THE WRITE WAY

It's amazing how you can paint words on blank pages and touch people you'll never see/

i thank those who do relate but at the end of the day, these words aren't for you, they're for me/

a letter to myself--signed, sealed and delivered to my heart's address/

a bowl of chicken soup for my soul, you can have some but don't make a mess/

its not easy to satisfy my appetite while increasing your fix/

but with the right determination i could feed a nation with a loaf of bread and a piece of fish/

making something out of nothing is godly, it boggles the mind like a stroke of magic/

artistic nomads didn't have note-pads, they chiseled poetry onto stone tablets/

bodies of scripture travelled vast lands like Moses' Ten Commandments/

fuck a top-ten rap list...i wanna be one of the top-ten Ecstatics in the history of this planet/

i oppose with passion the status quo, never dance with the ignorance-laden establishment/

i'm expanding beyond my homeland, i got massive plans--i'm thinking Pan-African/

you can't understand how my writing hand makes me a master of men?/

the pen is mightier than the sword, i battled and stabbed Aladdin in the abdomen with my black Atlantis pen/

then i took off in a dark magic carpet with her majesty Princess Jasmine...


I'm fly.

WE ARE BIGGER THAN WE THINK

Why be a mere star when you can be a planet?/

superstars and supernovas blow up and shine, but eventually they vanish/

i wanna be more than a flash in the pan, i wanna be massive/

i'm a spec of paint on a painter's canvas, i'm an ant travelling passively across the granite/

i'm a blip on the universe's radar, a tiny unit of space--i'm an atom/

i'm very small but at the same time very huge with potential i can't fathom/

i am you and you are me, we are mirrors, let's reflect on that/

black-white, gay-straight, liberal-conservative--why do we stress all that?/

we are one family under the same human race, why do we seem to forget that fact?/

baseless arguments that do nothing but set us back....i'm not having it!/

but who am i to open closed minds?--no single soul owns the key to the door of enlightenment/

i am spirit with a coat of flesh, what's death?, i'm never dying/

these are tears of joy but they thought i was hurt and crying/

if they cast coal stones my way i will catch 'em, crush 'em, and kindly hand them back a diamond...

IRAN SO FAR

Iran so far to escape the cold clutches of oppression

hoped and prayed my journey would end with this election

yearning for reform, tired of being content with the same

12 mile long human chain, is this symbol of unity the beginning of change?

the people spoke but the forces of tyranny spat in their face

the human chain remains strong, the bond will not break...

Iran so far to a place in my mind that only i could see

Iran so far but my country is not where i want it to be

the color of revolution is sad, the sight is so bleak

the sea of green contrasted by the pool of red on the streets

that was Neda's blood, she died on that very same spot

it depresses the senses to witness, but how can you not watch?...

Iran so far but where is this journey taking me?

amidst the ugliness of this brutality is an incredible show of bravery

the eyes of the world are watching, pan the camera to my face

i say the human chain remains strong, the bond will not break

make sure you tell our story, please do not sugar-coat our pain

do it for Neda Agha-Soltan, so her death won't be in vain...

GETAWAY

Self-incarcerated in this makeshift prison/

tired of being tired, tired of this way of livin'/

tired of the same system, tired of lookin' at life through this same stained prism/

its about time i engaged in a lil' escapism...

Imagination illumination, this African Son's shadow is large enough to cover skyscrapers/

took a nine month hiatus from being creative, but really, it was nothin' major/

through the pain i gave birth to something special, like a pregnant lady in labor/

i'm back to smearing ink on dead trees, that means, putting pen to paper/

from the worst of times to the best of times, i can't rest, i'm definitely intent on gettin' mines/

no longer the tentative type, but i'm still not impressed with the aggressive vibe/

why stress?--just french truffles and red wine when i sketch rhymes, even my decadence is sublime/

this ain't the norm, when i brain-storm you better stay indoors or launch an umbrella/

talk is the opposite of expensive, when i floss i won't tell ya/

he said what?? who gives a fuck?!, i'm windsurfin' at the Palm Jumeirah/

spoiled with lots of options, vintage bottles in wine cellars/

awesome weather gorgeous women, native artists rockin' the cello/

nonchalant, staring at marble art by Donatello, so mellow/

nature's soundtrack, the beat-box to this poetic bliss/

if God was a rapper, his rhymes would sound somethin' like this...

Honestly, i can't explain it, its like describing color to a blind man or noise to a deaf man/

married to this bitch called life--no prenup, wedding cake or best-man.

IT TAKES A VILLAGE...

In my past life i was a Bushman dropping science, spitting spoken word over tribal drums/

freestyling in open-fire ciphers where everyone was invited to come/

pass the calabash around, light the pipe so i can smoke something to excite my lungs/

puffing on giant blunts the size of five thumbs--never get high enough/

the wise words of a prophet trying to inspire everybody, from the dying to the young/

wisdom was the best weapon--stronger than the might of the white man's gun/

different strategies of war, but who decides when the fight is done?/

conflict is a way of life, every night the moon has to fight the sun/

universal doctrine, woe to those who disregard the law of process/

the alpha and omega, effects and causes/

contrary to popular thought it's not rocket science, it is common logic/

every August we give props and pay homage to the god of harvest/

sacrifices of prized goats, ivory and gold, rice with cloves/

nine foot statue of Shaka Zulu the same hue as styrofoam/

folk tales of messiahs who broke bread and fed thousands/

tapped the ground with a staff and the earth erected mountains/

divine beings who healed the sick and cursed the statesman's arrogance/

placed a finger on a pregnant whore's belly and made her barren/

the mighty pillars of the village's existence--honor, compassion, humility and discipline/

elders told animal stories with swahili proverbs, while little children sat quietly and listened/

this African aesthetic nothing less than majestic/

but History, or rather "His-story" has left a lot to be questioned/

deceptive texts spread with the intent to suppress the continent's essence/

we were once Kings and Queens even though they treat us like peasants/

either way we are all connected to this complex network--the celestial wireless matrix/

a global village of different cultures, beliefs, ideas and races.

"JAZZMINE"

I do not know her name, but i am her willing prisoner/

held captive by her arresting beauty, a hostage to her aura/

she is Father Time and Mother Earth's most treasured daughter/

even the Sun envies her radiance--her bright, incandescent smile/

dreadlocked goddess, sultry songstress, i like your style/

you are unaware of my existence, our children are yet to be conceived/

i am the king to your majesty, the savior you covet in song/

i will be your validation, the one to right all their wrongs/

how could something so tender know so much pain?/

fools they were to abuse you, have those dogs any shame?/

I am moved by your strength, the humility and wisdom in your voice/

8 piece band, at least a dozen lifetimes in your words/

a blushing rose from concrete, out of despair hope emerged/

dim-lit stage, mature minds mingle, sophistication fills the room/

a capella melodies, polite applause, the climax of the night's tunes/

she disappears like sound, flees from my eager sight/

i approach the stage, heart pounding, could this be the end?/

i find her scarf on the floor, a sign of fate?--till we meet again...

REPENT, I SAY!!

Heed the cries of those you diligently swore to serve/

the voices of righteous indignation, a revolution is on the verge/

simmering beneath the surface of innocent blood and resources depleted/

is a collective boiling temper, fierce in intensity, about to reach its zenith/

ready to spill over and burn the greedy palms that stole from Mama/

a heat so unforgiving, you would rather swim in a pool of lava/

Mr.War Criminal, Lady Justice wants to court you/

the arc of the moral universe dwarfs you, we don't support you...

REPENT, I SAY!!

What would our gallant and brilliant forebears say today?/

an increasing vacuum in leadership, is this void here to stay?/

massive brain drain, who will rebuild the kingdom that once was?/

this is what happens when the love of power overcomes the power of love/

broken moral compass, lost in the wilderness of poverty and revenge/

demagoguery and tribal wars, people killing their best friends/

who fanned these flames of hatred?, who will account for the losses?/

enjoy your blood-stained money, but do you know what the cost is??...

REPENT, I SAY!!

REPENT.

NOW.

THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS

A sentiment befuddling the highest intelligence,

the strongest mental tentacles struggle to grasp this concept,

an enigma eluding explanation, deftly defying definition,

fawning to your familiar feel, imprisoned by your mystique,

every moment with you is precious, no matter how brief.

How and when will you manifest today?

numerous incarnations, do not shape-shift too fast,

stop playing, press pause--freeze frame, let it last,

i bid your presence evanescent temptress; why do you tease me?

your fleeting nature is a given, but i still hate it when you leave me.

It taxes the senses to assign you a name,

how do you feel about "Joy"?; i like "Felicity", it seems fitting

i prefer "Merry" to "Mary", but what is really in a name?

it does not matter as long as we are together,

i now understand you must leave, i cannot have you forever...

ME MYSELF AND ISOLATION

Lost in spirit nowhere to be seen,

drowning in a dark sea of dangerous thoughts,

i used to walk gingerly on these very waters and boast,

at some point i slipped and fell in,

an inflated ego couldn't keep me afloat.

The clouds above remain a stark reminder,

what was once a cushion now serves to block my view,

what will it take for you to move?

this devil on my shoulder has an interesting solution,

should i accept or refuse?

All alone yet isolated from myself,

desperately trying to find the old me,

maybe i should look for the 'new' me,

reevaluating my sense of self makes sense,

so i bid farewell to the misery that knew me.