A Song of Myself or Lines Penned at The Episcopal Church of the Good Shepherd
by Synnika Alek-Chizoba Lofton
Hustle in the void until
the sun comes up. Early
morning extracts yesterday’s
riffs. Stories. The machine
easily inhales flesh and
bone and spirit. Normal
stuff. A form of music
crawls along my forehead.
In the belly of a spacious
church, producing them
bluesy lines, channeling
Nirvana. A child’s laughter
fills a hallway, stretching
tiny wings. A veteran opera
singer rehearses lines,
capturing a Muse before
the call to show and prove
peeks around the corner.
My daughter mouths
the words of Four Little
Girls before them demons
bomb the 16th Street Baptist
Church, 1963. I balance
ambitions on a tightrope,
mapping out a route to social
change or a method to describe
art and liberation and funk.
I sing this ballad, living
to pluck strings, like Jimi
Hendrix playing his 1964
White Fender Stratocaster.
Free like that. I mix down
moments—an engineer
balancing burdens and
deferred dreams. Flight
begins. Revolt winks.
Anarchy dances beneath
flesh, beautifies skin.
the sun comes up. Early
morning extracts yesterday’s
riffs. Stories. The machine
easily inhales flesh and
bone and spirit. Normal
stuff. A form of music
crawls along my forehead.
In the belly of a spacious
church, producing them
bluesy lines, channeling
Nirvana. A child’s laughter
fills a hallway, stretching
tiny wings. A veteran opera
singer rehearses lines,
capturing a Muse before
the call to show and prove
peeks around the corner.
My daughter mouths
the words of Four Little
Girls before them demons
bomb the 16th Street Baptist
Church, 1963. I balance
ambitions on a tightrope,
mapping out a route to social
change or a method to describe
art and liberation and funk.
I sing this ballad, living
to pluck strings, like Jimi
Hendrix playing his 1964
White Fender Stratocaster.
Free like that. I mix down
moments—an engineer
balancing burdens and
deferred dreams. Flight
begins. Revolt winks.
Anarchy dances beneath
flesh, beautifies skin.
Synnika Alek-Chizoba Lofton is an award-winning poet, educator, and publisher. Lofton is the author of more than 35 collections of poetry and more than 177 spoken word albums. His poems have appeared in Clock House Journal, Revenge, UpStreet, Experience Reality Magazine, Quay, Dissident Voice, The Skinny Poetry Journal, Mid-Atlantic Review, and Blue-Collar Review. In 2024, his poem “To Honor Her Bold Walk” was nominated for a Pushcart Prize. He earned both a B.A. in Creative Writing (2004) and an M.F.A. in Creative Writing (2006) from Goddard College. He holds teaching positions at Chesapeake Bay Academy, Norfolk State University, and Elizabeth City State University.