
Doctrine of the Trinity By: Roshanda Johnson
I believe in love at first sight
Until I was blinded by him
on my road to Damascus
he unmasked this Vision of devotion in me so sweet
That I stumbled out of my darkness
and woke at his feet
of his divinity
His smile made me believe
In the Omnipotence of God
His baritone
Turned the slithering serpent in my stomach
Into inebriated butterflies
In the twinkle of his eyes
I saw earth born out of night
And the same earth crumbled beneath the golden light of his flame
His hands changed my name
from Simon to Peter to John
The beloved disciple of the Father’s Son
His tongue
Scribbled scriptures across my back
And erased the tracks
of my skepticism
Ready for Baptism
Into his amazing grace
I stood on the banks like Eunuch
Eager to be fed his truth
A skeleton seeking the keys that unlocked proof
His heaven was real
His water filled
The empty places in my emotions
that had turned into wine
The only thing standing between
Our Love and Invincibility
Was that matter of time
Unwilling to relinquish the fiction
I termed my funny feelings as benign
But upon approaching the god’s altar
I realized I was one in a line
There beneath the veil of his bliss
Was the devil
His kiss
Broke like bread
And fed
five thousand
His garment
Had been touched by so many
That the hem became tattered and soiled
he was offering up his oil
keeping a dozen lamps ablaze
His parables turned to maze
His truth
Turned to lies
He was a miracle
That left me crucified
the peace of me died
Like too-many-times-touched fringes
I began to unravel
Traveled
Backwards in time searching for the place I last saw my true
self
Trying to pinpoint the pivotal moment where I left
The road less traveled
And entered the alley where Judas dwelled
Oh what a tangled web we weave
when we mistake Heaven for Hell
Days of Beauty
Days of Beauty
He was working out
Sweat glistening
Shiny black
Like a brand new pair of Mary Janes
I knew that he was too complex for ordinary game
No need to ask him what he went by
‘Cause Beauty had to be his name
That was day one
And ever since I been beyond
Just strung out
I’m roped up chained and bound
And being tossed about
In a sea of beauty that’s no doubt
Deeper than any I’ve ever known
Day two
I saw him sitting by the telephones
In the lower level of the UC
I walked by hoping he would notice me
And guess what
He didn’t
He was too wrapped up in this book about the hidden
Secrets of the pyramids
So guess what I did
Stood there and fell in love all over again
With his wavy hair and angelic eyes
And when something inside those pages
Made him smile
My heart jumped
Like it was entering a game of Double Dutch
Beauty of his caliber was far too much
For me to analyze
So day two I just stood there paralyzed
Day three
He was making photocopies in the library
And when I saw him from behind
I knew it wasn’t the time
To let him slip away
So I accidentally bumped into him
And before I got the chance to say
Excuse me
He turned to me and said
It’s Lady, isn’t it?
We have the same class
Art 3302
I smiled How is it that you know me
And I don’t know you
He said Every time I get the nerve to speak
I turn around and you’re about to leave
Besides I figured a girl like you wouldn’t notice a guy like me
Formal introduction
I’m Roshanda
And you
You’re my destiny
Day Four
I knew that it was my soul’s duty
To trek around the campus
In search of Beauty
So we could make that exchange of phone numbers
E-mail and house addresses
If we were to ever stand before God
To ask His blessings on our love
Maybe I jumped the gun a little bit
But I knew he was the one
Without a guess, maybe or if
And no sooner than I walked through Farish Hall
There he was standing like a tall
Glass of thick Nestlé’s Quik
Waiting on me to sip
And lick my lips
And say That’s goooooood
We made that exchange of numbers
And from that first conversation
I knew he was the 7th wonder of my world
And now on day eight
Our first date
As we sit and look at the stars
From the highest plateau on the planet Mars
I’m hanging on every word he’s saying
All the while praying
God will let him be mine
And that day eight will turn into nine
And nine will turn into months
And months into centuries
And that our love will outgrow time so much
That we will turn into a galaxy
Or better yet
A universe