,
searching for a new melody;
freedom through self-improvisation,
bringing emotional satisfaction.
Nothing will stop us from climbing to the top:
old lyrics will not go,
racism and sexism will find their way.
My body has grown strong,
your form is beauty to me,
because of a new Jazz song.
I will reach the mountain top,
to a place beyond,
to play the new Jazz song in the weary moon,
chasing the rainbow, with the Blues,
climbing the magic latter,
letting the new story unfold.
You will be with me on the highest hill,
escaping racial violence and trauma,
liberating from the nation’s oppression.
I am a prisoner of your love;
You, an ambassador of my voice.
No one can tell us otherwise.

I awoke last night to break anew
with endless freedom and energy,
a new song on my lips break-through.
I will not delete the lyrics,
I can’t stop the dance;
for the journey has been a year-long.
It is time for me to grandly arise.
in their eyes, against their muse.
Will you move your body on the dance floor,
and join me to dance to the new beat?
Let us do our swing.
Our children will not be oppressed.
The black man will not be put to death.
The black woman will not be executed.
We will enjoy liberation with the new song.
Jazz will lead to a new birth.

Old memories of this land will cross the path,
will suffer and die.
our freedom will not be denied;
we will escape the rain,
riding on a new train.
You and I will craft a new map for the world,
on behalf of our people,
for boys and girls,
men and women,
white and black,
brown and yellow too,
and for everyone on the race,
exploring the new map for a new world.
We will be divine, playing Jazz in the moon.

You and I will not die without swinging.
You are no ordinary dancer.
We can climb the highest mountain,
Your body improvises through the Blues,
initiating a swing that is new,
the music moving deep in our soul,
in a dozen ways, we will see the color of our destiny.
in our own terms, we will rest in peace,
forgetting all of our troubles in the land,
the new Blues song sets us free.
They say: “You are two swingers who dance Jazz in the moon to create a love supreme.”