# IBé ## Posts - [The Affordable Health Care Reform We’re Not Talking About: Universal Primary Care](https://ibewrites.com/universal-primary-care/): Few years ago, my then wife had a coworker who went in to see a doctor about what she thought was a sinus issue. Come to find out, she had a golf-ball-sized tumor in her head. This stuck with me. One minute you think you have the flu, the next minute you are going for chemo in a desperate attempt to stay alive. A few short months later she died of cancer. Stories like this are what make me seem like a hypochondriac. I wake up with a headache that won’t go away? Maybe it’s cancer. A rash on my […] - [Between Sentences, the Birds!](https://ibewrites.com/between-sentences-the-birds/): I wish for many talents. To know how to sing, how to play the guitar, the piano. The saxophone! When it comes to knowledge—something I think would make me a better writer and poet—I want to know everything there is to know about birds and flowers. I wish I could look at it or hear a chirp and instantly identify the bird. Like some people do. The only bird I think I can recognize on sight is a vulture. And a pigeon. I can also tell a pigeon’s cry because my brother kept a few in our compound in Koindu. […] - [Writers for Democratic Action](https://ibewrites.com/writers-for-democratic-action/): Date: November 23, 2025Time: 3PMVenue: Moon Palace Books – 3032 Minnehaha Ave, Minneapolis, MN 55406Description: Kathryn Kysar and Diane Jarvenpa host a group of  Twin Cities poets and artists to speak to the current state of democracy, our nation, and our world. Artists such as  Alice Paige, Ash Wynter, Chaun Webster, Davi Gray, David Mura, Jennifer Bowen Hicks, Kristin Collier, Kyle (Guante) Tran Myhre, Lynetter Reini-Grandell, Sagirah Shahid, Sana Wazwaz, Shannon Gibney, Tarik Dobbs, Venus DeMars. Kathryn Kysar David Mura Shannon Gibney Sagirah Shahid Lynette Reini-Grandell Kyle (Guante) Tran Mayre Chaun Webster - [10PM](https://ibewrites.com/10pm/): I recently came across this video in my Youtube Channel. For some reason, it was set to private. This was a long time ago. I believe at Color Theory, a reading held at Pangea World Theater near Lyndale and Lake in Uptown Minneapolis. Text Two hours – To pack 20 years For 2 days – That could last 20 years What are you going to take? Ra! Ratata ta. Ratata, ratata, ratata ta At a distance you hear: Brothers turned bounty hunters They’re chanting death hymns Ra! They’re waving your number Ratata ta There are hands Ra! In need of […] - [Rude Awakening](https://ibewrites.com/rude-awakening/): Once upon a time A noble pursuit was etched in founding papers A lighthouse to all lost in a sea of despair We judged ourselves by the measure of Martin’s dream Maya’s poetry that Amanda later recalled Gettysburg ensured such a nation would endure Oh how the mighty has fallen A score…since an improbable dream made possible A blessing on a New York convention floor The rain is gone, the harvest ain’t been a feast Since the red hats showed up The swamp has metastasized All the alligators turned to crocs Mastodon and all the monsters Hollywood conjures Message from […] - [The Sonoglyph Collective with Tish Jones and Heid E Erdrich](https://ibewrites.com/the-sonoglyph-collective-with-tish-jones-and-heid-e-erdrich/): Date: September 26, 2025 Time: 7PM Venue: Zion Lutheran Church – 1697 Lafond AveSt Paul, MN 55104 Description: My group, The Sonolyph Collective, is having the last gig of our summer-long residency at Zion Community Center. Come check us out as we improvise some poetry and music right in front of you. With special guests, Tish Jones and Heid E Erdrich. Free of charge and fun for everyone. Post Event Tish Jones came through and blessed us with a new piece she wrote on the spot…inspired by a conversation she and I had. And a freestyle for Assata, the Black […] - [No Time for Roses](https://ibewrites.com/no-time-for-roses/): Whae dae pekin den can, Tell dem sae I cumo Ah go fen biscuit. Circles and Round-Trips Lost in time, looking for a piece of mine. Every morning, the same sun — daily stand-up, we say the same things. All hail 5pm on Friday! Foxtrot with bills and dreams, knee-deep in things I don’t need. But there’s a pace to keep at the stoplight with strangers and other men. Stuck on second hand, no time for the roses. Crackpot in a microwave; Mile-run, we Bolt’in’ For Kishane’s silver medal — Such a cautionary tale. Catch me and I’d tell you: […] - [America Is Not What It Meant to Me](https://ibewrites.com/america-is-not-what-it-meant-to-mean-to-me/): Some years back, at the border on my way from Sierra Leone to Guinea, I was directed to a small room for immigration checks. A few people were lined up at the door and inside. I eventually weaved my way into the room and stood behind the single fan blowing on the customs officer behind a paper-filled desk. He asked for my passport. After leafing through it, he handed it back and said, “Dix mille.” I know a little French, but I acted like I didn’t understand. One of the other travelers, with a Liberian accent, translated for me in […] - [Some Kind of Blue](https://ibewrites.com/some-kind-of-blue/): Wednesday was one of those weekdays that make you feel like Friday, but you dare not wish for it because there is so much left to do before the week ends. I wish my mama had told me there would be days like these. But she didn’t. And now, there are too many days like these. For the past month, my team of four had been racing to design a software application for a client. No matter how unrealistic the schedule was, we got the development done. Then come this week of deployment. I literally spent all week running around […] - [Mixed Bag](https://ibewrites.com/mixed-bag/): I used to think getting old was like a tsunami It heaps on you when you reach 50 But the closer I get the more I guess It’s like a slow forming storm That starts with a drop, the clouds chasing the sun You look around and realize Jack was not a giant after all Mondays begin on Sundays Some days you don’t remember What you had for breakfast the day before You don’t know how it feels To be 20 until you are 40 Looking back you can’t believe How lucky you were To gamble your life to please […] - [Residency at Anderson Center](https://ibewrites.com/residency-at-anderson-center/):       Some years back, I had the privilege of time, made possible by a Midwestern Voices grant, with support from Joyce Foundation. In this video I reflect on my month-long residency at the Anderson Center, in Red Wing Minnesota. - [Greetings](https://ibewrites.com/greetings/): May peace be on to you. May we meet in the middle of any divide Find common ground in our humanity. May I share my stories and Cradle yours in my ribcage; they are full Of broken sentences and nouns that don’t Always agree with how they are described. In the infinite impossibility of everything, Here we are. If I remind you of anything let it be love, Let it be an eagle—wild and graceful, The face you see when you think of God. Just because we stand in the dark, Invisible to each other, don’t mean we are not […] ## Pages - [Live!](https://ibewrites.com/live/): Upcoming Events – nothing right now. Meaning I am available for YOUR event. Selected Past Events – Check them out as some may have post event treats. - [Other Writings](https://ibewrites.com/other-writings/) - [Poetry](https://ibewrites.com/poetry/) - [Sound On](https://ibewrites.com/sound-on/) - [Offsite](https://ibewrites.com/offsite/): Offsite Minneapolis Star Tribune A Moment of Silence This is an essay I wrote around the time of George Floyd killing, reflecting on family and America. Click here TC Daily Planet Poet to Poet I did this fun interview in verse with poet Bryan Thoa Worra. Click here More than a Single Story Panelist I was one of the panelists on this wonderful series of conversations curated by Carolyn Holbrook. Click here Mshale African Magazine Book Review: Bridge Across Atlantic A review of my poetry collection. Click here - [Events – Grid Style](https://ibewrites.com/events-grid-style/): [event-list show=’6′ style=’grid’ pagination=’yes’] - [Events – List Style](https://ibewrites.com/events-list-style/) - [Shop](https://ibewrites.com/shop/) - [My Bookings](https://ibewrites.com/events-2/my-bookings/): CONTENTS - [Tags](https://ibewrites.com/events-2/tags/): CONTENTS - [Categories](https://ibewrites.com/events-2/categories/): CONTENTS - [Locations](https://ibewrites.com/events-2/locations/): CONTENTS - [About](https://ibewrites.com/about/): Facebook Twitter Envelope Instagram About I like many things. I think a lot and write a little more than most. Does that make me a writer? Why not? What if I don’t have an MFA? Last writing-related class I took was an African American literature class my sophomore year in college. Because I needed an elective. What I did take were a lot of business and information technology courses. I got a degree in that. I have been working in that field ever since.   My interests and therefore topics I write about span family, human existence and movement. You could […] - [Home](https://ibewrites.com/): Catch me Live Writers of Democratic Action – Nov 23.’25 [comment]: # (Generated by Hostinger Tools Plugin)