Muse ... a poem

Muse

I want to 

make you sweat

Inspire the notes

that drop and drip

onto a music staff

Treble and tremble

'til you play a song 

motivated by me

I want to 

light the fire

Make you burn

red strokes of heat

across a bare canvas

yellows and oranges and golds

of wet paint that leak creativity

but dry as a masterpiece

I want to 

flip the switch

Create electric imagination

that courses through your veins

shocks your nerves

sparks your senses

and leaves your skin hot

with frenetic energy

I want to be the something

that produces anything

and becomes your everything

I want to be your muse.

~cdw~

03/25/14

Stand... a poem.

Stand*

drowned in the Atlantic seas

chained and whipped on our knees

noose-tight rope, hanging from trees

blood on the ground

blood on the leaves

it seems some things will never change

bodies burned and bodies hanged

like target practice at a gun range

oh no, it's not murder

our black skin is to blame

are we yet tired of reasoning with the insane?

what do we really think we'll gain?

freedom to spend a little change?

they give us money today

tomorrow it's gone again

it's wisest to never argue with a fool

no use in obeying a corrupt rule

or voting for an oppressive tool

we cannot win

with a knife at a duel

we have no choice but to unite

to stand together as one and fight

and God Almighty stands with the right

we must not flee --

there's nowhere to take flight

with shoulders back and our pride tall

stand side by side, an unmovable wall

like brick and mortar, we cannot fall

we'll stand our ground --

they can't kill us all. 

~cdw~

02/16/14

*For Trayvon, Jordan and all of our sons and daughters who've lost their lives in "the land of the free and home of the brave."

Sunrise... a poem

Sunrise

I have finally awakened
to sun rays streaming through my windows
beaming on my face
warming my brown skin
hot cocoa on a cold night in.

the light replaced the darkness
it cut through the shadows
brightened the blue-black sky to a golden peach
sweet as the juice on a summer day.

Hope is that ball of fire
burning from the heavens
commanding the night to flee
and dreams to be realized.

I look to the sun
and reach high to the cumulus clouds
I listen to the quiet morning
where night terrors are no more
And the day is waiting.

~cdw~
11/26/13

Say Goodbye to the Air ... a poem

Say Goodbye to the Air

Only one or two more days until
time stands at the station corner – still.
And waits to board that midnight train
leaving Georgia and traveling to North Carolina again.
Until that day, I will patiently sit
and wait for a phone call that I’ll never get –
the call where you bid farewell to me here,
but I know you won’t, so I’ll say goodbye to the air

and hope it finds you there.

~cdw~
February 2009

unspeakable joy ... a poem

unspeakable joy 

when i can't sit still
and my hands begin to wave
my arms start to flail

my right foot stomps the church floor

that's unspeakable joy

the pounding from the floor

echos the pounding in my chest

I've been standing for an hour

but my legs won't stop shaking

the energy of unspeakable joy

i lift my left hand to the steeple

point my index finger to the heavens

tears blur my vision

leaving streaks on my cheeks 

trails of unspeakable joy

when I do lift my voice

it's more like a wail
a cry out to God

a moaning sacrifice of self

sounds of unspeakable joy

words can't tell it

songs can't sing it

stories can't share it

but you can see it

in the trembling lips

the rosy nose

the stained cheeks
the watery eyes

the furrowed brow

the sweat-shiny hairline

that's unspeakable joy

~cdw~
11/03/13

My Bio!

A fun and quirky tale of Courtney the creative.

Courtney Danielle Ware was born to write. But she didn’t realize this fact until she won her first school-wide poetry contest at age 12. Shortly after, like all good poets, Courtney memorized Langston Hughes’ “A Dream Deferred” but followed her own dreams to Agnes Scott College in Decatur (where it’s greater). Here, she earned her Bachelor’s degree in English Literature and Creative Writing and also matured into womanhood at The World. For Women.

After preventing diseases with the CDC for a stint (sans Outbreak suit), Courtney descended upon SCAD-Savannah and became one of the first graduate Writing graduates. Now that she could claim status as a Professional Writer, she graced the doors of WebMD amid the happenings of midtown Atlanta and learned to write serial commas and perfectly optimize health news headlines. Unfortunately, the recession booted her out, but God is good! and she quickly and unexpectedly jumped into her goal position: copywriter.

Sandwiched neatly in the middle of school and career was the birth of her bundle of joy. She named it Ball-N-Co. and thus unleashed her entrepreneurial spirit, thanks to the gentle coaxing and handcuffed persuasion of her co-founder and partner-in-crime. Together, they built a small business that hosts artsy-fartsy music-loving events and will build your brand, design your logo, write your tagline, create your marketing materials, and more—and all for the low, low price of (email them @ info@ball-n-co.com for a quote).

What’s next on Courtney’s to-do list? Learn to speak French, continue to serve her people, build Ware Library – and make all Ball-N-Co. clients happy.

(And b.ware is her brother, so support his music! bwarefaction.com)

Heart of Stone... a poem

Heart of Stone

Our love

was fossilized coral.

You found it covered

beneath Jamaican sands on a beach

across the sea

a holey, hidden, heart-shaped symbol.

You thought it was a rock

a refuge -- steady, sturdy, stable

but it was pierced and punctured

malformed and manhandled by the waves

a stone of lifeless remains.

Holding our love in the palm
of my warm, living hand

it was cold, hard 

like stone, ridged and lumpy

appearing firm but so fragile.

Formed and molded

but not at all stylized

the coral was unique to only us.

Potentially pure 

but tainted an ashy white--

chalky traces of the past.

The color is gone.

The memories... set in stone.

~cdw~

09/11/13