your lips

Your lips

They tell me the information I need and want to hear

Without even uttering a word

I get so lost in them I don’t even hear what you’re saying.

I guess I should have paid attention though because

Those two things that keep me connected to the real world and fantasy

Were spewing utter venom in the words said to me yet I did not hear them

Because

I was entranced by them

They were so magical so wonderful

I could not take my eyes off them.

Only when they turned and left did I snap out of it and hear the words

The words full of hate being thrown at me

By my two favorite things

The chemicals being spat in my face burned to the point where I could not see

Could not see who I was

What I had become

Who I was hurting

When the hazardous substances washed away I saw your lips

But not in the same way

Instead o being wonderful and magical

They were a reminder

That I need to stop and think

The one thing that almost broke my relationship with you

Is now the thing that keeps it alive

Your lips.

water crisis poem

Sung: (cry me a river..oh..cry me a river..cry me..cry me a river..oh please..cry me a river..oh)

Those who live in and have only known America

Will not understand this poem

Because they can not grasp the pain of those in foreign lands

Who would gladly be willing to cry a river

If it meant clean water for them and their family

Because you see

Those who live in such places as Haiti, Caracas, and almost all of Africa

Have no source of clean water.

We give them wells when we have no choice but over here in lovely america

We know not what it feels like to be hungry, or truly thirsty

We simply know that we have all the water we need from one little tap

We have built in dispensers not 3 mile walks to usually dirty wells.

And as we drink this pure water with no effort whatsoever

We are guzzling down a slowly depleting resource.

And the slowly draining basins all over the world

Are the inspirations of this poem

So drop your shields and sacrifice

As easily as a stoner drops acid or mixes perfectly clean water with his bong.

And for those who say well we will run out of water eventually

Then how can we afford to let the druggies use water for their own “special projects”

Everyday we dump excess water down the drain

And with that we dump a persons chance of living right out the window

It is time for us to act

Not step back as we have in the past

We can save those countless lives by donating even just our excess water

And the only thing we will have to worry about then is

Are we too late

To make a difference?

Sung: (cry me a river..oh..just find me a river..just cry..cry me a river..oh please..just find me a river..oh)

universal remote

Universal: of or pertaining to the universe, all nature, or all existing things: universal cause.

I wish I had a universal remote

Then I could rewind to my childhood

To innocence and freedom

To sunny days with sidewalk chalk on the asphalt in the summer

To not caring about anything but right here and now

Where I was always surrounded by friends and peer pressure was a myth in movies

Not a fact in life

Back then I was oblivious

Oblivious to the never ending pain and turmoil

Completely pure in heart and in mind.

Not understanding that others suffer while I play carelessly

Even though I grew up in Africa where the homeless begged for cash or food

Instead of seeing the tortured souls on the street

I saw the deep blue sky.

I saw the friends of a different color.

No troubling thoughts entered my mind at that age.

I would then pause and stay there forever

Be completely oblivious to death and sadness.

But by age 8 we already start to use the word hate more than love

We start thinking only of the bad and not the good.

Racist comments arise like the heat of boiling water just because it is taught to do so

Because it has no other choice

We were brainwashed at ten to focus only on the opposite gender

Each other boy or friend

Was simply another contender

In the race for love, affection, and to grow up quickly

If I could I would definitely tell myself to slow down and enjoy it.

But enough with the past.

On to the future

Where I could skip the hard work of my school

And forget about the world

Only focusing on my endless job

Day in day out

The same thing

But then I hear something

A fight down the hall

2 co-workers arguing

And I flash back to the present wishing I could go back

Because when you grow up

Nothing changes

The only difference is you have stopped caring instead of not knowing

But at this moment I wish I could be anywhere but here.

However something must be wrong

Because I hit the buttons on this remote yet nothing happens

I start slamming the scene selection

But nothing is working

It must be out of batteries

As I scream to the heavens

PLEASE get me out of here

Anywhere but here.

Then I realize

I am a coward

Instead of embracing the present I am wishing for anything but

And only a true strong soul cares all the time and enjoys their entire life

I hope I meet this person someday.

I would ask him one simple question

Do you know where I can buy a new universal remote?

tuck me in again

Tuck me in again

Tell me everything is going to be alright

And find a way to sprinkle everything you say with love and a pinch of sugar

Now you have met my mother

See she was my captain America

And her shield gave me strength

But eventually I stopped needing it

And I understand I always pull on her heartstrings when I talk about the future

But when she talks I can taste my past

I taste sugar

And I remember those times when Sunday afternoons were for us

Because after-school programs began at noon and PBS broadcasts were the coolest ever.

Arthur always Entranced my imagination

And sesame street taught me that all monsters don't have to be bad

See you always made life magic

And with a flick of your wand you got our attention

And you deserved it

you left your career for us

Put your writing on hold

You created writers block just for us

And you baked sincerity into very aspect of yourself

Taught me to be a man while the boy got to travel in my imagination

See I always got on that plane with my dad

But eventually I started waking up from daydreamed memories

And as we know reality hits hard

So you lent me your shield

And I will never forget when you stood up for us against an overgrown bully

See Kempo karate taught me that adults could be asses too

But you taught me how to make a donkey stable and cage them in my mind

About now is when life whispered lies

It told me that summer breezes were just my sister laughing at me without a sound

And I went to war against an undeserving enemy

On neutral territory

Yet you were always Switzerland

So I started to attack for a reaction

I called it pre-emptive

I think you called it 13

And with each reprimand you still made me realize that both sides are just close minded

After awhile I lost contact with you

I exchange conversations but don't actually speak or listen

I just hide behind the shield I never returned

So tuck me in again

And tell me everything is gonna be alright

So that maybe I can taste that sugary childhood sweetness another time

silence

Silence

For many it is only a word

For me it is a lifestyle

Experiencing it is impossibly hard

I have been told all my life that I am too loud

Ever since I was a little boy my voice was larger that any others I knew

I used to think it was just loud

I now understand that it was simply afraid of being oppressed

Of being silenced

By the time I realized what was happening it was already too late.

I have been told that it is not fair to have a voice like mine

That because others can not do what I can I should not be allowed too either

At first I agreed to this it made sense

I then realized what was happening

I was being silenced

I try my best to stay quiet

It is harder than anyone can know.

It’s actually kind of funny though because,

My personality is so loud, yet my favorite thing is the quiet.

It is the only place I can be with my thoughts.

Unfortunately, my thoughts have been silenced.

Then I found poetry. The one place was silence was not tolerable.

I thought I had found my true calling and that I could finally be free,

But I never learn from the past. I should have seen the signs.

The tear streaked face, the cold shoulder, but most importantly,

The silence.

I was told that poetry was not free and that I must work for it and earn it.

I was told poetry is a privilege not a right.

Do you understand were the next words out of her mouth.

I can’t quite explain what happened next but from what I was told I snapped.

All the years of silence and oppression had taken its tole on my voice,

And my voice was pissed.

It decided right then to show the world that silence is not a command that can be forced,

It is a choice that I am done choosing.

So I stand here today, telling you this so that it never has to happen to you,

But I must be too late,

Because all I hear…

Is silence.

popularity equation( really early poem )

It isn’t about the letters on your grade sheet

Why can’t it be about uniquity?

I am talking about the difficulty of understanding popularity

We are taught to be ourselves and different

But those rewarded in life represent nothing but conformity

This is the eternal unbroken code of popularity

For some the instinct to be the same is innate

For others it is taught and learned

But I really hate working to be something I’m not

Let’s analyze the word popularity

P is for the perseverance required to remain popular

O is for obsolete which is what happens to this skill when you’re out of school

P is for plundering your soul forever

Now let me explain further on plundering

This is a variable in the equation not the answer

All it does it hurt not help

Kill not create

And when it is all over you are left with ex-friends

And no soul

So if you are considering attempting this equation

Understand that the outcome will always be negative

Back on track we go on to

U is for unending devotion to the lifestyle of popularity

L is for losing life skills to gain fake friends but don’t forget to carry the O for this part

A is for arrogance which is critical to be popular because if you are Arrogant you can’t comprehend the emotions of others as you crush them in an attempt to be noticed

R is for ripping and tearing away all chances at a few real friends for a bunch of fake friends.

I is for the instincts required to get noticed and stay popular

T is for the total destruction of a normal life in order to maintain a fake one

And Y is the question people always ask when they realize the cost of being popular

And I know these words firing from my mouth constantly

Just like the chemicals from a factory must confuse you

But pay attention to the equation

Because if you do you might realize why the code hasn’t been broken

Why the equation hasn’t been solved

It is because breaking this code and solving this equation with 10 variables

Gains you nothing but pain

And costs you everything that makes you you.

So forget popularity like me

And focus only on uniquity.

poetic life

I am poetry

Poetry is my life

And ink runs through these veins

Creating constant chaos as consonants collide with

Vowels vowing to create a poem

Promising my powerful voice

Prose to keep people entranced

Enticing wordplay titillates my taste buds

Like the first bite of fresh fruit

And though living through poetry is hard

The ink always delivers

future transplant

"oh say can you see"

We live in a war torn world

Born into a society where American flags are given a shrine everyday

See I have to stand and put my hand over my heart every morning

So that I can pledge allegiance

To a nation that robbed cribs for soldiers

You injected a hallucinogen traced back to the colors of red white and blue in his mind

He popped pills of obedience

And locked himself into a future that was decided for him when he started to learn the words "God Bless America"

Should be more important than I love you

I guess that is why he didn't hear the warnings

Loved ones told him of dangers

But he couldn't hear them because he had the star spangled banner playing in his mind

See we got lucky

Because his body rejected the transplant

And America learned you can't inject futures

Since he was

Found in the hospital

He woke from a country induced coma

And took the American flag off his eyes

So that when they asked if he still wanted to join

He decided that maybe you can choose your own future

And replied no to uncle sam's love letter

So that his heart could stay beating.

And he walks away in a jacket with his future in his hands

Instead of wearing a uniform and holding a gun while singing "oh say can you see"

new orleans love

I don’t belong here

I don’t belong in a suburb in Chapel Hill

I belong in my birthplace

I want to taste sweet crawfish and let shrimp swim through my mind not moving vans

I want to re-visit old locations and remember aquariums

I want to go back to my Marti grad roots

But my New Orleans is broken

And memories leak like the faucets from my eyes as I look at the destruction patterns

It still leaves its mark to this day

And 6 years later Katrina leaves acid marks on my heart

That bitch broke my home and I wasn’t even there

See I want to go back so I can remember

And I stand on the edge of sanity

Because in 2005 I saw my birthplace die

And decided to change the channel

Because I could not comprehend so I decided to pretend

That I was devastated

But in reality I was just living in a house in Massachusetts

And friends felt bad for me but I replied carelessly

Why

Why would you expect me to care for a land that I lost connection to

Before I had time to ask its name

It whispered sweet warning to leave

So we did

We left

And we moved to a new state

I will always hate the decision I made

And the skeletons peer out of my closet occasionally

Because they are crowded in there

See I didn’t let anyone know

But when I began to remember my homeland

I took the burden of the lives lost

And thousands live in my closet

I open the door occasionally.

I look at souls that made no mistakes just had bad timing

And I begin to shed a tear for my homeland

Where I wish I could say I was there to help

poetry poem thing

I intertwine some lines

See that mic takes over

And when I am near it

The sound barrier is a challenge

Not a bond

And you will see me shake

I convulse as poetry takes me

Takes over and I fight for power

Which only supports my voice

So I told my poetry to steer clear

Because my voice fears the mic

It fears the power

Because when I feel that electrical vibration in my vocal cord

Restraints break and I set free

Teaming up with poetry

I go too high

Like that druggie down the road

Those needle marks hide under alliteration always amorous of metaphors and similes my voice is like a kid at the playground on a sunny day

And that mic is like the bike I will never let go of

So when my time is up

It is like withdrawal

So I take another shot

And let poetry take over

Dropping stanzas like acid

I am a poetry addict

And giving me a mic

Is like currency in the poem black market

I watch as my dealers take me to school

And I would rather get high on onomatopoeia

Than on the wrong type of Novakane

That keyboard is my arm and poetry injects it's life

So I have more ink in these veins than blood

And I want to let you know

That you will never see me

At a rehab for a life style

Because

Poetry is me and we live on the mic

So don't you dare try to take it back

love addiction

I have an addiction

You see every night I inject myself with infatuation

So I can wake up and see you

I can hold you

I can remember that you always wore strawberry lip gloss

And had cute dimples every time you smiled

See I brought needle to skin

But I didn’t feel pain

Only the warmth of you next to me

I reminisced of plans past

And I see a bright future with kids

And we both planned to be spacemen

But summer day dreams freeze in winter

And things got messed up

When middle school came around

Awesome friendships

Became awkward glances.

And movie trips became more about behind the scenes

Then what was on the big screen

And flashy new advertisements

Showed flawed promises of future friends

But when we grew apart I relied on a needle

See I learned that LSD or PCP may be great for druggies

But all I needed was you

So when I moved to NC

You just moved on

And all I have left to remember you by is a needle

But when I tell a needle I love you

It doesn’t reciprocate

So I stop taking my daily dose of reality

Because I wanted to take you back in time with me

To play dates past

Because I don’t want to just walk down memory lane

I want to build my house on it

And live in the future

We created in the past.

drugged

Her own body fighting against her,

Trying to stay alive

Not for her benefit

But for ours

Unfortunately this is a battle

That cannot be won by strength

Or perseverance

The only thing that can help fight this

Is medication.

But she is already drugged.

Drugged on the idea that this disease

Can be cured.

However this drug can not be prescribed

Refilled

And does not have a daily dosage

This drug is the epitome if society

The thing that keeps it together

Or breaks it apart

This drug is belief.

Belief that anything can be changed

A disease

The world

Suffering

World hunger

And so much more

But because this drug is never prescribed

It is so rare

The world needs a shot of it now

Because they seen to have gone crazy

Thinking that by simply by taking a pill

You will be fine.

But this is so much stronger than a pill

Or a syrup!

Instead if getting high on the drugs in the kitchen,

Get high on the drugs of imagination and belief

The ones that appear

To disappear when they are needed the most.

But this is only an illusion

They are never gone

We just overlook them as we reach to the back for something stronger.

The medicine of delusion.

The brains way of forgetting things for awhile.

Of not focusing on what is important

But instead on what is interesting.

So instead of hearing about AIDS and war

You hear about how Angelina and Brad

Tore apart because it is easier.

Easier to focus on the superficial

Than the stuff that isn't artificial

Like the pain of children dying.

As she hears the screams of the tortured souls who did not pay attention when they should have.

She is slipping under the influence of belief.

Belief that this is a dream,

That she can survive,

And that the world is a happy place. But she looks over and realizes that she has been on the wrong meds all along.

Instead of believing she was dreaming

Because she was taking delusions

And as she rips the IV from her arm and walks away to fight another day she only starts to realize that many think that they believe

but only few are not under the influence of delusion. So she stands living breathing and fighting for awareness not for herself, but for us.

crisis contest

The pain of others crying

In places long forgotten

Because a new crisis became the focus.

These cries hurt me but apparently no one else.

We as a country focus on the worst crisis possible

And help,

But only until another one comes along,

And then we act like the old crisis

Does not exist anymore.

“This is so fucked up”

I scream

But they can’t hear me,

They are too busy

Focusing on the war in iraq,

But wait news flash,

Now it’s Haiti,

Then Chile

How degrading it must be

To lose out on the wrold crisis contest.

But these contestants did not volunteer

Mother earth put them there.

However, she did not intend to leave them in the dust,

Broken,

Because it just happened.

A complete coincidence

That 33 chilean miners got stuck underground

Right after the earthquake in Haiti.

However, we must take blame

For abandoning Haiti

Just because chile screamed louder.

I guess this is the universe

Giving a personal “fuck you”

To the losing contestants

But they can’t hear

Because of the shrieking of those still in pain

Who are realizing there are no winners in this game

Only survivors.

the gay soldier

I want to talk to you

I want to tell you about a soldier boy

Want to tell you

About Andrew McFort

A media fixation

Of a media sensation

Because we don't we don't want to here about charlie sheen

Don't want to here

His liquor cabinet tell stories of parental abuse that would give you nightmares for life

I want to tell you the real life of a gay soldier

Who fought so a family man

Wouldn't have to

Who hid his sexuality

To protect his identity

He had to lie to himself.

Only Wanted the American dream

Which is nothing but a dream

Uncle Sam was his worst enemy

That beard like the devil

In disguise

But it wasn't lucifer who had to

Had to put his hand on a trigger and end a life

He just had to sign the paperwork.

Putting pen in ink

Signing in cursive

As the soldier curses at his enemy

Uncle Sam with that significant sneer

As if to say

I don't right wrongs

I give wrongs to right

While the devil writes the death letter

Like an acceptance in to the University

Of the under world.

What’s wrong with this nation

Not only was Andrew a killer

But a killer hiding in code

Because being gay wasn't okay

And uncle knew all

So if you ever wonder why Sam was silent

On the UNC campus

It is because

He was named after his uncle

And felt the cold judgment

With ruthless calculating eyes

As if to say

test me...

Andrew was tested though

Lying like a lyricist

Putting in song that he wasn't gay

But that was the wrongdoing

We need to stop today.

You see with a show of hands

How many know who Andrew is?

See I discovered him on Facebook

He became the new revolution

He and four others died in Afghanistan

So it's time to take a stand

And July 4th isn't an day for

Celebration

Because until independence means to be independent and secure

Without being judged

I live in a controlled nation.

I pledge allegiance

To a bright future

I hope my kids can enjoy someday

And when I get to Andrew

When my time comes

I only hope that i see him walking with MLK

And feel free because he is what saved us and awoke us from the media sleeper-hold

Let's Keep Andrew in mind

Because next time we shut off CNN

I want you to pretend that we live in a nation where all are accepted

And you can proudly stand with hand over heart and say

I pledge allegiance to this united states

Where I know I'm free

the black soldier

We live in a mad house society

Where a sense of national pride

Is more important then the death of a black man

I want to talk to that man

The man who was forgotten or abandoned by all but family

Because of his ethnicity

Want to here his point of view why a one time war hero can become a bad president

But a black soldier can die and be lost without a thought

Thank you Mr. Andrew jackson

Tattoo your name on my skin so I can be reminded

Of what a hero looks like in america

Until given power we adored him

Until he abused it we loved him

But even then we remember him

But forget the black soldier

So etch the letters USA in my brain

So that I can forget like all the others

I here stories of people dying peacefully

But I never heard about your death

Becuase you were the black soldier.

The forgotten underdog who fought to keep us safe by putting yourself

In harms way

And you didn’t even get a proper burial burial ground

We are brainwashed anyway

So your life to us isn’t as a good as a white man’s

But it’s not your fault that mary didn’t have a black sheep with wool as dark as night

Society molded our minds

To fit the shape

Of a secretly demeaning children's book

It wasn't your fault that you had 2/3

2/3 of red white and blue

Your pin prick

Brought the red stick that we all have

Your blue veins

That run through your skin

Like roots to a tree that we all have a connection to

Buy you don't have the pasty skin

That seems to bury within

Our minds and makes us feel superior

Which must be why we all forgot

About you

Because you didn't have the obvious tattoo

Of the white skin

Like a pristine porcelain painting

On your face

We saw only the dark skin of your ancestors

Laced with lines of hard work

Protecting us

Protecting a country

That treated you not as an equal

But as an issue

That needed to be shipped away

So that trouble could not be caused

We treated you as if mother earth

Threw black ink on you

To make us look better

So this is to you

To your brethren

Your kin

And to all forgotten black soldiers

This is so that you may be treated equally

I apologize for my races disgrace

Because we should have learned

That equal does not relate to violence

It creates equivalence

So we say sorry and go out today

In search of the missing black soldiers

That we forgot about in a horrible way