Since We’re Talking (Let’s Talk About The Talk)

Tags

art is activism, black lives matter, police killings, social justice, the talk

Around the time when children learn their ABC’s,
Kids that look like me learn how to survive The New Jim Crow.

I remember when my Grandmother told me:
“Grandson you can’t be outside playing with no toy gun!”

She always feared them boys in blue would come through and shoot me for playing with a toy gun.

I remember learning about police killings while the neighborhood children were playing in the snow.

I remember when my Grandmother told me:
“Look at me boy. And pay close attention.
I know you are young, gifted, and black
But to them
You will always FIT THE DESCRIPTION.”

O how the fear in her eyes pierced my soul…
She feared when I let my hair grow.
She feared when I wore a hoodie.

I remember wondering:
Why is that Black Children can’t wear a ski mask when it’s cold?
Why are Black Men considered militant when we let our hair grow?
How they don’t mistake the white kids for hoodlums when they wear a hoodie?

Yet what I remember most about talking with my Grandmother was her affinity for her people…
Always dressed in black.
Always ALL THE POWER TO THE PEOPLE.
I remember the little lady that never took no shorts.
I remember the little lady that taught me to dream BIG.
I remember her wise words.
I remember her convictions.

I remember how Grandma would speak life unto me,
But for the life of me,
I can’t remember discussing the birds and the bees.
Yet I remember “The Talk.”

I remember self-care over welfare…
Nah, I don’t remember the birds and the bees.
Yet I remember many Talks.

O Grandma
I remember when you said:
“In the sixties, over 70% of the world’s dope fiends lived right here in New York.”

I now understand what you meant when you said they’d rather see us dead, addicted, or imprisoned.

Thank you for demanding that I take command of the language
And thirst knowledge.
Who knows who I’d be if you didn’t feed my poetic diction.

My poems are not poems…
My moral compass guides me to draw attention to social injustice, systemic racism, and other afflictions.

–@StevieStreets #historyheritageandhumanities #poem | Since We’re Talking (Let’s Talk About The Talk)

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Peace to Mark Clark and Fred Hampton

Tags

black lives matter, black panther party for self-defense, homage, I am a revolutionary, I am Fred Hampton

mourning vibes:

Wasn’t no fear, wasn’t no compromise… -Fred Hampton | #iamarevolutionary #powertothepeople #youcantkilltherevolution

・・・
#codeofthestreets:
We’d like to take a moment to celebrate the life of Fred Hampton
We invite you to never forget the day that the FBI and Chicago PD murdered Mark Clark and Fred Hampton

Peace to the ancestors, Mark Clark and Fred Hampton

I AM A REVOLUTIONARY
I AM MARK CLARK
I AM FRED HAMPTON

It’s 49 years to date since them pigs played judge – jury – and executioner

Enter Black America anywhere in the United States,
Them pigs are still playing judge – jury – and executioner

O and The Justice Department it’s just a department…
When we gon’ get justice for all the Mark Clark’s and Fred Hampton’s?

We chant BLACK LIVES MATTER
They mark us for death like they did Mark Clark and Fred Hampton

Dear White People
In case you missed it
We hashtag black lives matter✊🏾
cause the blind eye of justice is still saying Die Nigger Die!

But don’t mind me
I’m just sick and tired of the Black on Black rhetoric
Our brothers and sisters are doing numbers and them alphabet boys want us to die

Yet there will be no fear,
There will be no compromise
ALL THE POWER TO THE PEOPLE

O! All lives matter now huh?
Question:
How is it that those sworn to protect and serve only manage to kill Black People?
Why is it that the epidemic incarceration rates seem to be underpopulated with white people?

When we gon’ talk about COINTELPRO and set my FREEDOM FIGHTERS FREE?

There’s way too many Black Panthers still being held as political prisoners
But don’t take it from me
If you know like I know
NONE OF US ARE FREE, UNTIL ALL OF US ARE FREE

–@StevieStreets #homage #poem | Peace to Mark Clark & Fred Hampton

Peace to The Ancestors

Tags

fully present, homage, thank heavens, thanksgiving, time traveling

Peace to the ancestors…
And the black women that birthed nations.
Although our celebratory traditions have nothing to do with the European invasion,
We appreciate this time to commune with friends & family.
Peace to the indigo-children, the matriarchs,
And the ones that convene with the ancestors.
Hope your day was filled with peace, love, and positive vibes.
In the name of history, heritage, and humanities,
I’d be remiss if I didn’t pay homage to the ancestors.

My poems are not poems…
And I say that to say:
There’s so much to be THANKFUL for.
When you’re fully present, you unwrap the gift each day.
Every day is a present
Yet most people never unwrap the gift.
Seize that moment,
Pay no mind to the roadblocks, let your spirit guide the way.
To know is better than to believe,
Through knowledge and understanding the ancestors have paved the way.

YOU ARE ENOUGH…
As the sun, moon, and stars above,
Your footsteps have been illuminated

by those that have paved the way.

May the fruits of your labor ensure your seeds seeds never need along THE WAY.
As the adage goes:
The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago.
In all thy getting acquire wisdom,
Once it’s acquired it can’t be taken;
Plus you can take it anywhere you go.

Before I let you go,
I need to know:
Did you hear the one about the rich man and the man without cargo?

A rich man boarded a ship with a vast majority of his riches and illustrious cargo.
A traveling man boarded the ship carrying nothing but an air of confidence.
The ship crashed before the men reached their destination, leaving both men without a cent.
In a moment of clarity,
The rich man was forced to beg for charity while the traveling man increased his wealth.
The rich man had nothing but possessions, the traveling man possessed knowledge of self.

If nothing else,
Forever rich is he who becomes a student and a teacher for he may always find the lessons and alway teach someone else.

Ase,

–@StevieStreets #thankheavens #poem | Peace to The Ancestors

The little BIG Things: All You Need to Seize The Day In The Journey of Life

Tags

accountable action, carpe diem, little big things, road to success, seize the day, the power of now, walk in your destiny

“Every day is an opportunity to excel and elevate. Life is like a marathon: you can build endurance on the treadmill; however, you’ll never cross the finish line if you remain stagnant. You have to pound the pavement and press forward – win, lose, or draw – your best days are ahead of you.” –@StevieStreets | #seizetheday circa 11/19/2015

To transmute the dream, all you need is accountable action.
Your success is dependent upon the little BIG things;
The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step
And the water cuts the rock through persistence.
You cannot finish what you do not start
And you will never finish what you do not complete.
If you plan to be successful, you must first plan to start.
If you want to actually be successful, you must masterfully plan to the end.

The perfect time never arrives,
NOW is always the perfect time to start.
If you want to separate yourself from everyone else,
Always finish what you start.
You do not have to wait until you are the best to think ten steps ahead,
Visionaries possess the ability to see ten steps ahead in view of the fact that they plan all the way to the end.
If you desire to master the discipline of getting things done,
You must always see things through to the end.
There’s only one little thing between you and the finish line,
There’s only one little thing that’s preventing you from achieving your dreams.
If you dare to be successful,
Henceforth, you must do what successful people do.
Your success is contingent upon this one little thing that all successful people do.
To reach your goals and achieve your dreams,
You must be willing to do that one little thing that all successful people do,
You must simply start.
There will never be a day that is greater than today.

Someday is not a day on the calendar,
The most important day of your life is today.
With that being said; ask yourself:
“What are you going to do to be successful, today?
Are you prepared to live your best life, today?”
Then proceed to do what successful people do,
Seize The Day by taking that one step towards the direction of your dreams today.
If you dare to be successful,
You must promise yourself one little big thing today.
If you dare to be successful,
You must vow to never put off until tomorrow that in which you may accomplish today.
There’s only one little thing that can keep you from reaching the finish line,
There’s only one little thing that will keep you from holding fast to your dreams.
If you dare to be successful,
Henceforth, you must become painstakingly persistent.

Your journey to success is contingent upon this one little habit that all successful people exhibit.
To stay the course on your road to success,
You must exercise the powerful habit,
You must be religiously consistent.

There will never be a driving force as unstoppable as determination.
Discipline and dedication are the traits that will fuel your burning desire when the process cannot be fathomed as progress.
Are you prepared to continue firmly in the face of adversity,
To achieve your goals?
Are you prepared to press forward and remain poised while under pressure,
To achieve your goals?
If you desire to live your best life,
Trust the process and remember without pressure the diamond is just a chunk of coal.

If you dare to be successful,
You must persistently pursue your goals.
If you dare to be successful,
You must vow to stay the course until you reach your goal.
If you dare to be successful,
You must emulate the water that persistently pressures the rock,
If you expect to break through those hard times in pursuit of your goals.

In the journey of life,
Neither talent nor brute power will ensure a successful journey.
In the journey of life,
The power of habit is the one little thing that will give you the competitive edge throughout the journey.
In the journey of life,
Persistence is the Godspeed and the godsend that alchemizes ordinary men into extraordinary men throughout journey.

The ability to persist is paramount to your ability to exist amidst the journey.
The impossible is made possible by those who persist and resist the urge to quit amid the journey.
Those who possess the preoccupation to persist shall always tenaciously trek forward.
Those that refuse to quit will always transcend the journey.
When you learn to walking your destiny, going the extra mile becomes merely another step in journey.

–@StevieStreets #roadtosuccess #insights | The Little Big Things: All You Need to Seize the Day in the Journey of Life circa 11/19/2017

Holiday Blues vol. i

Tags

holidays, introversion, introvert problems, thanksgiving, thinking out loud

Thanksgiving begets introvert problems slash holiday blues.

I don’t wanna small talk
Plus everybody can’t cook;
Yeah I said it, start spreading the news.

😳 Please don’t invite me,
🤨 The way my stomach setup,
🤔 I don’t wanna be rude…

I come from a different culture
and I’m fresh off the 21-Day Veggie Challenge,
I can’t eat that food.

The Thanksgiving holiday got me over here practicing like:
🤦‍♂️ sorry, I don’t do potlucks!
👀 No Thank You, I just ate.

Introversion got me ducking berates of “Who made the potato salad?”
“I know you didn’t just renege?!”
and “Let me fix you a plate?!”

The way my tastebuds setup,
I don’t wanna know nothing ’bout no crunchy macaroni,
No zing of flavor,
Or undercooked food.

If the cook ain’t got full lips, Elbow fat, or black girl hips,
I’m not in the mood.
‘Tis not the season for something new,
If I gotta suffer through small talk,
I need soul food. 🤓

–@StevieStreets #thinkingoutloud #poem | Holiday Blues vol. i

The Power of Poems

Tags

alliteration, anxiety, art therapy, mental health, the elephant in the room

Alliteration:
Pulling through panic attacks
The power of poems

–@StevieStreets #mentalhealthawareness #haiku | The Power of Poems

The Write Thing To Do

Tags

anxiety, art therapy, mental health, the elephant in the room, the power of now

Ahhh, Anxiety
The 3:00 a.m. Rendezvouses
My Art Therapy

I cope with haiku
…forces me to be present
The Write Thing To Do

Gotta muddle through
The panic at the disco
No anxietude

I cope with haiku
It brings me into The Now
The Write Thing To Do

These Five-Seven-Fives
Have been keeping me alive
Ahhh, Art Therapy

Do The Write Thing, Please
It’s cheaper than therapy
You can count on it

Counting Syllables
The one thing I could count on
The cure is haiku

–@StevieStreets #mentalhealthawareness #haiku | The Write Thing To Do

February 14, 1991

Tags

happy birthday, homage, schlobohm, schroeder street, the hole

February 14, 1991

I’ll never forget the day; I’ll never forget the year

 

I remember when them dirt-bags tried to jump and you suddenly appeared

 

You stood there to make sure I got a fair one, they ain’t wanna shoot the fair one

 

Edwin and I never got chased after that day in ‘85,

Lord knows I was so glad to run into you and Saint-Claire that day in ‘85

 

My mind state was “I might be young but I can still hold a gun,” after you died

 

I was riddled with so many questions – at first glance I had to second-guess the who’s, how’s, and why’s – after you died

 

Sometimes, I still wonder: who could kill the coolest man alive?
You’re still the coolest dude I ever knew, dead or alive

 

It’s been 27 years to date and I still wish you were here

Sometimes I see you with the LL Kangol, frontin’ in the square

 

Heaven only knows what I would do to hear you say: “if you don’t look like your cousin Taylor ha, I swear”

 

It’s been 27 years to date and I still wish you were here

 

Sometimes, I wonder: how it feels to celebrate a birthday knowing your twin is not here

 

Long story short, cousin Dan – you was the man,
I just wanted to take a moment to let you know you still got love out here

 

–@StevieStreets #homage #poem | February 14, 1991

 

Deep AF

Tags

anxiety, depression, emotionally scarred, mental health, you are enough

I’m no stranger to displaced anger and disfunction.

I know what it is to live when anxiety is suffocating
And depression is crippling
And the propensity to be something forces you to function when you’d rather do nothing.

When shall your wounds welcome their scabs?

To heal a wound, you have to stop touching it.

Sometimes I’m coping with mixed emotions like I’m so HAPPY yet so SAD…

Often I’m dealing with the duality of mental health and my best self like
Ego is the enemy and YOU ARE ENOUGH – even in your ruggedness.

Truth be told,
The vibe never lies and energy is everything…
Long story short:
We long for love in view of the fact that we don’t know how to accept it.

I see too many adults living with codependency issues ’cause the child within was neglected.

Question:
Why do hurt people hurt people?
Why do mental health memes cut deep?

MY POEMS ARE NOT POEMS…
I once read: “If you don’t heal what hurtcyou, you’ll bleed on people that didn’t cut you.”
And thought “that’s deep!”

–@StevieStreets #BlackMentalHealthMatters #poem | Deep AF

Did I Miss The Fall?

Tags

global warming

Pump your brakes Jack Frost!
WHAT HAPPENED TO THE SEASONS?
Did I miss the fall?

–@StevieStreets #globalwarming #haiku | from The Fall Collection: Did I Miss The Fall?