The issues of this world baffles me The facts and the statistics that are transparent to all reaffirm the fact that we dwell in a world filled with ignorance It is possible to channel my thoughts to the expertise of a professor that conducts multiple researches about the stunning overrepresentation of minorities in prison Or the fact that the gap between the rich and the poor will no longer shrink to create a sense of unity Politicians and those that hold supervisory positions refuse to allocate the funds to support the children in need Overburdened taxpayers spend less time with their children as they pick up guns of all sizes to make headline news The terrorists of society scramble in rage to victimize those that fit into the description of a nation I call for a solution Children forced to fight a war just to prove that power can dominate the inhabitants of a state Pumped into their system are all types of drugs just to suppress the anguish of killing a mother with the resemblance of their own Freedom of speech and expression is observed through graffiti of hate and intolerance Teens facing the issues of self esteem with the notion that love multiplies with the subtraction of father figures Face with disgust some of them turn to the solutions of suicide to end the child that murdered a child through abortion I call for a solution Tortured soldiers face a war of orders and loyalty to the state Wars that are blown out of proportion to the ends of the earth and still we struggle to find out who started it in the first place Skins ripped apart with blood and anguish about the deplorable conditions of the trenches Poppies grow to the grave yards of armed forces and they weren’t ready to die in the first place We need a solution Issues of success ring down the minds of normal civilians Media propagates the universal goal of success to the billions Negativity is the result of the pessimistic minds of the millions Words of hope refuses to the linger to the minds of those that are without a solution
Shorthand
Poverty of Originality
I am disappointed . . . Because if we just taught kids to be themselves and original Then juveniles and prison cells would not be visible We all want to fit in, and be appreciated the most But the worst thing that we can hear is somebody saying . . . .. NO! No you are not popular, no you are not cool And no you will not become anything even if you finish school Why are we classified by our image or race, if we were made from the same clay? We were born respect and unite with each other, and not to disobey We are all the same, because at the end of the day We all will end up in the grave My sisters wake up, and take off that make up You don’t need that cover up, you need to cover up Don’t worry about fixing up your hair and cuticles And looking like a toothpick is not really beautiful Be original and be yourself I pity the “cool crowd” because their personalities just need help Treat everybody the same and treat everybody equal And do not project your insecurities on other people Be strong and do not lose hope either way Because if the world pushes you to your knees, you are in the best position to pray
Heathcliff
To wander aimlessly without you, That is truly the greatest hell on earth. How selfish you are. I loathe you! I love you, the rapid confusion in my heart. We are too much the same being; Living one life, sharing one death. And yet, I am expected to continue on, While the warmth of your essence has run cold The chill of your soul forever lingers. I see your angelic face as my own reflection And your footprints impact the fallen snow. My body is spirited by your soul; And mine is left to decay beneath the earth. I love you with more passion in one day Then others could love in a lifetime. I hate you with that same passion more More each day. Suffering alone in this abyss. My punishment for coming too late. Shamefully, I endure this lifelong sorrow; Awaiting the day that we are once again together.
The Lady Bird
When That First Bird Hatched “InT.O.” That Egg That Egg Became A Lonely Bird Knew How To Fly Before A Bird Never Stopped until Destination Reached #MissionCompleted Always Got The Best Bread Crumbs A Bird Can Taste The Freshest Cleanest Water Not Even Man Could Get This Water The Best Bird Bath Ever Was Taken They Called Him #BIRDUP When He Landed She Always Told All The Other Birds & All The Other People “I Shit Accident Money” I Call Em Blessings Was All White With 2 Colors From The Rainbow Beak Gey ThunderStorm & Eyes Red With Headphones On Jammin “I’ll Fly Away” By Kanye West Screaming Wesssstside!!! Lol 🙂 “The Miracle” The Illest Shit Known To Man #BIRDUP True Story
Interest on an Inheritance of Silver
The silver pieces from my father’s leather purse never run out while I pump them into the empty vending machine for longer than I can remember and though each coin I insert makes my flesh grow thinner like rain on paper my skeleton stands eternal condemned to an infinite glowing like that stale light from the droning vending machine at the end of this dark hallway where deactivated bulbs emit alternating currents of dis orieNt AT ION through this hotel in the common cold after a blackout where from haunted balconies flashes of lightening in the night look tangibly present and deeply frightening.
Accordion
Michael St. George taught me this exercise when we taught a series of spoken word workshops together.
Take a piece of paper and write one line at the top of it. Pass it along to the next person. That person reads your line, folds the paper to cover your line, and responds with a line underneath it. The next person does the same . . . and the next . . . and the next . . . until the poem is complete and the entire paper is folded. Open the paper like an accordion and read it aloud. It’s amazing to see what we can do with the inspiration of one line, and how a poem can be created through collaboration and trust!