Ignorance is a Bliss

Black and discriminated by society
Slashes and whips of pain on every slaves body
“Anything is better than a life like this
Death to us became a wish
No life, no names, no rights
Just strikes of pain with no freedom in sight
Stripped away our skin but never got a hold of our dignity
So we plotted our escape knowing the penalty
Dead or alive
We were better off knowing that we tried
Scared of nothing, and our hearts just lit
Cus we knew our life began as soon as we found the guts to re-claim it
Death was upon us, but we had no fear
For once in our lives, freedom was finally near”

My mind began to wander to a place I have never been but only imagined. With Black History Month inching closer to an end, I envisioned myself in an environment where the color of my skin granted me full access to a world of torment, pain, and enprisonment. This soon led to my wrath. I empathized with people I never had the chance to meet, I created a dialogue in my mind of what I believed one in their position would say. The words leaked out of my mind, like ink from my ballpoint pen. I entered the world of slavery and found myself sitting at my desk with the only evidence I had of my adventure laying right in front of me. Black ink on a white piece of paper. I sat there staring at my poem and could not think of a title.

Nigger, Negro, Colored, Black, African American, and now even in the 21st century, the word Nigga has resurfaced. All the terms and maybe more have been the names granted to us not only by slave owners but by ourselves. Why is it that every few years, We get a change of name? In the poem "A Black American," Smokey Robinson brought forth the same question. Centuries ago during the time of Slavery, Blacks were known as Slaves or Niggers, then few years later, We were called Negros, from there the name Colored, Black, African Americans, and back to Nigger but with an 'a' at the end instead (Nigga) came about. So which term is correct, if any? According to Smokey Robinson, "Black" should be the word to describe us. As an American blessed to be tanned with a "brown" skin tone, I honestly don't mind being called Black or African American, but when the word Nigger or "Nigga" is thrown my way, then there is a problem.

The thing that really pushes my buttons is when many "Black" people revert back to the term "Nigga." How is it that we can prouldy use a term that was once used to defame and insult our ancestors. This word has been placed on a peddle stool of controversy for many years, but yet it is supposedly used as a term of endearment. Nigger, was a term not used as a tool of oppression but used for its purpose because it meant ignorant, which means lack of education or knowledge of something. Nigger did not need to be used as a tool of oppression because being a slave, having all your rights stripped away, and even in the constitution, "blacks" were categorized as only two/thirds human. Im sure that was oppression enough.

The argument that many "Blacks" use to persuade society that the term "Nigga" is acceptable is that they have taken a term that was once used to defame and insult us, and in turn reversed and changed the meaning to endearment and brotherhood. By changing the meaning to something that supposedly brings the "Black" society together, they believe takes the power away from the people that once forced that name upon us. In a way I can understand their arguement on the situation but I still disagree with the usage of the term. I believe that this term only reopens the fleshy wounds that slavery left on the black race.

We should stop dwelling in our past and take advantage of the oppurtunities that lies ahead of us that were granted by the bloodshed of our ancestors. So who am I? I am a young brown skinned, educated, American, and as I sit at my desk thinking of a title for this poem above, I decide to name it, "The People Formally Known as Niggers."

I Will Proudly Take My "F"

"Sometimes I feel like I'm sittin' in the back row of Barbie and Ken 101
A class we are all in, but never seem to learn from
Some general ed requirement for
Students of American culture"

Society is a universal classroom that we are constanlty receiving a daily dose of brainwash from. A place where who we are and what we should become is laid out for us on television, magazines, billboards, etc. A mirror image of what young females urge to be is depicted through models that actually believe that "zero" is a size women should be in order to be accepted or considered beautiful. The issue of societal insecurities among young women is something that is hardly recognized and needed to be addressed. Rafael Casal's execution of his poem "Barbie and Ken 101," was wonderful.

When I say "young women" around the world, it includes me. Although I have limits to my daily studies of societal brainwash, I don't exclude myself and speak upon the issue as a hypocrite, but as a victim of this corruption. Trying to keep up with the new fashion trends, new gadgets, knowing what's "in" and what's "out." These are the basics to the little part of the big picture that I partake in. However, many females go through extremes such as starving themselves because they dont't believe they are trim enough. According to The National Institute of Mental Health, between 5-10 percent of girls and women suffer from eating disorders such as anorexia, bulimia, binge eating disorder, or other associated dietary conditions.

"My teacher has no face
She is every Revelon model women have ever chased
Her lectures come through magazines in beauty shops & add campaigns,
Shit, just turn on your tv
This just in, a skewed perspective for todays youth
Y'al ladies aint thin enough, fellas aint trim enough, wanna be sexy?
Y'al don't go to the gym enough,
Cut to commercial,
C'mon just come tune in to our maintenance team,
Convince you're ugly then tell you how to fix it with maybeline
Perpetually started by these dolls marketed in the late 50's named
Barbie and Ken,
Hence, the class I'm in."

The administration that provides the notes for us to soak in, they are faceless. They show the norms of our world and turn them into faults and insecurities of a human being. Freckles, pimples, different size noses, chins, lips, etc., should be changed to what is "right" or "acceptable." So this makes it ok for young girls to hide there true beauty under coats of make-up, or lead to excessive measures such as surgery. The number of kids 18 and under having plastic surgery rose from just under 60,000 in 1997 to nearly 225,000 in 2003, according to statistics compiled by the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery. How has this become a "norm" in our society?

"Less gut less pudge less lunch less real, more looks more love more Barbie appeal?

When little kids idols are Nicki Minaj or Lil' Kim, then we have a problem. Their construed mindset of beauty comes from molding themselves into looking like a "Barbies," where fake everything is "in." We were all uniquely created so that we could be easily differentiated, but if we all become a mirror image of what our faceless teachers (better known as "society") depicts as beauty, we diminish our originalty and began to lose ourselves.

"The most attractive women are the ones who don't give a f**k
So screw your teachings your lessons and plans
You skewed sick distant relative of the man
Your plan for brainwashin' my baby I reject
I'm walkin' out of this class, and I will proudly take, my F!"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kGsTfCL1Joc

Undress My Mind

The brain is the strongest sexual muscle. The place where the seeds of urge, lust, and addiction are planted, and in some cases may outshine the true feelings of love. So when you hear the word "sex," what's the first thing that comes to mind?


In the heat of Valentines weekend, I thought I would stir things up a bit and bring forth a poem about love. Once again I have used a poem by Gemineye called "A Penny For Your Thoughts." A great Def Poetry artist, that uses sexual terms to describe how he would rather engage sexually with a females mind, rather than physical interaction. Valentine's Day is a day for the exchange of tokens of affection, not limited to sexual affection, but expands into mental affection. Gemineye said it best with the opening of his poem:


"Can I offer you a penny for your thoughts?

As a matter of fact, how about three?

One penny for you, one penny for me,

And one penny for our minds engaged not so sexually

Getting intimately closer as we approach the

Climatic altitude of nude, mental, sensational… conversation.
Because I’m trying to get to know everything about you

From the neck…UP

By the time the word "UP" creeped out of his mouth, people began to clap, and many women exuded an immediate pleasant reaction to the poem. It was something that women in general would like to relate to, it was a poem that they wish the male society could evolve into. While looking through similar blogs related to Def Poetry, I encountered one called AllMyLiesAreWishes which spoke about Gemineye's poem "A Penny For Your Thoughts," and one subscriber by the name of LaTerry stated,

"This poem helps me more than anyone could ever know it gives me hope that there are still men in this world that would HONESTLY what to get to know a woman from the inside out……… starting with her mind,her thoughts and her heart!!!! I LOVE THIS POEM!!!!!! THANKS FOR POSTING IT!!!!!!!!! AND ALSO YOUR GREAT!!"

Someone by the name of DOMINIQUE also left a comment stating,

"I was blown away when I seen his performance on this piece. It was soo captivating to me.. I loved that he wanted to know her beauty inside then out and was moved by her that he was willing to pay for it.."

There are many more that have similar feelings, if not the same feelings, about this poem and how it gives the female society hope that there may still be men out there that are willing to get to know a woman for what they can provide mentally and not just physically. Gemineye gained alot of props from this poem, not only from females but even the male society. I played the video for a male friend of mine and he really enjoyed it. He didnt want to show his immediate liking of the video, mainly because his ego was blocking his judgement. So I asked him what he thought, he said, "Im just mad I didnt think about it first, that was deep." So this poem is not limited to likings of females but it can touch anyone. I personally really enjoyed this poem. The message within it and the theme used to delivery it was remarkable.

So I go back to my question, What come's to mind when you hear the word "sex?" Well after hearing and watching this poem, I realized that "sex" is not limited to physical aspects of it, but starts with the undressing of one's mind and continuing from there.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mn1qxrM1XY0

My Eternal High

Poetry is my addiction! Fresh from the womb of my mother, I was injected with the life of peotry. The "liquidated geniuses of God," rushed through my veins and gave me an eternal high. As time passed, the drug began to attack my mind and forced me to regurgitate words in forms that I never knew I could do. I was never "introduced" to poetry, it was planted within me before I had any recognition of it. English teachers in school helped reveal the hidden talent within me through poetry contests. When I would win, that motivatd me to continue pouring out my expressions of life for diferent eyes to read.

I embarked upon different styles of this creative art, one in which interested me alot, known as Def poetry. Def poetry was a show that premiered on HBO and broadcasted well-known and upcoming poets. This was the first successful poetry series, and it enhanced my passion for poetry and challenged me to want to be as good as many of the poets that were on the show. Although, this show made spoken word more popular, and even made it to Broadway, with success came controversy, as several questioned if certain poems should actually be considered poetry.

This week, the poet that I could really relate to when it came to describing how poetry became part of my life was Gemineye and his poem "Poetic Bloodlines." A talented man, whose poetic theme was to describe how God came into his dreams and began to inject him with the "liquidated literary geniuses" of different famous writers such as Langston Hughes, Emily Dickinson, John Keats, Maya Angelou, W.E.B Dubois, Robert Frost, Paul Orange Dunbar, Edgar Allen Poe, and many more.

Many viewers of this piece on Youtube, described it as "amazing," "absolutely brilliant," or informal terms such as"dope." I must say that I totally agree with all of the comments. My favorite part in the poem is when "God" is pretty much speaking to him as Gemineye states,

"He said “I use you as my tool and plow the field with you
Fulfilling empty minds’ needs while planting knowledge seeds
No longer will there be a flourishing time for malnourishing minds
I want you to make intelligence a law cuz ignorance is a crime
Now I need you to go and reap what you sow
While captivating minds like Edgar Allen Poe
I gave you the wings so now fly like the raven
This world needs savingFeel free to fight off your fears
Cuz they’ll disappear within this injection
Of my tears which contains the remains of great things gone
And new things to come beyond the next dawn
You’re the next in a bloodline of greats
You are a poet..."

Gemineye's delivery was amazing, as he educated the audience with names of famous writers that may be unknown to certain people, he still kept everyone entertained. Gemineye uses these names as the foundation of his poem to let it be known that the people listed are some of the few great writers that made poetry what it is, and they were the stepping stone to get him to where he is at now. So for the many people that believed Def poetry is not "poetry," I'm sure our past Poet Laureate, Robert Pinsky, would disagree. In his book, "Sounds of Poetry," Pinsky speaks about writers such as Emily Dickinson also, and if Gemineye's work of art derives from the same people that built on the foundation of poetry, then I believe the poetic bloodlines does not end with Def poetry, but continues to live and spread a different style of art because of it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YPz9lL0y8sE