Category: Uncategorized

1-24-09

my hand is operable
once again-
my brain is sending signals
that my hand is working
to interpret-
my heart is transmitting
data that my soul is
eager to process-
for months-
i’ve searched-
like a quest knight for
the holy grail-
and for months,
my search came up
empty-
what happened to
the flow of information?
the quest knights eventually
discovered the grail-
after many years, and
much toil and
struggle-
they discovered the
one thing that would
restore the kingdom to
its former glory-
the priceless artifact was
returned to camelot-
and order was restored
as it touched arthur’s
lips-
i have recovered my grail-
and it was within
me all along-
my grail was something
that i’d forgotten –
a particle of life that
had been swept into
a corner-
a speck of data that sat dormant
in the far reaches of my
thoughts-
i simply forgot to
look for my grail in its
place of origin*

8-8-06

My salvation was there-
a foot away from me-
but separated by
a thousand miles-
my salvation was there
on those quiet roads-
veiled by a dense green-
and topped by a faded
blue-
my salvation was there
in those houses-
old-
and cloudy-
and alive-
with the soul of my
desires-
their windows tipped
with firelights-
and their facades as welcoming
as an old friend-
my salvation was there
in those distant hills-
a verdant dream-
that whispered to me like
an echo-
my salvation was there-
a foot away from me-
and I knew it-
it was in the valleys-
the trees-
it was in the sky-
and the stoic walls-
it was there all along-
and I knew it-
I found it where I’d
never searched-
but where my heart has
always been-
my salvation was there-
and that’s where I
had to leave it*

1-18-09

i can see again-
my eyes are open once
more to myself-
my heart is open once
more to the thoughts
that pervaded so much
of my past-
buried thoughts-
stolen moments-
barricaded under the
safety of silence-
stolen by the actions of
fear and doubt-
within this chest lies
a spirit unbroken-
a steed burning with
the desire to run
at full pace against
the odds set forth
by an unknown
“they”-
a knight ready to
do battle against the
very blacksmith that
forged his iron hide-
i can see again-
a green landscape
made rich by hands
and voices-
a sky made blue by
the softness of a
beaming earth-
a sun made bright from
the reflections of a
billion smiles-
i can see again-
and as a result,
i can feel-
the racing heart of
the eager steed-
the eager mind of
the steady knight-
the tickle of the
grass against my skin-
the whisper of the
wind as i admire the
sky-
i can feel again-
and once more-
i speak-
my heart opens-
my hand moves-
my mind listens-
and my soul understands*

touch my face

the wind blows softly
in my ear-
like a child’s whisper-
and i smell the
smile of youth-
it is daring and
fresh-
like an april blossom-
and that smile grows
exponentially-
touch my face-
and see if youth remains-
run your fingers
across my lips-
and listen for a child’s
whisper-
look at me-
and tell me
what you see-
listen to me-
and tell me who you see*

plastic memories.

I’m a huge fan of film. When I was a kid, my older brothers and I would literally watch the same movies every single day after school. For the hidden singer in us, we had classics like “Grease” and “Westside Story”; for the action hero side of our imagination, we watched “Excalibur”, and “Total Recall”. We didn’t merely watch these films; we became them. I can recall many serious discussions/light hearted arguments involving which characters we wanted to be in the movies that we saw (we each wanted to be the coolest character, of course). We didn’t just watch Bruce Lee demolish Chuck Norris in the Colosseum; we were Bruce Lee and Chuck Norris duking it out kung-fu style that day. We didn’t just watch the suave Ludlow brothers of “Legends of the Fall”; we were the brothers (and of course, I was the coolest). So much of our childhood developed around the TV that we can, to this day, readily quote lines from films that clinically intertwine with our day to day conversations.

Movies and television became our way of self expression. Our lives unfolded watching “A Different World”, “Yo MTv Raps”, and “The Cosby Show”. Our lives were lived through these larger than life characters, doing larger than life activities. Sure, we created our own characters, and re-enacted our own daring adventures, but the television was the catalyst that thrust us into that imaginative void; that realm where dreams become reality, and thoughts and deeds transcend what’s perceived to be real. We were not couch potatoes, I might add; our heroic deeds spilled into the backyard, where we became mighty sporting heroes and dauntless explorers. In short, movies and TV helped to mold and shape me into the man I am today. My artistic endeavors can all somehow be traced back to those days, huddled in front of the TV, dreaming about the tales and characters that were being projected into my psyche (and of course, I was the coolest one).