I am in love. But this love of mine bears no name. She calls me. Tender whispers that like light winds, brush against my soul. Helpless. Where shall I run to that which has no face? Straining my eyes - see only a faint image. Do not torture with your teases. Come closer, speak louder! Searching the eyes of passers by, and hoping that voice within is the same. Tell me your name? Let me touch your soft skin. These lips have been saved for your lips and my Kiss! Wanting nothing more or less than the voice that calls me. You are in love. Can you hear me calling? Quiet your mind for a minute or two... there. Here I am and will always be. This... will never die!
i'm listening to music again. sometimes as i'm in the process of creating, i just cleanse myself from as much sound within my control. but now and unexpectedly, my culture made a surprise return visit in the form of "Bad Card", a song written by Robert Nesta Marley on the Uprising album. i remember the album because when i first heard this tune, i had to get my own, purchased in Kingston, Jamaica (land we love). this is not one of Marley's more popular and commercial of tracks, but it should always have been. "Bad Card" holds so much sentiment and emotion that has just burst back in my life - as if i hit an oil line that had been considered dry a fairly long time. (as i write, i listen to this song on constant repeat.) so how did this song just explode back into my conscious? i was spending time at a friends apartment in Brooklyn. we were just chillin' out to his extensive and eclectic music from his mac. he had no specific playlist, but randomly i heard some Marley. but then this... "Bad Card" came on and it took me to one very memorable moment.
does not music place you back to certain moments of life? even as i listen now, i am a youth again, walking the streets of Kingston, enjoying the heat of the day and the smells of roast breadfruit and pan chicken sold cheap on the summertime streets. i listen more... and i am but a child who finds this one record of Bob Marley, "Natty Dread". my parents? strict and ol' school, yet even they couldn't turn their eyes away from a fellow countryman who changed the world with his voice. my parents didn't encourage the use of "us" speaking pat-wah. for that was not how "we" spoke. but it was funny to hear them move far away from this when me, or either my brother or sister were being punished. and when guests came over it all started out proper, but a few white rum and cokes, or Guinness and Red Stripes later, that all fell by the wayside.
Natty Dread was my first introduction to Bob Marley and his music. i don't remember my age, but i was well under 8 years of age when i found and took it into my room, locked the door and listened over and over again - each song a multiple of times. (like now!) i would listen to that record for hours at a time for nights on end. you know those points in a song that make you... when you hear it, you want to hold on to it forever? sometimes there's a build up to it and then that moment... and then it's gone! so i have to listen to it again. i want to get inside it. be in it and keep that moment or moments for ever. this album had all the lyrics in the record sleeve and, although it wasn't accurate, i learned every song. i wrote out all the lyrics on a pad of yellow legal paper that my father allowed me to use. i wanted to evoke his soul! Bob Marley was entering me as i dissected every aspect of what made him who he has been to all that come in contact with his music. i was studying this man, though i did not know it at the time - playing this record over and over again; holding the cover and looking at all the pictures and trying to understand - to see the soul rebel within those eyes.
i still never really defined what it was that i was doing as a child that still follows me even now. still craving that note, or those notes that lead to that one note or moment i can't ever hold on to. how about the way one inflects his or her voice in a way that is just... right. but i still love the challenge to capture or experience that... thing that it does to me and hold it forever. always fleeting, but still grasping... over and over again.
now i'm "back a yaad": Jamaica. i am in my teens and this time is special! because Jamaica has qualified for the world cup for the 1st time and my father had acquired tickets for us with some friends in a box right next to P.J. Paterson, our prime minister at the time. i don't quite remember if we had already qualified or not, but tensions were not high, and we seemed to have had enough points even with a tie. there were murmurings about three players from England and the premiere league, but because they were of Jamaican descent were able to represent. it was a good thing because they were good and organized, so i don't know what all the fuss was about.
we made it to Jamaica National Stadium! my (half) brother and his wife were there as well as "Uncle" Dennis, a close family friend. i remember being in that stadium before. running for Olympic trials as a 400 meter hurdler. the place was packed with everyone wearing the countries colors with great pride. ah, the people - my people! music is the heartbeat of the people, and the speaker boxes were stacked high and played as often as there was no action on the field. it was a party before, during and after the game. i had to have my father get some pepper shrimp they were selling and downed a Guinness or two. my father is a different person when in Jamaica. he is happy and seems more... free.
the game went along great and i was enjoying the experience. now it is half time and the players have left the field. but i could never predict or expect to believe what just was about to happen. the selector, or dj, played "Bad Card"! sounds simple at first - for the stadium was filled with all sorts of great tunes playing time and again. but when this song played, it transcended the whole stadium to unity in one instant. the song starts with just a few measures of music, and then that voice: "dem a - go tired fi see we face, can't get we out of the race..." the crowd erupted, but in sync and in a rhythm that only Jamaicans possess! the words speak so much more in those two lines that can be written down. as the "massives" move and sung to this song, i too, danced and sung along, honored knowing i was apart of something very unique and special. this little country, this island that can not and will not be ignored by the world remains and thrives and defies all odds and obstacles without any apologies. when a tune does what "Bad Card" did that day, only one thing can happen. it is traditional for the selector to wheel that track back and play it again.
he builds it up to a point and then it halts and then is replayed with great fan fair. hmm... this sounds familiar. maybe he understands that we all long for that one moment that we wish could hold on to and would last for ever. he did this over and over again as there was no protest. i was filled with so much pride, joy and excitement to watch my people - to be apart of a rich culture that "they" just cannot get "we" out of the race. the song speaks of a game where one of the players draws a bad card, but this... was a great moment!
There is power in a single spoken word. Music is also a power that moves the soul. "Poetry In Music" is poetry in motion to music and the marriage between the two.
Singer/Songwriters Brooke Campbell and Jason Harrod were joined by poets L.L Barkat & Maxidus to present this unique approach of words and song to New York City at the Bowery Poetry Club. This special evening was presented by Zoae Arts!
From out of chaos and anticipation, words are spoken. Silence... Poetry alone is given in its rawest and purest form. As the poems continue and the poets alternate turns, music emerges! Musicians from the first performer's band began weaving into the words with improvisation of what the poet presented, interacting with and reacting to words. As the poets interchange, musicians will one by one add to the setting until all is filled with full sounds and words. In this clip we feature the Poets L.L. Barkat and Maxidus as they present their work in the 1st reading.
"Poetry In Music" was held on the night of the 17th of September, 2010.
i'm listening to music again. sometimes as i'm in the process of creating, i just cleanse myself from as much sound within my control. but now and unexpectedly, my culture made a surprise return visit in the form of "Bad Card", a song written by Robert Nesta Marley on the Uprising album. i remember the album because when i first heard this tune, i had to get my own, purchased in Kingston, Jamaica (land we love). this is not one of Marley's more popular and commercial of tracks, but it should always have been. "Bad Card" holds so much sentiment and emotion that has just burst back in my life - as if i hit an oil line that had been considered dry a fairly long time. (as i write, i listen to this song on constant repeat.) so how did this song just explode back into my conscious? i was spending time at a friends apartment in Brooklyn. we were just chillin' out to his extensive and eclectic music from his mac. he had no specific playlist, but randomly i heard some Marley. but then this... "Bad Card" came on and it took me to one very memorable moment.
does not music place you back to certain moments of life? even as i listen now, i am a youth again, walking the streets of Kingston, enjoying the heat of the day and the smells of roast breadfruit and pan chicken sold cheap on the summertime streets. i listen more... and i am but a child who finds this one record of Bob Marley, "Natty Dread". my parents? strict and ol' school, yet even they couldn't turn their eyes away from a fellow countryman who changed the world with his voice. my parents didn't encourage the use of "us" speaking pat-wah. for that was not how "we" spoke. but it was funny to hear them move far away from this when me, or either my brother or sister were being punished. and when guests came over it all started out proper, but a few white rum and cokes, or Guinness and Red Stripes later, that all fell by the wayside.
Natty Dread was my first introduction to Bob Marley and his music. i don't remember my age, but i was well under 8 years of age when i found and took it into my room, locked the door and listened over and over again - each song a multiple of times. (like now!) i would listen to that record for hours at a time for nights on end. you know those points in a song that make you... when you hear it, you want to hold on to it forever? sometimes there's a build up to it and then that moment... and then it's gone! so i have to listen to it again. i want to get inside it. be in it and keep that moment or moments for ever. this album had all the lyrics in the record sleeve and, although it wasn't accurate, i learned every song. i wrote out all the lyrics on a pad of yellow legal paper that my father allowed me to use. i wanted to evoke his soul! Bob Marley was entering me as i dissected every aspect of what made him who he has been to all that come in contact with his music. i was studying this man, though i did not know it at the time - playing this record over and over again; holding the cover and looking at all the pictures and trying to understand - to see the soul rebel within those eyes.
i still never really defined what it was that i was doing as a child that still follows me even now. still craving that note, or those notes that lead to that one note or moment i can't ever hold on to. how about the way one inflects his or her voice in a way that is just... right. but i still love the challenge to capture or experience that... thing that it does to me and hold it forever. always fleeting, but still grasping... over and over again.
now i'm "back a yaad": Jamaica. i am in my teens and this time is special! because Jamaica has qualified for the world cup for the 1st time and my father had acquired tickets for us with some friends in a box right next to P.J. Paterson, our prime minister at the time. i don't quite remember if we had already qualified or not, but tensions were not high, and we seemed to have had enough points even with a tie. there were murmurings about three players from England and the premiere league, but because they were of Jamaican descent were able to represent. it was a good thing because they were good and organized, so i don't know what all the fuss was about.
we made it to Jamaica National Stadium! my (half) brother and his wife were there as well as "Uncle" Dennis, a close family friend. i remember being in that stadium before. running for Olympic trials as a 400 meter hurdler. the place was packed with everyone wearing the countries colors with great pride. ah, the people - my people! music is the heartbeat of the people, and the speaker boxes were stacked high and played as often as there was no action on the field. it was a party before, during and after the game. i had to have my father get some pepper shrimp they were selling and downed a Guinness or two. my father is a different person when in Jamaica. he is happy and seems more... free.
the game went along great and i was enjoying the experience. now it is half time and the players have left the field. but i could never predict or expect to believe what just was about to happen. the selector, or dj, played "Bad Card"! sounds simple at first - for the stadium was filled with all sorts of great tunes playing time and again. but when this song played, it transcended the whole stadium to unity in one instant. the song starts with just a few measures of music, and then that voice: "dem a - go tired fi see we face, can't get we out of the race..." the crowd erupted, but in sync and in a rhythm that only Jamaicans possess! the words speak so much more in those two lines that can be written down. as the "massives" move and sung to this song, i too, danced and sung along, honored knowing i was apart of something very unique and special. this little country, this island that can not and will not be ignored by the world remains and thrives and defies all odds and obstacles without any apologies. when a tune does what "Bad Card" did that day, only one thing can happen. it is traditional for the selector to wheel that track back and play it again.
he builds it up to a point and then it halts and then is replayed with great fan fair. hmm... this sounds familiar. maybe he understands that we all long for that one moment that we wish could hold on to and would last for ever. he did this over and over again as there was no protest. i was filled with so much pride, joy and excitement to watch my people - to be apart of a rich culture that "they" just cannot get "we" out of the race. the song speaks of a game where one of the players draws a bad card, but this... was a great moment!
When I met her... again, at once I gazed in her eyes Needing confirmation in the thing that never lies. Had I created in her... a sort of super woman friend? At last I'll know that what was lived was not merely pretend. My heart beat fast as did my legs the closer I did come A figure of this wild beauty, she had to be the one And at first glance the truth had won - a power that was more Much more than did my mind create - much greater than before. The world spun round as I did her in my arms off the ground And will she ever know she symbols something I have found?
New York can be a lonely place for any determined artist, especially one that has always cherished family. i was living in the upper east side at the time and was just feeling... well, maybe not home sick per se. it's just that most of my closest friends and loved ones are scattered all over the world. i am so driven in my work and often times perplexed. it takes so much of my time that casual socializing is a distant after thought. who has time for that when there's a world to conquer! i'm quite content with my situation for the most part, because i always say (or convince myself) that i would rather be alone than to waste time with superficial acquaintances. don't get me wrong, i love the good friends i have made in the city (as busy as these over-achievers are), but there are those that are so special to me, that i wish they were here more times than not. but at the oddest times i am reminded of this when i get an email, text, facebook or skype message. i even made friends with one that bbm's me from Spain. it is in these odd times that i realize the true strength in what i have no matter how isolated i've been or how far away they may be. true love and closeness is farther reaching than any distance or time!
on several occasions i would take walks a block or two away to this convenient store nearby. there was a deli just a few feet away that i started boycotting because they charged almost $4.00 for a Cadbury's Fruit & Nut chocolate bar and almost $8.oo for one sleeve of Oreo cookies. the extra 1 1/2 blocks walk was defiantly well worth it.
i always passed by the Blockbuster store in order to get to the deli i had chosen over the one nearby. ah! the bright blue lights brought back memories of times when (at least) i think there was less preoccupation with pressure or the stress that is life. there was no such thing as Netflix, so on weekends while in grade school, i would often spend it over friends where the only thing that was stressing was how much fun and adventure we could squeeze in within a night and two days. i had a ritual when entering this magic movie land. i always started from the end of the alphabet and made my way around to the beginning - narrowing my search with a mental note of my favorites and taking up the movies that only had 1 or 2 remaining on the shelf. the other trick i learned was to ask the front desk about the recent returns. sometimes you would get a nice lucky gem that would otherwise be considered out, before they restocked them onto the shelves.
i remembered! i remembered the excitement and anticipation that i had in going, and also maybe even getting an expensive single bag of microwave popcorn just in case we had run out of what we had at home. i would also have to throw in a vanilla coke as an extra treat as well. (that became my favorite choice when cravings rose for junk food.)
well, i passed by this Blockbuster a few times too many! daring to go in, but saying to myself that at this day and age it was not in the least worth it. and why would anyone want to walk into a store when you can have a movie sent to your doorsteps, or just stream it right to your tv... but this night was different and i wanted not to think about my career and the work and the sacrifice that comes with much isolation. this night i wanted to re-live a time it seemed i was constantly smiling - smiling and shining inside and out, and not caring about much of anything else! when i entered, the salesman said hello as they are made to do, but i took it with a conscious sense of such great appreciation as i gave an extra effort in kindness and extending the brief conversation. i went in and picked out my movies - starting as i did before, from the end of the alphabet and making my way around. my insides were all a-stir as i made it my point to indulge in this joyful homage to happy past memories and purchased 3 overpriced rentals, got the Act II Movie Theatre Butter popcorn and a giant size pack of Gummie Bears... and of course i got a vanilla coke! my night was nothing less than a blockbuster!!!
The dreamer still dreams though locked in cage Longing to ride winds invisible waves Will he fly? One day, one day - future hard to gauge Future? Now! And is now all he craves. Sitting in silence, inside's all a roar Uncertain, but searching a path and escape His fate? He waits, can he take it much more? Fear wrestles Hope sending chills up his nape. He wants to escape, but Time he awaits Learning the hard way his struggle's in vain To think one can lock within prisons and gates Free souls flying higher through turmoil and pain. Tis insane how this dreamer still dreams in cage Locked in cage, but riding winds waves He is riding winds waves... there is no cage The future? Now!
My name is Jilted. I am the lover that you will never return your love back to. Yet I keep on giving and giving; gluttonous for punishment. But I must give what I have, because it is who I am and what I've been made to be for you. For my love is pure and right. Will you one day open the eyes of your heart in this life? Oh, I wish you could see, but not just selfishly, but more of all you are and can be. There’s so much out there just waiting to be grasped. If only, if only, if only. So call me my name I am Lover. I am yours. Jilted Lover.
Once young and naive, much more now he knows And oh how he sees the way the world goes. They speak of true love, but tis only a word Money they crave and obey when it's heard. But Virtue once lost calls to him again And he'll die alone, than to lose this dear friend He takes off his mask, revealing the fragile His flesh 'mongst cold stones, yet still very agile Soft skin bearing bruises, so easily bleeds Out red drops of love which also he needs Two arms open wide, yet passers-by smug Silently calling, for someone to hug.
Up, up and away! To heights alone; not in despair. As I cling to the darkness in the heaven's night To see what few eyes in these skies ever dare And dazzled by the twinkling and sparkling starry light Flying free and shooting down, the earth below my feet The envy for those bound to tread and toil the ground Look up as I look on. Embrace when our paths meet. Discover as I uncover many mysteries to be found. I find in You a resting soul to comfort my unrest You see in me - what do you see? A story to be told For one to write the tale of woe and glory in my quest The chapter's final ending, I may never hold.
Held up by the breath of heaven's air Yet ever yearning the touch of earthly care.
I see a new world with two suns. One in the heavens, the other on the earth. And clouds in the sky, on earth and within the seas. What a world is this that I see!
In this world, birds kiss in mid air. Yes! Two hummingbirds - as the two sun's blaze. Blazing their rays, above and below. They embrace each other with a heartfelt kiss... as they flutter together at wing tips length.
At night... it's day, and the stars fill the skies - twinkling! But still retain their nightly brilliance. It's as if they are standing at an arms distance away. You can pluck one, or two, or three right out of the very blue sky. Stars in the trees and even on a bush on the ground. Oh my! Stars are just everywhere! Everywhere you look they will be found.
Now that I have seen this world... this, new world; I would much like to go. Go and visit this... world. The only concern: how to get there! I have seen it and know it's real. I’ve seen a picture, so it must be real. Mustn't it? I will search this world to the ends of this... world. I must find a way, I simply must! Find a way to get there. Get there. I will get there one day.
The Blessed sweetness of the song you sing. Spring!Desperately waiting you doing your thing Sing! Red, violet-white colors sway as the sounds ring. Shades. As sunlit beam rays gently plays With me in this day I soak up your gaze Beauty. Searching for ways to place you in phrase I simply just smile on my knees. And the breeze so pleases as it likes to tease Upon my skin, I awe this grace and eloquent ease. Blow Spring winds and release budding petals high Now fluttering like white-pink butterflies Flying through the blue heavenly skies. I rise... And stand alone to drink you in Such bliss as this feels more like sin I cannot win! So charmed to you now, I am given.
this is the last in the series of poems entitled... love. it was with great pleasure to have opened up to past and present writings on this very topic. it has also opened my heart in the sharing of my gifts and much more - gifts: writings, poetry, thoughts, choreography, performance art, dance and my music (the album is forth-coming).
i appreciate all of the kind words and comments of encouragement. i hope you enjoy these words and the adventurous journey that i am on. thank you!
last of... love?
Ah to kiss again... to one day press my lips upon thine. This time these lips will prove a true gift divine. I'll not cheapen, aye nay squander such treasure invaluable Arguably, many see this thing unimaginable That one would take it's intimacy back from pits of despair I fear... not! Nor want what has not been given me And so its stock increasingly rise, as dew's mist does daily. Agree with me and speak truth; peek through this windowsill And I implore not deny if but one kiss, on but one day will finally reveal.
I speak and dream of love and beauty as if it were already mine The more I desire, the quicker it eludes my grasp Can I bear the crushing of my heart time after time? I laugh; can no longer cry and already have died perhaps Crucify me now! That I may feel a pain greater than the one I bear Are listening? Can you hear through the doors of my soul? No. It's apart of me, wishing it or I would disappear Or gather tiny pieces back together in a whole. Each piece - a puzzle finest as the dust of the earth These seeds have but one want - growing whole in love again But carries with it all I am and all that I am worth I'll seek until I die and prove my love was not in vain.
All in this world and life may not be as it seems Reality may lie within the dreamer and his dreams.
Two souls united. On a journey with one common bond To live what seems a fantasy mere mortals couldn't dream Awaken to what lies ahead from tender voices drawn And lured although the path unknown and eyes have never seen So hand in hand and step by step, together! Nothing less. And more, of something to be said while those who pursue bail No, this one bears the holy seal, all wholly can witness That love's the common bond that binds and love will never fail
May God bless you as you journey and move about this life A double portion is in store for future man and wife!
originally, i had planned to choose but one of my favorites on love for Valentines Day. but after reviewing my archives of writings, i am given to run a series of poems on this topic... love. the deepness of this phenomenon that rarely comes to surface in our culture. may these touch the depths of your soul.
here is the first... enjoy!
Nov. 20, 2007
I push to write of life and love anew And though so far, I bid it come to me Again to taste that nectar is now due Nourishment that calls my soul to thee Turn not away as if you cannot hear My music is your song that bares your name As Time goes on, our Truth so ever clear Until that day, I drink to you again.
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