A Milwaukee Summer

Keoni Bailey
Sep 5, 2018 · 2 min read

Lets

watch the storm on the porch

make dinner and laugh

in the way we greet each other,

eat hash browns with coffee ice cream

and pick out all the M&Ms from the trail mix


Lets sit on the kitchen floor

complement each other

and talk about our moms -

the poetry they live


Lets jump in the lake

and into the rest of our lives

with the intention of “just cuz”

this is how we love…


Lets stay up late

get up early

earn our smile lines under string lights

with BS and banana grams

eat guac, sea-salt rice crispies, smoked salmon,

and cereal with wine at midnight.


Lets leave the door unlocked

b/c this is how we welcome our tribe:

the sound of the screen door opening, closing

*Knock, Knock* I say, “knock, knock”


Lets live like we love each other

and it’ll happen

cry, laugh and pray today

because history is messy

and tomorrow only really matters right freaking now.


Lets hug generously — I mean a lot -

empty our pockets of fear

talk about our dreams

with the language of friendship

“lets go to caffs” is the soundtrack of the summer

but karaoke Night has never seen a better rendition of Natasha’s Unwritten.

Lets speak to each other through spotify playlists

and live that Maggie Rogers documentary

Shit, Beyonce gave us Lemonade

and permission to create a different reality

for This is America

I’m not a Mother Fucking Woman, but I’ll scream it with you on the 4th of July, Kesha

God bless the women in my life,

and the POC that built Bronzeville.

Wakanda forever, is a spiritual we sing

and expression of pain we know


Lets stop pretending we know what we are doing

or that we ever will


lets meditate, run, and try spin classes

perform drunk card tricks

know the magic is in the space we create

and everything we say to each other when we lock eyes,

remain silent,

and blush at the ridiculousness of it all


Let’s write this story recklessly,

fast and slow

intentionally and experientially

unscripted with a plan to love

each other in the best ways we know how.

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