Dying For Love

Written by Letitia L. Hodge

From the book

“Shadows of Love: Inside the H’Art of a Poet”

© Copyright 2005

Too many of my Sistas are winding up dead

because they allow smooth-talking bruthas

to mess with their head!

Why should another Sistah, full of promise,

have to die because a man lied about his sexual

preference to shield his male pride?

On an endless quest for love and affection,

My Sistahs are neglecting themselves when they

don’t insist on using protection.

What many consider just a “casual date” often turns

deadly due to poor judgment and careless mistakes.

They say “you shouldn’t hate the playa, instead

you should hate the game,” To me, a person

who treats love and sex as a sport

is cruel and inhumane.

Why would anyone play a game based on treachery and deceit

where the playground is a dark world that encourages

people to lie and cheat?

Is the winner the one who manages to escape the grip of

death or the one who remains true to the

game until he takes his last breath?

You can’t expect a relationship to thrive without honesty and trust.

We’re no better than animals when we throw caution to the wind

 to feast on self-indulgence and lust.

Whether you’re a  wife, a girlfriend or somebody’s “boo,”

Don’t place your welfare in the hands of a man when

that responsibility belongs to You.

My life is too precious, therefore, I choose to abstain,

rather than offer my body as a pawn

in such a sick and foolish game!

You may want a brutha to romance and surprise

you with gifts fit for a queen. But he may surprise you

 with an all-expense-paid trip to the

 free clinic with an STD.

Some Sistahs need to stop convincing themselves

that AIDS is no big deal. It’s too late when death

knocks at your door to admit

this disease is for real!

My Sistah, the consequences of your life are

determined by the choices you make.

Don’t be captured by a dangerous

game that places both your life

and health at stake!

Back to Poem Menu