Standard police are patrolling
confusing yet consoling
to stay in a comfort zone, that we are not controlling
A comfort zone that says “put are selves in a shell on a shelf”
and don’t come out, cause it’s bad for our health
They say it’s bad for the community
that it distorts our unity
This view amuses me because I follow it usually
Was unconsciously abusing me til I repented
then refuted the consensus so that I could be authentic
Although that makes me vulnerable
At least that stance is own-able
These free thought are my property there never loanable
But they’re always are sold for coal
when they don’t show all parts of me
It’s like having blood and a hearts
with no arteries
Cause without arteries, blood sweat and tears go no where
People would come to be inspired but would only find a show here
But many people roam the earth that show but never tell
About who they really are, inside they let their real selves dwell
This path of superficial glass needs to be shatter
So speak up about some stuff that truly matters
And if I flatter in this message then I’ll fail
so I wont
What I’m trying to say is don’t be like anybody else, be yourself
Saturday, April 30, 2011
Friday, April 29, 2011
Path of the Slam Poet
Attention fellow slam poets,
I suggest that if you've chosen to take the path
of stepping up onto-this-stage
that you don't do so to just "perform"
but that you instead approach the mic
with the intent to confess
To confess while understanding
that though this crowd may be your priest
here to hear your confessions
and this stage is may be your confession booth
that this mic...
is a direct connection to God
in which you don't need the priest to applaud
for your voice to be heard
So my fellow sinners
of slam poetry
when you step up on this stage
when you step into this confession booth
just be honest...
Cause many don't get the opportunity to worship in a sanctuary
where one can communicate the Truth within their conscience
and have it be received
by somebody
Yet it seems some who do get the chance
never advance towards it
because they don't truly believe
in the higher power
within the words that they weave
turning the opportunity into a chance
that they forfeit
But you slam poets...
are not one of those some
your not even one of the many
What you are is a part to an equation
that equals a sum of spiritual food for plenty
A soulful sum
filled with numbers of experiences, ideas, and adventures
that eventually will venture onto this stage
as a book
that always worth reading
with every page
a story worth seeing
that only you can show us
So my fellow storytelling sinners
of slam poetry
when you step up onto this stage
when you step into this confession booth
when you step back into the story
of what your currently living or have already lived
don't just give a performance that aims to please
instead please aim to express...
To arm yourself to ready, aim, and fire whatever word bullets you've wanted to release from the gun in your chest
but before you do
be sure to fill each bullet with the gun powder of authenticity
so every adjective, noun, vowel, and verb
that reaches the vicinity of your mouth
will form words that count
Words that bounce and ricochet
off the walls of your heart and mind
to penetrate the hearts and minds of mankind
forcing them to bleed out
bloody words of authenticity as well
So my fellow gun-slinging, storytelling, sinners
of slam poetry
don't just perform for us...
Cause the truth is
that while we may say we really want a performance
want we really need is to be washed over with your artistic integrity
I suggest that if you've chosen to take the path
of stepping up onto-this-stage
that you don't do so to just "perform"
but that you instead approach the mic
with the intent to confess
To confess while understanding
that though this crowd may be your priest
here to hear your confessions
and this stage is may be your confession booth
that this mic...
is a direct connection to God
in which you don't need the priest to applaud
for your voice to be heard
So my fellow sinners
of slam poetry
when you step up on this stage
when you step into this confession booth
just be honest...
Cause many don't get the opportunity to worship in a sanctuary
where one can communicate the Truth within their conscience
and have it be received
by somebody
Yet it seems some who do get the chance
never advance towards it
because they don't truly believe
in the higher power
within the words that they weave
turning the opportunity into a chance
that they forfeit
But you slam poets...
are not one of those some
your not even one of the many
What you are is a part to an equation
that equals a sum of spiritual food for plenty
A soulful sum
filled with numbers of experiences, ideas, and adventures
that eventually will venture onto this stage
as a book
that always worth reading
with every page
a story worth seeing
that only you can show us
So my fellow storytelling sinners
of slam poetry
when you step up onto this stage
when you step into this confession booth
when you step back into the story
of what your currently living or have already lived
don't just give a performance that aims to please
instead please aim to express...
To arm yourself to ready, aim, and fire whatever word bullets you've wanted to release from the gun in your chest
but before you do
be sure to fill each bullet with the gun powder of authenticity
so every adjective, noun, vowel, and verb
that reaches the vicinity of your mouth
will form words that count
Words that bounce and ricochet
off the walls of your heart and mind
to penetrate the hearts and minds of mankind
forcing them to bleed out
bloody words of authenticity as well
So my fellow gun-slinging, storytelling, sinners
of slam poetry
don't just perform for us...
Cause the truth is
that while we may say we really want a performance
want we really need is to be washed over with your artistic integrity
and while we may appear to be asking for a show
what we truly plead for is to be redeemed from the sin
of our worlds dishonesty
So on this path of the slam poet...
recognize that the slam poetry you say here
for ears who can hear
and what your words reveal
to eyes that aren't sealed
offers not just yourself but all of us
an everlasting opportunity to come together as a spiritual community
So confess
express
and be honest
but never ever repent
for this...
is the poetic path you've chosen
The movement continues...
Rhetorical Artz
what we truly plead for is to be redeemed from the sin
of our worlds dishonesty
So on this path of the slam poet...
recognize that the slam poetry you say here
for ears who can hear
and what your words reveal
to eyes that aren't sealed
offers not just yourself but all of us
an everlasting opportunity to come together as a spiritual community
So confess
express
and be honest
but never ever repent
for this...
is the poetic path you've chosen
The movement continues...
Rhetorical Artz
Thursday, April 28, 2011
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Oppositional Attitude
Sometimes I just want to cry
til I die
So I laugh
and laugh lively
Sometimes I just want to sit
and pretend I don’t exist
So I stand and raise my hands
Sometimes the world get me so down
that I want to give up
with a frown
So I smile
bigger than the happiest child
Acting in opposition is something I've been doing for a while
And I think the reason why is because growing up
I began to notice that when people wanted something
they often never got it
But when people wanted nothing
that something seemed to always be want they got
Personally
this didn't happen to me all the time
just enough that I began to see a trend
A trend I saw many of my family and friends follow...
willingly
Which I really couldn't understand
at first
Cause it just seemed so weird to me
to see someone who wanted peace
to be acting mad
or who wanted joy
to be acting sad
or who wanted goodness
to be acting bad
I mean if they really wanted those things
then why the heck would go and do
the reverse?
But then I grew a tad bit
And as I did I had to admit
that I had come to understand it more
What I came to understand is that
insanity is defined as doing the same things
expecting different results
but ultimately
getting the same ones
Which would mean sanity
is doing different things
expecting the same results
but ultimately
getting different ones
So then doing something
in way that’s completely different from what your expecting
and getting completely different results
is better than doing the same thing
over and over again,
but getting
none...
of what you expected
Which told me that basically
somewhere down the timeline
humanity must have joined forces with insanity
Because it is insane
to walk around being cruel, or upset, or depressed
And expect to ever get anything less
than that
Yet...
people do all of these things
thinking that somehow
that will be rewarded
with kindness, or peace, or joyfulness
Look
I’m not saying that I haven’t done any of this
nor that I won’t do it ever again
What I’m sayin is that I have
and continue to hold
an attitude of opposition
against insanities transmission
Cause without an attitude of opposition
I don't see how anyone could live in a world
insisting
On holding one another through a grip of hatred
or kissing fellow human beings with lips of cruelty
Without having some means
of resisting it
So I laugh
even when I feel like I want to cry
And I live
even when I everything in me wants to die
And when the voice of despair
tells me I should just sit
and cease to exist
I stand-up
and raise my hand
in a fist
Cause otherwise how can tell my future children
much less my own inner child
that when everything in life that comes around
seems to be trying to pull you down
That smiling...
is still okay
Because sanity is defined as doing different things
while expecting the same results
but doing them anyway
So I implore you
although I don’t know you
Or necessary relate to what you've been through
Please...
don’t give in the whim of this messed up world
But to that oppositional attitude
of wisdom within you...
be true
The Movement Continues...
- Rhetorical Artz
til I die
So I laugh
and laugh lively
Sometimes I just want to sit
and pretend I don’t exist
So I stand and raise my hands
Sometimes the world get me so down
that I want to give up
with a frown
So I smile
bigger than the happiest child
Acting in opposition is something I've been doing for a while
And I think the reason why is because growing up
I began to notice that when people wanted something
they often never got it
But when people wanted nothing
that something seemed to always be want they got
Personally
this didn't happen to me all the time
just enough that I began to see a trend
A trend I saw many of my family and friends follow...
willingly
Which I really couldn't understand
at first
Cause it just seemed so weird to me
to see someone who wanted peace
to be acting mad
or who wanted joy
to be acting sad
or who wanted goodness
to be acting bad
I mean if they really wanted those things
then why the heck would go and do
the reverse?
But then I grew a tad bit
And as I did I had to admit
that I had come to understand it more
What I came to understand is that
insanity is defined as doing the same things
expecting different results
but ultimately
getting the same ones
Which would mean sanity
is doing different things
expecting the same results
but ultimately
getting different ones
So then doing something
in way that’s completely different from what your expecting
and getting completely different results
is better than doing the same thing
over and over again,
but getting
none...
of what you expected
Which told me that basically
somewhere down the timeline
humanity must have joined forces with insanity
Because it is insane
to walk around being cruel, or upset, or depressed
And expect to ever get anything less
than that
Yet...
people do all of these things
thinking that somehow
that will be rewarded
with kindness, or peace, or joyfulness
Look
I’m not saying that I haven’t done any of this
nor that I won’t do it ever again
What I’m sayin is that I have
and continue to hold
an attitude of opposition
against insanities transmission
Cause without an attitude of opposition
I don't see how anyone could live in a world
insisting
On holding one another through a grip of hatred
or kissing fellow human beings with lips of cruelty
Without having some means
of resisting it
So I laugh
even when I feel like I want to cry
And I live
even when I everything in me wants to die
And when the voice of despair
tells me I should just sit
and cease to exist
I stand-up
and raise my hand
in a fist
Cause otherwise how can tell my future children
much less my own inner child
that when everything in life that comes around
seems to be trying to pull you down
That smiling...
is still okay
Because sanity is defined as doing different things
while expecting the same results
but doing them anyway
So I implore you
although I don’t know you
Or necessary relate to what you've been through
Please...
don’t give in the whim of this messed up world
But to that oppositional attitude
of wisdom within you...
be true
The Movement Continues...
- Rhetorical Artz
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
For a while the world has always tried to have me
But earths gravity seems unable to grab me
But earths gravity seems unable to grab me
They’d have me, on a rotation I couldn’t spin with
So I spin it; on a rotation I can win with
So I spin it; on a rotation I can win with
And it’s within that spin that I begin to make certain
That I’m walking around the world as an authentic person
That I’m walking around the world as an authentic person
Especially when there’s no one around
It’s within that purpose in mind that I’ve been roaming these retreating grounds
It’s within that purpose in mind that I’ve been roaming these retreating grounds
That’s kept me grounded and insanely sound
In the same way you feel at the beach hearin the ocean sounds
In the same way you feel at the beach hearin the ocean sounds
When nothing but nothing's in your deepest of thoughts
Cause all the thought that made you stressed the waves have already caught
Cause all the thought that made you stressed the waves have already caught
So that as they wash right back into shore
That you can re-enter the world as you make it once more
That you can re-enter the world as you make it once more
Where if you need spiritual highs to be replayed or repeated
Just re-run back to the signs of the seasons... retreating
Just re-run back to the signs of the seasons... retreating
The Movement Continues...
- Rhetorical Artz
Monday, April 25, 2011
Walking: Not of this World
A role model of mine said to learn to be in the world but not of it
I think of that as I walk the world today in awe of what’s beneath my feet
and everything well above it
There’s a purpose for today's walk
as I am in search of a summit
Where I can submit whatever in my life amiss
before what is amiss in my life makes me plummet
And it’s in the process of finding my way to this summit
that the world began to honestly admit
the way that some people today exist
The first thing the world showed me was a women
walking out of her apartment dressed to impress her fellow worker bees
As she walks by I say good morning and hi
but she is to busy
and in to much of a hurry
to even look me in the eye and reply
So instead of saying hi
she gives me a slight apathetic wave
and continues on her way into the maze of the rat race.
Now did I miss something or is something out of place?
Maybe for to long my mind has been in outer-space
cause it seems out of this world to me
that she was in such a state that she couldn’t stop and elevate her eyes to mine
and find it within her to smile and say “good morning, good day,”
or in any other way conveys the slightest value of another persons existence
Our interaction was only a few seconds
but those few seconds made stop a second
and listen to a world that beckons to be heard
thus as I continued onward
I made a point listen to the worlds words
Because a role model of mine said to learn to be in the world but not of it
I think of that as I walk the world today
in awe of what’s beneath my feet and everything well above it
There’s a purpose for today's walk as I am in search of a summit
Where I can submit
whatever in my life amiss
before what is amiss in my life
makes me plummet
And it’s in the process of
finding my way to this summit
that the world began to admit
the way that some people today exist
The next thing this world showed me was a man of about 5.3,
who woke up angry that he had to clean a pool
instead of being in school
and you could tell by the look in his face that this wasn’t cool
Yet he was not drowning so much in his pity party drool
that he couldn’t stop smile and open the pool for me.
Oh sorry their is a gap in the story, lets me go back and fill that in:
After fighting Rudmongors through the forest of apartmentia,
crossing the plains of pissoffius,
and flying on top of a dragon up to mt. Poolantis
I arrived at the submit where the Pool Orgor Guarding the Gaint gate,
after explaining my epic journey,
let me in, enabling me to begin to write the worlds words down.
So flash forward to now
Now this guy had been cleaning and fixing this overflowing pool since 5 this morning
while we are all snoring
picking and pulling out it’s dirt and leaves
while relieving it of an overabundance in water
I guess it’s not always true that the early bird catches the worm
because not a single worm of wisdom or revelation squirmed in this worthless water
So why even bother go to work?
The truth hit me in a flash so fast that it hurt
That this guy had to do what he had to do,
to do what it was he wanted to do
Thus for the sake of his dreams and goals
he was glad to do anything
to get everything
and that’s when everything came full circle
that this guy, and that woman, as well as me
are in the same world just trying to be
something
And it wasn’t that that saw me and saw nothing
but that her dreams and goals
were gathered together in where she was going
in that moment
That’s why instead of using the energy to say hey to me,
she was using that energy
to prepare herself for where she was going to be eventually
which may not be where she necessarily wants to be right now in her life...
Or shoot,
maybe she just didn’t notice me saying hi!
But regardless...
It was on this road to the submit I saw darkness,
but upon arrival to that summit I saw light
A darkness came from within the world,
but the light was not of it
for the light that lit the light bulb of this bright idea came from a place well above this
So as I come down from the summit to submit to you these words
I hope you receive them in the world
but not of it
In a way you never before,
have heard...
The Movement Continues...
- Rhetorical Artz
I think of that as I walk the world today in awe of what’s beneath my feet
and everything well above it
There’s a purpose for today's walk
as I am in search of a summit
Where I can submit whatever in my life amiss
before what is amiss in my life makes me plummet
And it’s in the process of finding my way to this summit
that the world began to honestly admit
the way that some people today exist
The first thing the world showed me was a women
walking out of her apartment dressed to impress her fellow worker bees
As she walks by I say good morning and hi
but she is to busy
and in to much of a hurry
to even look me in the eye and reply
So instead of saying hi
she gives me a slight apathetic wave
and continues on her way into the maze of the rat race.
Now did I miss something or is something out of place?
Maybe for to long my mind has been in outer-space
cause it seems out of this world to me
that she was in such a state that she couldn’t stop and elevate her eyes to mine
and find it within her to smile and say “good morning, good day,”
or in any other way conveys the slightest value of another persons existence
Our interaction was only a few seconds
but those few seconds made stop a second
and listen to a world that beckons to be heard
thus as I continued onward
I made a point listen to the worlds words
Because a role model of mine said to learn to be in the world but not of it
I think of that as I walk the world today
in awe of what’s beneath my feet and everything well above it
There’s a purpose for today's walk as I am in search of a summit
Where I can submit
whatever in my life amiss
before what is amiss in my life
makes me plummet
And it’s in the process of
finding my way to this summit
that the world began to admit
the way that some people today exist
The next thing this world showed me was a man of about 5.3,
who woke up angry that he had to clean a pool
instead of being in school
and you could tell by the look in his face that this wasn’t cool
Yet he was not drowning so much in his pity party drool
that he couldn’t stop smile and open the pool for me.
Oh sorry their is a gap in the story, lets me go back and fill that in:
After fighting Rudmongors through the forest of apartmentia,
crossing the plains of pissoffius,
and flying on top of a dragon up to mt. Poolantis
I arrived at the submit where the Pool Orgor Guarding the Gaint gate,
after explaining my epic journey,
let me in, enabling me to begin to write the worlds words down.
So flash forward to now
Now this guy had been cleaning and fixing this overflowing pool since 5 this morning
while we are all snoring
picking and pulling out it’s dirt and leaves
while relieving it of an overabundance in water
I guess it’s not always true that the early bird catches the worm
because not a single worm of wisdom or revelation squirmed in this worthless water
So why even bother go to work?
The truth hit me in a flash so fast that it hurt
That this guy had to do what he had to do,
to do what it was he wanted to do
Thus for the sake of his dreams and goals
he was glad to do anything
to get everything
and that’s when everything came full circle
that this guy, and that woman, as well as me
are in the same world just trying to be
something
And it wasn’t that that saw me and saw nothing
but that her dreams and goals
were gathered together in where she was going
in that moment
That’s why instead of using the energy to say hey to me,
she was using that energy
to prepare herself for where she was going to be eventually
which may not be where she necessarily wants to be right now in her life...
Or shoot,
maybe she just didn’t notice me saying hi!
But regardless...
It was on this road to the submit I saw darkness,
but upon arrival to that summit I saw light
A darkness came from within the world,
but the light was not of it
for the light that lit the light bulb of this bright idea came from a place well above this
So as I come down from the summit to submit to you these words
I hope you receive them in the world
but not of it
In a way you never before,
have heard...
The Movement Continues...
- Rhetorical Artz
Sunday, April 24, 2011
Waving
I stand in the ocean waters of a Florida beach
one arm wide open
the other arm...
waving
waiting for that special wave to wash me in
I'm body surfing
and when your body's surfing
it can't just take any old wave
it has the be the right one
one arm wide open
the other arm...
waving
waiting for that special wave to wash me in
I'm body surfing
and when your body's surfing
it can't just take any old wave
it has the be the right one
that comes in at the right time
In the past
whenever I would go body surfing at the beach
their was a feeling I got
just before the right wave would rise up
In the past
whenever I would go body surfing at the beach
their was a feeling I got
just before the right wave would rise up
from the stomach of the sea
so when I saw it
I didn't have to wait and determine
if the wave was great or not
I just knew
Cause when I would body surf
I could close my eyes and connect with the ocean
as I became one with the water
and in that moment
me and the Ocean were married
and the waves
were our sons and daughters
and the clouds
became my rich step-father
that would shower us with money
whenever we were broke
so that our family wouldn't evaporate
due to a bad economy
When I would body surf
I could open my mind and connect with the ocean
as I became one with the water
when that moment came
me and the Ocean were married
raising tidal waves of sons and daughters
who would wash me away
in the joy of seeing them grow
as they'd go into the lands of their adult lives
submerging the world in smiles, love, and laughter
giving boats of people hopes something to float on
even those who were land locked
in the feeling that all was lost
All this at the cost...
of a couple early gray hairs
So I stand here
one arm wide open
with the other arm
waving
waiting for the day that I can marry the Ocean
and open wide
with all our passion and emotion inside
waves of sons and daughters
given from the heavens above
It hasn't happen yet
but when it does come
and I get that feeling that the family body of water
of my wife, daughters, and sons are approaching
I'll stand there
one arm wide open
and with the other arm
waving...
The Movement Continues...
- Rhetorical Artz
so when I saw it
I didn't have to wait and determine
if the wave was great or not
I just knew
Cause when I would body surf
I could close my eyes and connect with the ocean
as I became one with the water
and in that moment
me and the Ocean were married
and the waves
were our sons and daughters
and the clouds
became my rich step-father
that would shower us with money
whenever we were broke
so that our family wouldn't evaporate
due to a bad economy
When I would body surf
I could open my mind and connect with the ocean
as I became one with the water
when that moment came
me and the Ocean were married
raising tidal waves of sons and daughters
who would wash me away
in the joy of seeing them grow
as they'd go into the lands of their adult lives
submerging the world in smiles, love, and laughter
giving boats of people hopes something to float on
even those who were land locked
in the feeling that all was lost
All this at the cost...
of a couple early gray hairs
So I stand here
one arm wide open
with the other arm
waving
waiting for the day that I can marry the Ocean
and open wide
with all our passion and emotion inside
waves of sons and daughters
given from the heavens above
It hasn't happen yet
but when it does come
and I get that feeling that the family body of water
of my wife, daughters, and sons are approaching
I'll stand there
one arm wide open
and with the other arm
waving...
The Movement Continues...
- Rhetorical Artz
Saturday, April 23, 2011
Inspiration: A small part of a bigger conversation
The other day, I was watching the Charlie Rose Show online. It was an interview between Richard Serra, Eric Kandel, Oliver Sacks, Chuck Close and Ann Temkin .They were talking about creativity and where it comes from. As I was watching the interview, I hear Chuck Close say how he has always said that "inspiration is for amateurs," and that "the rest of us just get up and get to work." He proceeds to say that you can't just sit around and wait for an idea light bulb to light up because it may never happen. The point he was trying to get across was that one has to constantly work in order to excel in their craft.
While Chuck made a good point about the importance of working, I think he's only looking at a part of the picture- in terms of his views on inspiration. For to levy off inspiration as a "bolt of lightning" that randomly strikes you in the head, traps us in thinking about inspiration as being an unreliable source of creativity. Similarly to Chuck Close, I too have something that I have been saying for some time now: That there is a reason why trap and part are spelled with the same letters; that when you only see part of what something is, without a) seeing what it's connected to and b) how and why it's fits into the larger model of what it's connected to, your left unable to ever assess it for what it is; stifling you from seeing the whole picture.
This is what has happened with the word inspiration. In our society inspiration has been singled out as being a mere spark, a moment, used for firing up the creative process. This may be one of the reasons why quotes are so popular in our culture. They represent "moments" of honestly, in which a thought or insight lightning bolts out of a persons' mouth; shedding light on a situation. These "moments" are accredited as being hallmarks in the creation of new products, philosophies, and practices as well as future ideas and innovations. Yet the problem about the use of quotes lies in their tendency to be used either out of the context of their original meaning, or used in a way that fails to convey the full story. So when a reporter takes down a quote and puts it in an article- as I toke down the quote I heard from that Charlie Rose interview- it can lose it's true meaning if the person seeing the quote, and/or the person taking the quote down, does not understand the process that lead to the quote being said.
The same idea applies to inspiration. For I have come to understand inspiration as a "quote" from a larger, ongoing, inner conversation. Within this conversation lies a continuous stream of wisdom, resourcefulness, and brilliance, which rests upon the essence of who we are, and what we are collectively connected to as human beings. However, due to the many indulged upon distractions, chosen obligations, and inner conflicts that play out in our lives, this inner conversation becomes too low in volume to be heard consistently(if it's even heard at all). It's only when we really listen closely, that we catch quotes or glimpses of this constant conversation happening; which we misguidedly label as only being an "inspiration"- sectioned off from the inner conversation that houses it.
My point in mentioning all this is to offer an alternative as to what we perceive to be inspiration; to illuminate another option for creating great works; to point out an accessible power within us ,to create great works, if we only take the time to stop and listen to the ongoing conversation that is happening within us. For I believe, that allowing inspiration to be to both seen and present in the whole inner conversation, is a key to the creativity, spirituality, and the all-around vitally of our existence here on earth. For to truly live out our hearts' visions of life, we must begin living it within first.
The Movement Continues...
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