la tabla rasa

Blank slates
We use this expression as an analogy for 'starting over' such as moving to a new town
Or a new job
Or a new lover
What we are missing is that the slate is always blank
We are not born to knowledge,
we are born of it
It is as we gain and assimilate new information and experiences that we become more human
Our humanity and our individuality stem from our ability to emotionally interpret and process our experiences
As well as our ability to intellectually critique, if you will, the world around us
many animals can 'learn', a matter of repetitious programming, but we are different in that we can UNDERSTAND the conceptualized ideas of existence
We are aware that we are gaining knowledge which was heretofore not present in our psyche/brain/soul/mind or what have you

We are sentient beings and as thus we have the capability of recognizing our own growth
So why are we not growing at a perceptible rate

before and after
9/9/10
There are those moments, brian speaks of them often, when you know that the rest of your life is  'before this moment/after this moment'
Nyc was one of those moments for me
Leaving richmond was one of those moments

Those moments permeate the fabric of who you are
There is a hollywood-esque quality to them, 
an incendiary nature that lights you from the inside 
and
 tells you that, where you are, 
right there, right then, 
is profound beyond the simple grace of existence,
 it is a designation, a reminder,
 a 'drop pin here' kind of moment 
that you will forever refer
 back to 
because of the people, 
the place, 
and the experiences that you had, 
there, in that 
moment, when all 
the world made sense
 on chelsea piers,
and we were young and knew
 only that we had our whole lives
 in
 front of us...

Social Poetry Defined

Social Poetry Defined

so·cial

   [soh-shuhl] Show IPA
adjective
1. pertaining to, devoted to, or characterized by friendly companionship or relations: a social club.
2. seeking or enjoying the companionship of others; friendly;sociable; gregarious.
3. of, pertaining to, connected with, or suited to polite or fashionable society: a social event.
4. living or disposed to live in companionship with others or in a community, rather than in isolation: People are social beings.
5. of or pertaining to human society, especially as a body divided into classes according to status: social rank.

po·et·ry

   [poh-i-tree] Show IPA
noun
1. the art of rhythmical composition, written or spoken, for exciting pleasure by   beautiful, imaginative, or elevated thoughts.
2. literary work in metrical form; verse.
3. prose with poetic  qualities.
4. poetic  qualities however manifested: the poetry of simple acts and things.
5. poetic  spirit or feeling: The pianist played the prelude with poetry.



there are a lot of ways that one could choose to put these two together. i do it like this - actions and intentions given to a dispersing of consciousness expansion, uplifting happiness and growth through the sharing of gratitude, joy and love.
that is social poetry; and much as with literary poetry, it is a difficult, if fun, entity to attempt to narrow down.
so i will do the opposite. i will expand it, because that is at the center of it all, is it not? growth. uplifting. expansion.
from running a hostel, to writing poetry, to running a nonprofit, to working with the music community, we find that we and those around us can usher our social poetry into existence in a myriad of different mediums and methods.
“...but i know we can’t all stay here forever, so i wanna write my words on the face of today...”
shannon hoon said those words in a well known blind melon song, Change, and those words ring true just as much now as ever they might have.
are we writing our words on the face of today?!?
first we step up with occupy, then we step back as we allow rick perry and herman cain to dominate headlines, and congress to pass the NDAA...we are pouring our civil liberties and our basic rights out into the abyss of virtual disposal...what many of us are forgetting is that once we give these rights and liberties away, history has proven repeatedly that they are next to impossible to regain without a major upheaval.
maybe its what we need.
we are raping the land with corn, a crop that is carbon negative to such a degree as to be unconsionably detrimental, while it is next to impossible to get INDUSTRIAL hemp claused into legislature for commercial usage, despite hemps versatility, sustainability and carbon neutral potential, as well as its many health benefits and textile uses which are considerably more environmentally conscious that their alternatives, i.e., replacing wood and forest cutting to make paper, utilization in paints and other liquid textiles, fiber for rope and clothing fabrics, as well as the benefits of hemp oil and the broad array of nutritional properties of the plant and its seeds.
although there are ample technologies and materials available to expand solar energy and wind energy to mass continental levels, and electric and hydrogen batteries are currently already viable options, the petroleum industry continues to thwart attempts at ‘going planet green’
WAKE UP
oil men have KNOWN for years we were headed this direction
they are ringing every last gasp of pennies from us in order to extract whatever income they can before making the big jump and leaving the training pants behind
when we as a society take the jump to global green, to symbiosis with gaia and mother earth, we will me taking a step towards happiness, towards god, towards grace.
this is our social poetry...so, tell me what is your poetic license????

You should do PR

You should do PR.
One of the most interesting things i have heard.
Oh, there are myriad 'everyday' thoughts as to what one in my field 'should' do, each a caricature of the others, all sales driven, be it direct or otherwise. You should Sell Cars. You should get into Real Estate. Have you ever worked in sales?
Well yes, clearly, but i do what i do out of enjoyment and passion, not because i didn't go to college.
i got stellar grades.
when i actually showed up to class, i would estimate, conservatively i believe, that i with ease and nonchalance maintained a 3.7+ GPA. Nope that isn't a typo. i'm indeed quite smart. The thing is, i really love what i do. i can move around, travel, follow the seasons and go anywhere in the world and i will have a job. There is hospitality virtually everywhere.
But here, it is different. Servers are seldom revered and often they are dismissed, and even looked down on - though that is not often the case. Here, we are driven by sales. Because the Industry is dependent on Tips, the Industry is driven by sales. Simple math tells you that more sales = more tips.

But what if it is more than that. What if, as a chef can adore and lavish his being into the quality of his craft, i imbue my service, YOUR experience, with a desire for artistic quality and style?!?

forget the sales.
forget for a minute the tips.
there are more than a few of us who take this seriously.
remember that. we aren't all community college students and MFA's.
some of us are NOT out-of-work-actors-and-actresses.
ha.
some of us just like to be around a dynamic environment and we love food/wine/booze/people.

Oh My Good Life

Oh My Good Life

thank you alison and rob - dj trip doc trip hop
and cierra and neal
and nico and jennifer of xocolatl
and rich - not chris but the same letters, just rearranged
oh and glenn and patricia
the Other chiro i met tnite
damn sonssss
let murphy have his playful lil interceding bout with fate
i
am
ME
I
CHOOSE
MY
PATH
nothing stands in my way
not 40 min trains
or subway madness
earlier incidents be damned

cabs on the street
going beep beep beep
and all the while lil bo peep stands idly by

i sprint to the light and breeeaaaatttthhhhheeeeeeeeeee
OMGL
this is THAT kinda day
its going to be
me and
we are
so
just damnededededededed

wow
and back to reality
oh, there goes rabbit
he
went down the hole
and here we are
again at the point
where
resolution is the tempest
that temps
 the
   fate
      of
            the
                              world on your shoulders

can                     carry it alone??????????????????                                   ????????????????????????????
        you                                                               -----------------------



we arrive at the minute
 p
   o
       i
             n
                            t
juxta - suppose we
were to look
at
things slightl
             ew        y
         sk     ed

how would we feel about the
change in
p
e
r
s
p
e
c
t
i
v
e
?
h
m
m
m
?

slant your
e
y
e
s
for a moment
maintain
your
composu r e . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Along the Way

3/22-3/29

All we found were the hardships of life
Childhood passed us by before we even realized we were supposed to be paying attention

But isn't that what childhood is
Its the lack of needing to pay attention
Its just being there
Living
Experiencing the world
The universe reminding you that you do matter
But you are VERY small
Lol
We are watching the flares of light emitted by the incandescent souls we meet
Those like nico
He wanders in and out of the peripheral of anyone who will entertain his joy and affection
He is an enigma a gypsy trekking the sky and leaving only the sun in his wake
And oh how it pales to his burn
He blazes with passion to see a bird fly or watch a child watch the world
His is the lust and yearning of life
To embrace and own the experience of experience.....that which is watching the sun rise while knowing it will rise again and be at once equivalent and at the same time superior because each instance is a new experience with the ephemeral
Each breath is a new dance with gaia and every new sound is the whisper of whatever goddess you choose to worship
She muses about the love and warns as a siren song against the worry of anything less than everything you have

a call to action

last i checked

of - 

     for - 

             by - ... hhhmmmmmm i wonder

yeah, that WAS the case

or

so i thought

we fought

we watched

but did nothing

amidst our disgust

or 

discussion

the weight

of your balls.....

motion in poetry and 

in action

in uncertainty

poetry in

motion

in context

in purpose

in passion

is a wake up 

cry

for the help

with the 

certainty certain 

to show us our purpose

1/20/12

a Mirror Effect

Why are you so happy?
---because I got out of bed this morning

Silence is a virtue

Smile

Where is your focus?
      -------inward
    ----outward
              -------forward
--behind
You?


EXCEL AT EVERYTHING YOU DO

"Do the damn thing"
Get back on the fucking horse

Stop Narrating

Be her vision of you
     Butterflyandunicorn

real i dea

who
has any real
idea?!?
lost as we are
far from the truth that emits
as we speak of
now and
loss
and then they
played
as though there were
no,
i wont walk away from the
truth
as it were
or will be
can YOU see
where this path
leads
you
me - we - i - you - he
and she
said to herself,
"im here and
now i know who i
am"
idea, reality with
in - the outside
of
the delusion
and eluded
to
an illusion of self-
respect
your elders
and remember to always
brush your
teeth before
bed

In the Blink of an Eye - Or Less if You are Lucky

you never know what you have until its gone.
this is a popular cliche. and one that is more apt to everyday social context than most realize.
you can wake up one morning, bowl in hand, 30hrs of sleep under your belt, and some meth ready to blaze, all the while thinking that you are headed to the beach to hang out, because in the normal world, well, shit is normal.
oops, your bad.
then you randomly happen to call home. not out of any great concern for it, or anyone, but because you havent called home in, fuck, well it must be days now, but surely not weeks. not weeks. could it be? fuck.
of course it could.
and then you find out the truth.
he's gone...............


awake, but not present. alive, but not aware. here sitting amongst the memories. lost in the haze of my translation, i am giving it poorly. but what would you know of me if you didnt understand my translations. isnt that the primary context by which you gauge who i am. by your own relation to my personal rendition of things.


so back to here and now.
she is 33 years old, for gods sake.
5 kids, dammit, five of them.
and at this moment she is gone. a shell, a slack caricature of herself.
the essence remains.

do nothing

we sit here
    manifest
in out not so destined
destiny
trees barren
birds silent
pigs in charge
 and humans - people - us
cowering in the corners
quiet
in our shells
outraged at our own
indifference
and yet
paralyzed that we
should
     do
              nothing

1/20/12

#1 emma

this is emma's work.
stellar sunset. caught it just right from the balcony.
i've seen this view.
its amazeballs. :)
oh and there is a pool too. ha. jealousy has set in.

emma is the first subject of my profiling series, social poets in motion

how does each poet take their license? how does each express themselves with beauty?
emma hefti is a girl. a very interesting girl. our friendship began over chinese food and vulgarity. and against your better judgement you must take on faith that it was not ME(i know it should be 'I', shut up) who was near feigning tourettes syndrome and shouting profanity, nor i, belittling my date into squeamish silence. it was glorious. it was hilarious. it was emma. my dearest emma. small - for petite is much too drab a word - and blonde! she is an avid photographer and a model, but no longer aspiring. she has spent the last few months in capetown, south africa(SA) working as a model on several projects - broadening her horizons.
i must tell you all, emma is a bit shy. she'll hate me. emma is a walking heart of gold. a part time nanny and full time friend, she is the kind of person who brings her poetry with her in her own unique style and perspective. it is in her ability to laugh at herself and most situations and people in a manner that makes the world smile that i find the continuing joy that is Emma Hefti.

paradigm shifts

they're all the new rage
from the mayan calendar and 2012
to the age of aquarius
to the year of the black water dragon
to the green revolution
we are up to our ears in how the world is going to change
but what everyone keeps forgetting is that the world doesnt changed. the world adapts. to our change. if we dont change the world just keeps going and eventually it will adapt us out of existence. WE have to change, and grow and EVOLVE. that is the word of the moment. not the year, or the times, or the day. NOW, right this second. cops are arresting bystanders for pointing out their indiscretions. its illegal to smoke a plant. people still cant marry their lifepartners bc a dogmatic sect that happens to pervade our culture is scared to death of anything not outlined in their little book of bedtime stories. and here we are worried about how the 'world' is going to change.
when are we going to stand up and shout for OURSELVES to change.
in our country we are experiencing all time lows in primary and secondary education levels of achievement, we are at an all time HIGH for cost of post-secondary - see 'college', if some of it can be called that - and yet you cannot even acquire many entry level jobs without selling your soul to the Lowest bidder in an auction that is subsidized by the federal government. here we are scraping to send our kids to college and by the time they are done, many have the equivalent of an upside down mortgage, with a capsized lifeboat for an education and a choice - or not - of jobs that wouldnt get them out of debt - just for their education - if they worked at it full time for 15 years.
what are we supposed to do with this?!?!?!? huh? please explain to me how indebting our children, indenturing our future, and incapacitating our education system is furthering our evolution.

this 'shift' is coming from the wrong direction. this shift is spoken of in the wrong terms. this shift is a mirage.

the paradigm we need to change is US. our entire social structure. i could reference any politician, or yogi, or economic guru, or techie geek and they would all tell you that changes are happening, that we are on the verge of this or that revolution, but the STATUS QUO isnt changing. we still have massive poverty, massive inequality, massive intolerance and not a fucking thing that leads me to believe anyone wants to change it.

if there is a god, he hates us all. he thinks us weak. he wonders what the fuck he was thinking wasting his time on such a worthless bunch of maggots. ok that may be a bit harsh, but come on guys.
we are spiritual beings having a human experience, and yet the vast majority of us have become so enthralled by the consumerist lifestyle, by the elitist rants, by the marketing schemes, that all we want is to rot away deciding if we have 'problems' that maybe the 'situation' would know how to handle. WTF people. how are two douche bags from jersey on a show about a place they arent even from making millions because the lot of us condone their ineptitude at life; while pining over every little action they take and foaming at the mouth wishing we could have their lives? riddle me this batman. explain to me why we all want to know more about some 'real housewives' than the things our own kids are doing in school. why are we parked in front of a tv instead of questioning why there are not at LEAST 3 days a week of school chock full of afternoon activities for our kids, or new plays for them to be involved in, or some new community program that maybe you could start if you would get off you pathetic ass and stop watching American Fucking Idol.

stop living vicariously through the 1%. start embracing the gift you have called a life. start remembering that you woke up breathing and that is the greatest opportunity you will ever have to make a difference. start acting like each breath is a blessing. show #GRATITUDE to the universe that the sun hasnt exploded taking the whole stinking lot of wastes of space that we are and engulfed us in a solar flare.

paradigm shifts.
they are replacing 'green' as the new black

the bright side of darkness

on the subway, im there alot
it takes up tons of time when you live here. what a strange place here is. this city. new york. NEW YORK.
it will eat you alive and spit you out and dare you to cry.
ok, so, on the subway, this guy comes on.
usual "i'm with the homeless sandwich guys, we feed hungry people". and he was. he had the sandwiches - ok, listen nyc is full of con artists, but these guys are the FEW who actually seem to do what they say

(besides those kids who straight up tell you, ' im sellin this candy so i got some loot and i aint stealin your kids lunch money' on the L train all the time in bushwick)

so anyways, ive seen these guys give away free sandwiches many times, and so i walk to give him some change after everyone ignores him.....a few people even mumble when i get up...and then this strange thing happens, he smiles and almost cries, cuz he is trying so hard, and the next thing you know several folks are handing it over...just a bit...and he speaks to 2 OBVIOUSLY socially challenged individuals on the train...hands them sandwiches, other food, and people start breaking out the bills......

it was a good moment. it just spoke to me. like the darkness of the LA backstreets so enamored bukowski, the moments of the humanity in this city of chaos have made me smile.
it feels good to feel, to know im alive

addition - 12/13/12

as the weeks and months have moved on to be a year and more, it strikes me that i am still walking around within this same feeling of revelry, of wonder....i am not scared of here, i am intriguided by here...this city, this new york is such a force, it has such an epic energy that just pulls you in.
and there is a depth of humanity here that is surprising

constantine

Ode to the Headband - Or dont be a tool with that sweatband on while you're working

you
are just not
nice

i dont
understand how people,
with any
clue
at all
could even wanna talk to
you

you're such
a
douche -
with
a capital BAG

oh and that
stupid silly ass
thing
that head-band
with the
stripe

NOT FUCKING COOL DUDE
just not!!!
and that silly little
thing
you do
that pretends its
dancing,
before you call some
nice girl a pig...
after
YOU
slept with her

Yeah that makes you
cool
or
not
so much, as so
little...like im sure
it
is

you can
use what small
imagination
you
have(or dont)
to
figure out what i'm
referring
to.