The Literate Epoch

were it not for
the 24 hour news cycle
i would have seen her
she was passing by
late in the evening hour
unfortunately
the big ten network
held a gymnastics meet
which had me absolutely
transfixed
and so for one more day
i missed my chance meeting
with God
blame it on twitter alerts
and the cat
who some nights
refuses
to allow me leave
to clutch the bed close
the whole way through
or kefir
that rich and milky
ambrosia
kept calling me
from the fridge
now since one
can not possibly
consume kefir
on an empty stomach
i warmed
those divine collards
and sauteed the tofu
bedded a salad
more successfully
than i do my own head
turned up the lights
so as not to consume
this dish in darkness
and indulged my appetite
food was but the first
it finished
when i had answered 11 emails
changed 7 channels
posted on 5 walls
watched 6 videos
burned 3 dvds
and cleaned the kitchen
as i returned to slumber
with but an hour’s distance
between me and daybreak
i wondered

if i could make
these 8 hours count
what sort of conversation
would God & i share?

written by The AOMuse

i labor upon exhalation
dub me a city life cynic
whose youth lags long behind
punctuated by the fact
that i remarked last night
upon this coming birthdate
i would be twenty nine
for a second time?

i labor upon inhalation
feeling the accumulation
of fluid pressing
deeply upon these
internal tissues
the torment of inflammation
only serving to
aggravate the issue

i labor but only to breathe
the stench of stillness
coughing unproductively
upon the invasion of toxic air
mixing with my missed intention
to rearrange my circumstance
long before i reached this stage
in my destination

i labor from deep
beneath the diaphragm
digging myself a hole
that it might seem impressive
if i should rise at all
but rise i shall
so swift that i should
sever all ties
serving to bind me
to a rocky solid ground

i want to shatter
and shake this foundation
built to keep me
indentured in someone
else’s service
work this magic word
like a eucalyptus inhaler
bursting hot steam
into each nostril
until the lungs
of this city
are cured of sickness
and sneeze
my breathless body free
from its clutches

i labor to breathe no more
i seek a freer
more magnificent air
than i have ever known
before this time.

is this writing the only cure
for my congestion?

written by The AOMuse

artistry issued opening gauntlet
double mindedness splitting self at core
certain to write wherever i’m taunted
poems duel high noon by pistol or sword

for sake of verse, i settle the difference
preserving the ancient gentleman’s art
words stake their twenty paces position
soon one shall be felled by another’s dart

with stroke of pen, is delivered the blow
those stanzas have seen their final hour
the mired writer must finally know
which lines were designed to come to power

predictability will have no fuel
when it’s time for dialogues to duel

written by The AOMuse

am i misunderstood?
you insist that
i should
not solicit the
assistance
of broad qualifiers
for nuance is a nuisance
distance myself from
verbal diplomacy
contort my dialogue
to be constructed
in a form
the common man
can understand

for a moment
can i not request
that you stretch the
narrow precepts
born in your mind
since the beginnings
of your lifetime
there is burden
enough on your lifeline
and learning is
not the bucket
you planned to carry
so late in the day

i should search my soul
for some level of empathy
for the remnants
of your ignorance
and be obliged to
willingly
frame my argument
differently

unfortunately
mother was a realist
and father
informed me
with a fierce logic
which forces me
to wrestle
with all manner
of demon
this hellish world
would invoke
including your desire
to comprehend my work
without researching
my words

for i am certain
words matter.

written by The AOMuse

writing is simply
everything you need to say
abbreviated

written by The AOMuse

you
a harlequin
cum harry houdini
you
my cuddlemonkey
a cunning comparison
of copperfield
you kiss
a clever criss angel trick
of hand & eye
count the time
to see which first
cuts to the quick
you
sage of ancient times of lore
old wise anansi
who stole stories from the sky
you
tricky
you are understated
to be considered a mystery
for you
are positively puzzling
my sudoku mistress
you run a numbers racket
ratcheted squarely
on a mathematical algorithm
which you manufactured
you
tricky
smell my flower
make me your clown prince
find me funny
laugh girlishly
at this joke
you’ve made
of me
you
tricky
play the fool
for everyone does sometimes
but who wants to be
a fiddle
when this rhythm
in your heart
is out of tune
doesn’t that song
sound fun?
you
tricky
slight me once
i stand in wonder
slight me twice
i’m thrown asunder
three times slighted
and i’ll assume
you’ve come to me
with a loaded deck
a two headed quarter
and the magician’s
assistant to spare
for
you
are
tricky
and no matter
how many times
you choose to come back
i can only conclude
that you are planning
the same old
disappearing act.

written by The AOMuse

until falls
the final drop
of liquid good

when its barrel
lay broken

and ink leaves
a dry
indelibly
delivered lesson
for future
story
foretold

when no longer
may i scratch
this empty metal
cartridge
across my desk
in search of any
form of
formal imprint

when pin
pricked
fingers
no longer lead
the ledger
to a level of 
legible english

let my life
be a supple
formation
of a simple
letter S

be it
remembered of me
certain
that when the
full measure
of my darkness
does search
its way towards
the surface
of my person

a pen remains
my only means
of navigating
my way through
a life of service

and though
i write
a ground floor
legacy
i may leave
forgotten
in a blink
there be
later room
for sleep
i am writing
still
by moonlight
on mission
to exhaust
(t)his ink.

written by The AOMuse

“Government is the science of making the most essential thing your priority.” – Rev. James L. Bevels

This will be my 3rd 4th attempt at starting this blog and writing the whole way through.  I’m such the perfectionist that when I pause in any particular effort, it is tougher than ever to regain the momentum to continue.  Such is Faith.  The will to press forward towards the completion of the task when one is not sure of what strength they possess to find the finish line.  Sincerity.  Such a proper word to be associated with Faith.  It is entirely possible for one to be as sincere in their ignorance and as they are in their intelligence.  I am quite certain that we can all attest to having been at one time fascinated by our own limited insight and given to zealotry, but in our quest for sincerity, we are overtaken with the need to stop trying to prove ourselves to any external entity for our lives are the only testament that will stand.  The number of debates that we win, intellectual or philosophical in nature, will never be as important as the lives that our touched, enhanced, and improved by our presence.

2010 has fallen upon me like a ton of bricks.  I was certain that it was just around the corner, but I don’t think i anticipated it would arrive with such a profuse manner of work still remaining to be done or continued.  Thus you find me blogging about Imani 7 days after the fact, but let this lend credence to the long beleaguered point of practicing Kwanzaa throughout the whole of your year.  Imani has marked my entrance into this new year and decade.  I spent the close of 2009 editing 3 books of poetry for a friend in New York who was going to publish in a matter of months.  Shabazz was back in operation January 4th and that means that it was back to the homework grind for Jah’kaya and I.  The Food Hub was set for January 9th.  Mama Sharon needed the final receipt tally for our deposit of the Ujaama Family Night proceeds to the business office.  Parent Council is in session with Mama Elaine today.  How do we go forward?  What drives us to continue in pursuit of the final goal?  Vision.  What is your driving vision that directs your course of action?  Place your sincere conviction and loyalty in that thing and stand your ground when the convergence of priorities and responsibilities would make you quiver and fall by the wayside.  Pick your feet up and continue walking forward.  This day, I call upon every fiber of my being to be devoted to the doing.

FAITH (IMANI) – Knowledge: Sincerity of intentions marked by a firm belief, conviction, loyalty, and trust in something for which there is no absolute proof. Wisdom: To believe with all our heart and soul in our parents, teachers, leaders, people, and the righteousness and victory of our struggle. Understanding: Without Faith, the mind is limited to what can be experienced of the senses. Intelligence is limited to what one has taken in throughout their lifetime. Imagination is only limited to what can be conceived of the mind. Imagination is the mother of vision. Lack of Faith in the vision produces unsurety in victory of the vision. Our progress in the struggle is directly proportional to our Faith in the righteousness and victory of that struggle. Faith is the foundation of Self Determination because no one has to coerce you to do for Self if you have Faith in your own importance.

written by The AOMuse

I love language.  I love the way syllables and sounds interact and collide with one another.  The manner in which words are sent as an audible conveyance of information and emotion that are received by the listener.  I love to see the reactions that certain words and sounds illicit from the listener as they process the new information that is being issue in their direction.  Whether academic, professional, or creative in nature, words matter to me.  Kuumba.  Whatsoever it is that you choose to do in your Life, imprint upon it the stamp of your own unique and magnificent manifestation.  Creativity.  You are in a Genesis at this very moment.  As another period of time is ending, the next stage of your existence is beginning.  How will this new Earth look?  What will the air smell and taste like?  Does the sky have to be blue?  The old wisdom goes that if everyone is thinking the same thing, someone is not thinking at all.

The principle of Kuumba admonishes us to always bring our own perspective to the task of rebuilding the nation, community, and world because systems of change come from the active participation of all parties in the outlining of the solution.  You are more likely to be focused on building and fortifying a structure in which you have truly invested some amount of emotional and mental capital.  Revolution is not a spectator’s sport.  There is a distinct difference between the satisfaction of one’s ego in midst of fruitless arguments and true debate.  Debate of the highest form comes from a desire to see a satisfactory outcome for all parties involved.  Debate creates time tested and thoroughly vetted solutions that will withstand the external forces that are sure to come when the idea that has been implemented begins to seize upon its success.  Only in Kuumba can we understand each other as unique and different genetic imprints within the fabric of the community.  None of us will be able to move forward without first harvesting the information contained within the myriad expressions spread throughout the entire community.  In other words, we need each other. – tekhen djehuti

CREATIVITY (KUUMBA) – Knowledge: The quality of being marked by the ability or power to make, produce, or bring into existence a new course of action through imaginative skill. Wisdom: To always do as much as we can, in any way that we can, in order to leave our community more beautiful and beneficial than we inherited it. Understanding: Whether you see us as Direct Reflections, Sons, or Successors of the Creator, we are endowed by the Supreme Intelligence with the distinct ability to create and express creativity. It is the nature of all things in Life to be creative. Evolution is the creative expression of nature. So must we also evolve with our ever changing times. Our Ancient and Modern forefathers and foremothers bestowed upon us a legacy of greatness and it is our duty to maintain that legacy in a creative manner unique to our generation.

written by The AOMuse

This principle is informed in the first by the dialogue that occurred between myself and Sis. Shanika regarding how we act on the principle of Unity in the course of performing our duty to the individual communities in which we operate.  It is informed in the second by my dialogue with Bro. Jitu on the development of the charter school movement and the devaluation of the Local School Council as a power base from which the community can inform the direction of the school.  If we observe the principles as series of stages that interact with one another and operate towards the ultimate objective of creating a cohesive and forward looking community, we would see in this observation that Nia is the stage in which we envision what future direction our community will take.  We have unified.  We have determined as a unit what we should do.  We have set the stage for the the collectively working amongst ourselves.  We have examined our resources and committed a portion of them to be returned to this community that it may grow and be sustained.

Nia is the place where we part ways if but briefly because we should recognize that we cannot always operate within a vacuum unless we are choosing that we should always remain a fringe community.  Nia calls us to be larger and more expansive.  I envision that what is happening at Shabazz, Freedom Academy, the Harlem Children’s Zone, and elsewhere should inform the future of the education of Black children everywhere.  It is one thing for us to get this right inside of a single institution, but can we franchise it?  Can we create communities such as this one nationally and internationally while keeping the fiber and fabric of those institution singular in thought, heart, and action?  This is the difference between making a change today that resonates to the following day or establishing a legacy of change the reverberates across 7 generations as the indigenous members of the Americas have stated.  Nia creates a continuum for us to declare that what we do shall last. – tekhen djehuti

PURPOSE (NIA) – Knowledge: A collective design set up as an end, intent, or objective to be attained. Wisdom: To make our collective duty and vocation the building and developing of our community in order to restore our people to their traditional greatness. Understanding: For lack of a vision, the people perish. Where there is no vision, there can be no purpose because the people can’t see where they desire to go. Where there is no purpose, the people lack direction. This results in a people who are lost and without the basic, elementary values that fuel the creation of a community. Our purpose directs how each of us functions in our everyday lives because when we truly understand our common destiny, we will do what is beneficial to mold that destiny into the fulfillment of our legacy of greatness.

written by The AOMuse