Share:

Facebook Twitter Share

About Vickie M.

Baltimore City  
Vickie M. Oliver-Lawson is a retired public school administrator, wife, mother, poet and author. She has self-published five books, two of which are children's books. She is a graduate of Morgan State and Loyola Universities. She was a member of the National Association of Negro Business and Professional Women's Clubs, Inc. and the International Society of Poets. She is listed among Who's Who in the East and Who's Who Among Professional and Business Women.
View Vickie M.'s Resume
Jump to a project:

CONTEMPORARY VIXEN

She entered the room and commanded everyone's attention
There was no deference to race, creed, ethnicity or wealth
She moved with a swiftness that left people breathless
At least those who came into her presence.

Men and women both felt the fever
As some tried to maintain a safe distance
From the effect she gave
While others wanted to see her up close.

She touched each life and continued on her sashaying  journey
Moving with the speed of a cheetah
She pounced upon her unsuspecting prey
And some never even knew what hit them.

She shut things down in her wake
While leaving everything in her path vulnerable
As others tried to shield themselves from her rainstorm
But her silent attack captured them anyway

She left her victims weak and wanting relief from her fierceness
She took over, leaving those in charge virtually helpless
As they debated how to handle her quiet fury
Once she left, the world, as they knew it, would never be the same.

She did not care who was impacted by her intensity
Her name, her name, her name is CORONAVIRUS.

AN ODE TO MAYA

She knows why the caged bird sings,

But still she rises

As this phenomenal woman

Writes about her life of struggle and survival

From a Black woman to a Black man

And from Mom and me and Mom.

A life, from which she rises to be so richly blessed that

That even the stars look lonesome

As they gather together in her name.

Like a bird, she rises on the pulse of the morning,

But she shall not be moved

As she triumphantly endures everything her life has to offer.

So just give her a cool drink of water

And allow her to be singin’ and swingin’ and getting merry like Christmas,

For she has the heart of a woman

Who has a song flung up to Heaven

And prays that her wings are gonna fit her well

As she shouts Hallelujah at the Welcome Table.

For this is Maya’s world, but life does not frighten or deter her

For she won’t take nothing for her journey now.

Image removed.

All reactions:

17Alia, Cassandra and 15 others

POETRY

A piece about poetry and its impact
  • Poetry
    This thing we call poetry Sheds light on the dark places in life Like a lamp in the darkest of night Soothes souls to the cores And eases emotions While expressing the I in me Or the I in individuality This thing we call poetry Is flowers opening in the spring Spreading color and fragrance all around Making life appear to be as perfect as a picture This thing we call poetry Sounds like your favorite song playing on the radio Bringing back those memories of a long ago Or a bird chirping in the crispness of the morning air As it hunts for worms to devour This thing we call poetry Gives way to fears, frustrations, depressions and the like In order to create joy, excitement and a peace that chaos does not understand This thing we call poetry Guides us through uncharted territory Like Lewis and Clark on an expedition And it feels like a good cup of hot chocolate on the coldest winter?s day This thing we call poetry Takes that which is straight And gives it curves That add flavor to a

    • SERENITY BLUES

    A tribute to Billie Holliday
    • Serenity Blues
      The lady sang the blues
      As she spoke of strange fruit
      Plucked by crows and blowing in the wind

      As God blessed this child
      With a melancholy sensation
      But the evils of her life constantly chased her,
      Trying to outrun
      If only to torment her
      And ultimately overtake her.
       
      And so she took flight
      While seeking the serenity of her lover man
      And sailing through white clouds of dust
      Inhaling line after line of life
      While riding that white horse
      As her troubles poured forth
      From the depths of her agony.
       
      And so she crooned out the demons of her life.
      The lady sang the blues
      Loud and long
      As rays of sun shone
      Through dark rain clouds
      Hanging over her head
      Energizing the masses
      With her sultry voice
      As their worlds connected
      Through song Through time
      If only for a short span

      And her mind and soul soared

    • MANCHILD IN A POET'S LAND

    He paints his world upon a tablet
    As colorful metaphors mix
    With the harshness of reality
    Causing the furrowed expression upon his brow.

    He paints his world upon a tablet
    As images of a violent world
    Invade his background, middle ground and foreground
    Leaving him with a bitter taste between the lines of life.

    He paints his world upon a tablet
    As the brushstrokes from his pen to the paper
    Open the door to his heart
    And his private life is left exposed for all to see.

    He paints his world upon a tablet
    And uses the poetic word to demonstrate
    The depth of his need to be understood
    And SHE, SHE, SHE?reaches out to comprehend.
    • Manchild in a Poet's Land
      He paints his world upon a tablet As colorful metaphors mix With the harshness of reality Causing the furrowed expression upon his brow. He paints his world upon a tablet As images of a violent world Invade his background, middle ground and foreground Leaving him with a bitter taste between the lines of life. He paints his world upon a tablet As the brushstrokes from his pen to the paper Open the door to his heart And his private life is left exposed for all to see. He paints his world upon a tablet And uses the poetic word to demonstrate The depth of his need to be understood And SHE, SHE, SHE, reaches out to comprehend.