Storytelling is my song.
writing is my church.
Photo credit: Hollis King
Selected Literary Highlight
Baby Suggs and a Purple Butterfly
Baby Suggs and a Purple Butterfly is a poetry anthology and guided journal inspired by two novels, Beloved by Toni Morrison and The Color Purple by Alice Walker.
May I Laugh Too?
For Baby Suggs
There was before
And now there is only this right here
I was somebody’s somebody once
Always before I know it
A feelin’ so strong
Come on me
Like they gonna call me
By my name
I’m goin’ whip around
And remember, see them
Rememberin’ them
Rememberin’ me
Rememberin’ a place
Rememberin’ a time
Rememberin’ a smell
Then I’m gonna remember
All that came in the before
A full stomach
A soft mat on the floor
Before
Being stolen, ripped apart
Left for dead
So on Sunday
When Baby Suggs says
For us women to weep
I was already weepin’
Low like
Deeper than all that wailin’
That mornin’
I wished somehow she says
For us women to laugh
Loud
Laugh until my belly
Shook like blueberry jam
Cause I got me this feelin’ see
I got me this feelin’
Laughin’ might sound like my name
And
If I heard my name
Maybe I would
Remember the before
Who I belonged to
Once when I belonged to
A mama or
Somebody
Somebody special
—
Kim D. Brandon
About Kim
Kim D. Brandon is a poet, novelist, artist, activist, and storyteller. A proud mother and lifelong New Yorker, she writes and performs inspirational and cultural stories that uplift and inspire.
Her work has appeared in anthologies, stage productions, online journals, and public readings. She is a 2021 Brooklyn Poets’ Poet of the Week, a VONA alum, and her poem Love On The Front Line was nominated for Best of the Net in 2021.
Kim is the founder of Wild Honey Writers’ Collective (formerly Brooklyn Society of Writers) and is deeply involved in writing communities that center women of color and justice-driven storytelling.
Upcoming Events
From live poetry readings to workshop facilitation, Kim’s voice can be found in creative and cultural spaces across New York and beyond.
Kim's Poem of the Month:
Kintsugi
When you were gone
That first night alone swallowed joy
Spit out the vision of a sweet tomorrow
Like the emperor’s tea pot shattered
The heart fell to the floor broken
A low song of sorrow humming at dawn
A black swan floats on the edge of despair
To keep vigil for twenty-seven sunsets for your love to return
The ripped paper sonnets gave way to the lingering salty kisses of loss
It was only when the tea steeped to perfection was poured
An extended hand steady with compassion
Offers a hot sip of a new season
The tea pot of you repaired by minutes gone by
The bright gold inlays boldly holding together
A stronger heart where imperfections
That masquerade as loneliness
Give way to the enduring yet forgetful strength
Of readying the heart to love another again
When life caresses, shakes, and trembles us so
Get in Touch
For bookings, collaborations, or just to say hello — drop a note below.