The Mad Poet of the Year blog posts share the poetry of a long-time Mad Poet. This year-long appointment provides readers with a deep dive of the writer’s work and thoughts on poetry. We are thrilled to have Tonita Austin (aka Toni Love) serve as the Mad Poet of the Year for 2023.
Complete
by Tonita Austin aka Toni Love (8/19/16 , Sandridge VA Beach)
I don’t need you to complete me
I, my beloved am complete
I just need for you to seek me out
When you’re ready to be the King to my Queen
Come from the ocean the farms or the hood
From the boardroom the courts or the mechanic’s floor
Doesn’t matter how you come to me
I just need you to come forth
King you are the perfect man for me
I just need you to get the healing you need
So that the I can become we
I, my beloved, am complete
Years of therapy tears and poetry
Wrap up around me
I’m walking stronger and taller now
I can see much further now
Beyond the red flags I no longer seek
I, my beloved, am complete
I just need you to seek me
See me
As your partner
I offer a soft shoulder to lean on, a wipe for your brow
Pillow for your weary seat
Rub your back and fix your lunch
More deep conversations about the injustice we will together defeat
I just need a man though
Not a boy still crawling at his momma’s feet
Stand up and take my hand
I need you to look in my eyes my King and understand
I my beloved I don’t need you to make me complete
I just need you to be present and be my peace
I don’t need you to complete me
I just need for you to seek me when you become whole
I
My beloved
Am
Complete
I chose this poem for the month of February because I feel it shows the love that I have for my culture, Black men and myself.
Tonita Austin also known as “Toni Love” is a gifted poet, singer, activist, and writer born in West Philadelphia. While attending Columbia University, Tonita was a student of Amiri Baraka and performed in Ntozake Shange’s “For Colored Girls” as the Lady in Orange. Her writing is influenced by both experiences. She is a contributor to the anthology The Black Body and featured poet in the 2018 and 2020 Winter/Fall edition of the Philadelphia Arts and Urban Literary magazine. The Restoration EP is her first published recording; Toni’s Room is her first published book. Toni currently resides in Media, PA. For more info, visit www.tonitalove.com and https://tonilove.hearnow.com/.