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Tionne “T-Boz” Watkins was introduced to the world via legendary girl group TLC back in 1991. She became well known for her raspy vocals, signature tom boy style, and unique blonde hair. Additionally, she had a semi public battle with sickle-cell anemia. However, she does her best to keep her illness under wraps. Throughout her career, T-Boz has dabbled in a few solo ventures, tried her hand at acting, and took part in a few reality television shows. Since the unfortunate passing of her group member, Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes though, she mostly keeps a low profile. She currently resides in Atlanta with her daughter Chase. One of the more rare things that T-Boz did in the early part of her career was release a book of poems and semi-autobiographical essays entitled Thoughts. The book was released in 1999 by way of SHEE Entertainment. The poems come from a period of down time T-Boz had while the group was between albums. She felt the need to express herself, ended up writing “Unpretty,” which would later become a huge hit for TLC, and the rest is history. The topics of the poems include everything from love to abortion. The essays stem from T-Boz’s desire to share more of herself personally with the world. The essays cover: T-Boz’s life, her time with TLC, T-Boz’s experience in the music business, and more. Some extras in the book include: pictures, a section for fans, and explanations of select poems. Continue reading for a poem so real that it needed no clarity.
“It’s Just A Problem”
(Poem By T-Boz)
the world is on your shoulders
so how will you cope
by taking another drink
or simply doing some dope
a child starves in Africa
in his eyes the world is never seen
never knowing life for what it is
not even knowing how to dream
people die everyday
going through so much pain
yet have a positive attitude
but over the smallest thing we complain
count your blessings
god gave you a choice
if you choose the wrong things
maybe you listened to the wrong voice
don’t let just a problem
bring your whole life down
someone’s always worse off
think of that and remove that frown
you can overcome anything
just have faith and believe
if you failed that was your choice
and you let the devil succeed
As mentioned earlier, this poem was not selected for further information by T-Boz. Perhaps because it’s pretty simple and self-explanatory. The poem is located on page 25 of Thoughts in a section titled “Feelings.” If interested, readers can learn more about the book and/or purchase it here.
**My Two Cents: TLC is one of my favorite girl groups ever. T-Boz is my favorite member due to her style and strength. I feel her book is decent, though her poems aren’t the strongest ever. I chose this poem because I love the message in it. We as humans complain all the time about any and everything. And in those moments of complaining, I think we take for granted all of the good things that are going on in our lives. Or we overlook the fact that things could be worse. It’s something I always try to remind myself of in bad times. So much love to T-Boz for putting a poetic spin on a valuable life lesson. And rest in peace to Miss Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes. -MinM
