A Beautiful Night for My Beautiful Brother

Hey, Fam, if you’ve been following me for awhile, you’ve probably read a post about my bestie-brother, Yella Boy.

My bad. His government name is Quincy Lenear Gossfield.

Well…I met him when he just a wee 17-years-old — (I was much wiser grown up at 20-years-old 😁 ) — and we’ve been each others rocks ever since.

And last Sunday night, I was blessed to be in the room for his surprise 50th birthday party thrown by the love of his life, Deondray, and a host of family co-conspirators.

Quincy, with his nosey self, knew D was throwing something for him, but he had no idea so many family and friends were going to fly in from around the country to celebrate him!

Fam, the boy sobbed like a newborn. And his reaction to me popping up was…if I try to describe it, I’m gonna start blubbering. 🥺

Instead, I’ll just let let the poem I wrote-performed for him do the talking.

Hope yaw enjoy it. ❤️

that fall september day

this is a quincy birthday poem

a poem i wrote on the fly

and d, my dear heart, knows why

but in reality

when i thought about it

i’ve been writing this poem for years

33 to be exact

and if I had a better memory

it’s probably exactly to this day

when I met a yella boy

with an infectious smile

in a basement lounge

in the gold coast

we called spices

because that was its name

and if i’m being honest

ever since that fall night in september

i haven’t been the same

like i’m guessing neither have all of you

since you met quincy, too

this is a quincy birthday poem

            seasoned with cinnamon

            sprinkled with turmeric

            and a dash of salt and pepper

                        like his now silver gray hair

but q’s story didn’t begin in an open mic’s basement

it began with his parents right over there

on september 20, 1974 at 2 a.m.

quincy lenear fields sprung into this world

full of wonder and mischief

            curiosity and tenacity

and a heart of light, laughter and love

passed down from his beloved grandmother

            quincy, you know she’s smiling from up above

q was nurtured and nourished by his grounded, crazy family

            southside and beyond

then

this chi rooted dreamer

creator – artist

loner – soul

craved to be untethered

and took a leap of faith

to go

this is a quincy birthday poem

now, the boy just turned 50

so hang in there with me for a little bit

i have no way of confirming this

but i believe when he arrived in l.a.

the ground shifted

I know hollywood is prone to earthquakes

but q was and still is a force

and I won’t get into his resume

because you can look that all up online of course

but i can tell you this

when quincy met the love of his life

he faced a life changing choice

and with the courage of his ancestors

he took deondray’s hand

chose to walk around the world by his side

and damn

it’s been a hell of a ride

long before they were the gossfields

i called them q and d

and for the past 27 years

their tested love has deepened

and blossomed

            nothin’ but death can keep them from it

            you see

this is a quincy birthday poem

and now we’re back where it all began

chicago’s native son returned

producing-directing a love letter to his home

what happens next

is unknown

but, wiser and stronger, he’ll be smiling all the way

quincy rescued himself from darkness

his light is here to stay

and I am so grateful

God blessed me to meet that yella boy

with  an infectious smile

that fall

september

day.