Wednesday, August 29, 2007

slippin'

i have these brown eyes that stare into me. they are beautiful. and still innocent. they are pained. and relative. i know that pain. the uncertainty of caring too much or not enough. the stalker stroll. we all do it: myspace glance. than glance over again. then picture scroll. then sadness. the friends, the phone calls, the emails, the surprise connections. how could you change somebody's life when you're still trying to save your own...? artist depression has been a suprising bath of ice. i've never understood what it meant to be affected. how it felt to be moved to tears upon mention of your father. the man that knows a prison cell better than he'll ever know you. maybe that is why myspace is so easily addictive? there are people i've met thru myspace comments and pics that make me feel just as displaced as a hug to someone, that told someone they hate you. like high school wasn't enough. and its probably just as dysfunctional as you playing the game - because fighting the tides only makes it easier for the real sharks to feed off you. the jellyfish are just a distraction. so you hold it in. call it playing dirty, fair or just playing. three decades of a game that no one ever wins has always tired your breathing. left you unable to recognize yourself, unless you have myspace. this is where you will have remnants of when you were once cute and popular and seemingly without that pain. that sits on your face like a smile.

Sunday, August 26, 2007

because asses have ego's attached and smell just as bad!

yea. so im over it.

had a couple of weeks to reconfigure my artist world. visit family. fall in love again. and when i get back to bklyn, 6 month old beauty smiling a new world into me... i am greeted with the same slam shyt. if i could be over you right now, i swear -- i'd give a kidney.

so lets set the record straight. better yet. let's keep it gutter. if you see me - holla. i promise, i have nothing to hide. nothing in the shadows. my honesty is flawed by the fact that its too honest. but that's it.

ive got life to get to sucka.

speaking of which: SOUNDBiTES Poetry Festival!! www.soundbitesnyc.com the first performance poetry festival in NYC! what? we give money, we give workshops from taalam acey, taylor mali, rives and sooo many more! you wanted it and we brought it to ya! only a couple of slots left for that $500 Slam and $100 Haiku Slam! Confirmed so far... Let's just say they're coming from Columbus, Ohio; Charlotte, North Carolina;

friends: you know who you are. if i haven't reached out or touched back. blame the hatchet in my heart, i was bleeding for you all this time. we will talk this week. i've nothing better to do than drink coffee and find out about your life.

amari. is. home. in. 6 days. and i am still watching making the band. the marathon was necessary. as was the microwave cookie mix. it was splendid. that is all...

Friday, August 17, 2007

when packing goes bad...

i am headed to cali for the week. i am excited and then not.

just found out my uncle passed, and im preparing for a weekend

with my sister for her bridal shower. she is bridezilla. and still the loss of breath, hopeful wedding vows and growing daughter doesnt stop the car brakes from going out. 600 clams that say do it now or rest in heaven too... if i could be more unfunny, i couldnt.

nationals is finally over and most of the city is calm. there are egos waiting

to be stroked - and if i have to be the stroker, they will continue to wait. cause

i aint playing that game again. its too tiring. i am good at what i do. give me

a chance to show u -- or not.

either way, i will find a way to do something else. with just as much impact and even more accolades.

and who waits for the world to clap for them anywayz?

i dont have the patience. cali girl on a eastern time is a bad mix for impatience. and i wear it well. like WHAT?

my team continues to make me proud. i guess i cant call them my kids anymore, huh? they all grown n ish. but they were grown when they got there - in their own way. poetry slam just has a way of mutilating our young - so i try to be the keeper of all things innocent, beautiful and wholly...

i love u gang. ya make me proud upon uttering your name. and no one wanted it like u did.

i miss amari. she calls me everyday and acts as if my randomness is cute. she comforts me when telling me she misses me more than i could ever miss her. and for an instant, i am happy. that i could impact that little girl's life even from afar. she is brilliant. and omniprescent and better than any poem i could ever write.

Wednesday, August 15, 2007

Soundbites NYC Sept 21 - 23, 2007! NYC

This is what New York City is made of: Dirty Beauty, Sleepless Bodegas & Damn Good Poetry!

Come join Jive Poetic and Mahogany L. Browne for the first annual SOUNDBiTES Poetry Festival, a 3 day event filled with writing workshops, solo artists shows and $500 Poetry Slam! The featured artists confirmed, so far: Taylor Mali, Taalam Acey, Roger Bonair Agard, Rives, Jaha Zainabu, Christa Bell, Jamaal St. John, Big Mike, Buttafly Soul, Michael Cirelli and so much more!

SOUNDBiTES is for everyone! This festival is for the students of life, ready to learn new writing techniques, tips on self-publishing and
those who may just want to witness the hottest performance poets in the country!

This is just the beginning and NYC is the only place that could light up the streets bright enough, for the talents of a Poet!

You can register today by paypal www.soundbitesnyc.com


Brief Itinerary:
Friday, Sept 21, 2007 - Registration
Saturday, Sept 22, 2007 - Workshops, $500 Slam
Sunday, Sept 23, 2007 - Workshops, Community/Poetry Forum, $100 Haiku Deathmatch & SOUNDBiTES Broadway Theatre Production (@ New World Stages 340 WEst 50th & Broadway)

sponsored by: Poets & Writers, PoetCD.com & Urban Word NYC

www.soundbitesnyc.com

Monday, August 06, 2007

the power of silence

when all else fails. listen.
i have tried this and i can not
tell you how incredibly hard it is to do.
not just listen to people talk. but listen
to what they don't say. listen to what they
might want to say. listen to your heart.
this is the hardest.