Rise My Young Brothers

Rise my young brothers

And meet your destinies head on

Don’t be swayed by the false promises

Found at the bottom of a bottle of Hennessy

Because, in case you didn’t drinking Incredible Hulks

Makes you neither incredible nor the hulk

Rise my young brothers

Understand that you worth

Cannot be measured in the number of women you body

Asses you tap or pipe you lay; measure

Your worth in the strength of your character

The love in your heart and the good that you do

Rise my young brothers

And stop playing nightly games

of Russian Roulette with you lives

on beaten city streets with dealers

who have nothing left to lose

You don’t want to be on the losing

Side of a deadly game

Rise my young brothers

And stop emulating Bigger Thomas

Looking for freedom in blood stained hands

Running endless laps within the four walls

Of a self built cage; while tourists are shuttled

Through your hood to gawk at you

Like lions in a concrete jungle

Rise my young brothers

And take your thrones as kings

Instead of living life as peasants

Pacing the streets looking for your inspiration

In a Jim Jones track; Might I suggest

The likes of Dread Prez or Black Star

Rise my young brothers

And break the cycle of fatherless sons

Man-children raising themselves to

Hate the women who love you;

Silently blaming them for your solitude

And strife

Rise my young brothers

And understand that police interactions

And criminal behavior are not the norm

And that the life expectancy of men-of-color

Can rise with the very changes you decide

To make

Rise my young brothers

And say fuck you to the low-standards

That have been set for you and achieved

By your forefathers; witness yourselves

Exceeding the expectations of those

Around you

Rise my young brothers

For the love I have for you is deep and true

And if you have never felt loved before

Allow yourself to feel it now. For I,

Am your mother, your sister, your guide

Your mentor, your friend

How Many Mics?! A Poetic Tour of Los Angeles, CA

Sunday Oct. 10th
11am "The State of Poetry: Using Words to Inspire & Incite" - Latino Book & Family Festival Cal State University Los Angeles

1pm "Story Time with J.F. Seary" - Latino Book & Family Festival Cal State University Los Angeles

6pm "Wasted Afternoons" at Silver Lake Lounge 2906 West Sunset Blvd Los Angeles, CA

9pm "The Crimson Spot" 5755 Rodeo Road Los Angeles, CA*

Monday Oct. 11th
9pm "Back to the Grind" 3575 University Avenue, Riverside, CA

Tuesday Oct 12th
8pm "Da Poetry Lounge" (Greenway Court Theater) 544 North Fairfax Blvd Los Angeles, CA

Wednesday Oct 13th
7:30pm "Open Mic" at Tribal Café 1651 West Temple Street Los Angeles, CA
Highland Grounds 742 North Highland Hollywood CA*

*These locations are maybe... hit me up for more info

Schedule of Upcoming Performances

Thurs Aug 19th 7pm - 4am
The Most Beautiful Party of the Summer
Katra Lounge 217 Bowery, New York, NY
Cover: $10 before 9pm

(I do not know what time I am going on yet)

Mon Aug 23rd 7:30-9pm
Orientation Event/Introduction to Cultural Resources

Yale University, New Haven, CT
More details to come

Thurs Sept 2nd time TBD
Performance at James Madison University
Harrisonberg, VA
More details to come

Sat Sept 4th 7:00-9:00pm
Education = Our Future
Nuyorican Poets Café
236 East 3rd Street NY NY
Cover $10

(please bring school supplies)

Thurs Sept 15th-Oct 4th
Teatro Latea present "King Lear"
teatro Latea/Clemente Soto-Velez Cultural Center
107 Suffolk Street, NY NY
Tickets will be available on www.smarttix.com

Sat Oct 9th-15th
Latino Book & Family Festival (Panelist)
Cal State University, Los Angeles

Los Angeles Open Mic Tour
Various locations in the greater Los Angeles area

(more information to come)

Freewrite Poetry Fun

Fuck you car alarm

Only you have the power

To break my concentration

your incessant beeping

ringing and ticking is

keeping me from my life's work

How sensitive can you be?

That any motion, sound or look

Can trigger that awful noise.

How quickly the ringing travels

the distance up to the fourth floor

See, I came here to write a poem

of length and theme, I wasn't sure

But knew and planned to fulfill it

Before walking out of that door

And, as if in perfect synchronicity

Every time my pen caresses the paper

You clamor for my attention

Well... what is it that you want from me?

I'm all eyes and ears and heart

I'm listening very carefully

So that I do not miss one part

Of the lover's quarrel, you've had

With every passing sound

I sit here waiting woefully

Perhaps, this will be the last round

Of your ringing sirens, alerting and

distracting me from my greatest

Task today. Oh, I beg for you

To take a break - or that your

Battery dies; my pen sits

lonely and untouched

its ink filled with longing cries.

Wait.. what's that?

Oh, bless your heart. You responded

to my pleas and silenced yourself

Long enough for my pen to tease

this page

Waiting

I waited

Waited until the seconds became minutes

Minutes became hours

Hours became days

I waited

Waited until the days became weeks

Weeks became months

Months became years

I waited

Waited until my hair grew passed my shoulders

Until it turned from brown to gray

and watched it fall like a light rain

I waited

Waited until my hunger turned to pain

and that pain turned to anguish

Until the food became a memory

I waited

Waited as my body became emaciated

brown skin clinging to white bone

veins protruding

I waited

Waited until the youthful beat of my heart

slowed to the pace of a snail in a race

until the blood in my veins thickened

I waited

Waited until my throat dried

and became a desert from which my songs

would no longer sing

I waited

Waited to hear your voice again

Waited for those loving words

To make love of my soul again

Silence

I stood in the heavy pouring rain

as your rejection pierced my skin

passing sirens could not break

the silence; yet they allotted for

a shade of clarity of something

I had been painfully unaware of

my disintegrating body unflinching

I could explode, before your eyes

so that you might bear witness

to the truest extent of my love

everything has been wrapped up

in you

I went with no expectations

Only the knowledge that I

needed to reveal my true self to you

there I stood, at your doorway

words prepared, you stood there

my heart leaped and fluttered

you stood there

lips parted ready to release a wave

of emotion, you stood there

you stood there and watched me die

I... I... thought that you where false

Hearing you say that you would not

acknowledge or accept my love

there I was, ready to confess it anyway

Untitled

My heartbeat is but a soft whisper

in the absence of your love

You move in the shadowed

memories of my mind

I call your name in my sleep

As thoughts of you dance

atop piano keys pulling

on the marionette strings

of my dreams

I long for your skin to kiss

once again, you are gone

you hide yourself from my eyes

and heart; living only in

the recesses of my mind

Vengeance

Venom flows through

my rigid veins

as the pace of my heart

races sending

pulses of poison

through my body

I want to spit

I stand here awaiting

the moment that I can

puncture your flesh with

fatal fangs

inject and infect you

with my diseased love

my poisonous soul

everything

is

black

I am pure darkness, night

evil lurking

behind brick walls

steam rises from my mouth

as I exhale into the cold

and dark night

I am pure evil and

I will destroy you

I will make you pay

for every sleepless night

every bruise, every moment

of fear; I will wait for you

I am fire and I intend

melt your flesh

as I grip your skin

I want to hear you scream

I want to hear that final

crack in your voice

that skates the border

of a proud man unwilling

to project weakness to

the high-pitched screams

of pure fear. yes

I want to torture you

to prick your flesh

pour finely granulated salt

into your open wounds

I want to make you feel again

as if you had never felt before

I want you to beg

crawl on your hands and knees

drenched in my sweat, beg

beg for my mercy

Beg until I scald your tongue

with the red-hot poker of my words

I'll brand your skin with my insignia

because you have become my bitch

I want to hurt you

I want to embody and evoke your

greatest fears; so that you might be

forced into an insomniacs deluge

My cackle with echo in your mind

as you try to free yourself

from the nightmare

that I have created for you

I want you dead

I want you gone from earth

so women can once again

roam free and safe

through the city streets

The Evolution of Hate

“That’s wild gay” …

Whatchu mean Miss?

I think that’s gay and you can’t tell me how to think

You see I’m a man

and even though I’m only 15 years old

I know I’m a man; my father raised me right

And its cool that I only see him every couple of months

Because when I do see him he always teaches me what’s right

Like how to be a man

Like how to kick someone’s ass if they fuck with me

Like how gay goes against my religion

And even though I haven’t been to church

Since Tio Chuchi died and I ain’t never read the bible

Cause… the truth is reading is a waste of my time

And I know its true because it’s wrong you see

And you wrong tryna tell me what to think

I ain’t got no problems with no faggots

As long as they don’t act all gay around me

And try to touch me cause you know they do that

Then we cool you know, so stop telling me

That I’m speaking hate; I don’t hate nobody

Unless they try to press me then we gon’ have a problem

So you see… I ain’t got no problems I need you to help me with

Well… maybe there’s one thing you could help me with

But nah what was I sayin’?

Look, I just don’t like any type of gay

Especially, these gay chicks… some of them wanna be men

And what they don’t see es que aqui aye hombre

And they should leave that shit at home; cause truth be told

I could set her straight real fast

And you keep telling me there’s a lesson I need to learn

But I already know everything I need to know

See I got a plan – once I’m done with this high school shit

I’m gonna get me a job, buy me that whip… and then sit back

As the flows keeps coming and coming… yes

So keep your lessons to yourself Miss

I don’t’ give a shit who Matthew Shepard or Brandon Teena

or Harvey Milk are; and I don’t care much if their dead

Cause my boy Tony is dead too and nobody gives a fuck about him

If they’re gay they probably deserved it fucking around with

Straight men and so what if anyone in this room might be gay

See that’s the problem right there; might be, like they don’t know

Like they confused. They need to realize they chose a life of misery

Cause it’d be all too easy for them to walk a straight line

(sucks teeth) there you go telling me I’m talking hate

Well what kinda hate is this?

The spray painting the word faggot on your locker type of hate

Maybe it’s the snicker behind your back

When you sway your hips in my face type of hate

Nah I know, it’s the school canceled prom cause you wanna

Bring your gay date type of hate

Or it could be that time your father tried to beat the gay out of you

To make you a real man type of hate

It could also be that pull your pants down in a dark alley

And rape the gay out of you type of hate

What about that group of guys that jumped you at the party

It could be that type of hate too

I know, its when I spit on your limp body laying on the street

After I kicked your ass type of hate

A bullet to the head type of hate

The reason hate-crime laws exist type of hate

Yeah yeah yeah… I got you Miss

But its all good though

Because all them gay niggas know betta

Than to fuck with me

Justice

Was it justice

When you took flight with my heart

clutched in your talons; only to

crash land in ecstasy?

Was it justice

when I begged and pleaded

with you a silent listener

one tear shy of drowning myself?

Was it justice

when I collapsed

after being inundated with your love

a great wave of emotion?

Was it justice

When you caved in my chest

shattering what was left of

my once restless soul?

Was it justice

when you silenced me; took

my very words, turned them

into flesh piercing daggers?

It Is You

This romance has become

a violent tornado of which

the two of us are victims

Our minds have made fools

of our hearts by entangling them

in wicked games of love

A delicate balance of energy

flows between us; the magnetism of

holding you and being repelled from you

You have unlocked the secrets

of my heart; Now I lay naked

as my body tells your tortured stories

Finally, having freed myself from your grasp

Your inevitable return would consume

my mortal thoughts

Your words became the sweet melody

that recaptured my heart; In love again

I am a willing participant in your game

Our story unknown to the world

would consume us both with

expectation and disappointment

Our hearts trip over each other

like uncoordinated feet trying

to master a sweetly complex danza

I feel you in every cell of my body

You are there; every step

every breath, every sight, every memory

I am in a conflicting state

of chaos and bliss; a state

to which I am painfully addicted

I'd rather have you in small daily doses

than consume you all at once in moments

too few and far between

I am nothing. I stand here empty

vacant, defeated, your brand of love

batters my tender soul

I want not of food or shelter or

companionship. I would write in

secret, to have you by side eternal

Though the flame of our love

Would leave us in ashes I would give you

anything, everything. All that I am it is yours.

It is you

Matrilineal (the essentialized pantoum of ourselves)

My love is like the wind
Jordan is born
My mother cries
Fearless

Jordan is born
Motherhood
Fearless
Quincañera

Motherhood
Coffee
Quincañera
Borinquen

Coffee
Music
Borinquen
My home

Music
Dreams
My home
Visitacíon

Dreams
My mother cries
Visitacíon
My love is like the wind

**was born at an Acentos Workshop

Boricution Artists at "One Mic" @Hacienda-40C Video by One Mic Nite(™) @RadioStar - MySpace Video

Boricution Artists at "One Mic" @Hacienda-40C Video by One Mic Nite(™) @RadioStar - MySpace Video

La Llorona, 3.12.09

For the Women of Juarez

Listen… hear my cry

I have lost my child

He has wandered into the desert

He, lost himself among men

He, found himself among men

He, forgot how to love his mother

He, had no hair to mark his age

He, was a child, now transformed into a monster

His muscles swelled

His teeth sharpened

His grip tightened

His skin perspired

His mouth salivated

He licks his hungry lips

Secretly trained in the art of misogyny

Mi’jo, I have lost you

What is a mother without her child?

There is darkness now, where my son used to sit

Listen… hear my cry, it pours like the rivers

I wander night to night, rom every pore of

Of my vacant and wilted body, searching

Listen… hear my cry

I have lost my child

She, has wandered into the desert

She, lost herself among men

She, was just a girl

She, had never been kissed before

Her breasts were barely full

Her hair worn in a school’s braid

Her eyes were chocolate kisses

Her skin was sun kissed brown

She felt his steaming breath on her skin

She winces as his claws grip her arms

Her skin begins to burn with every gash

Her nipples were gnawed off her breasts

Her vagina was shredded

She, cried out for her mother

Her womb would never carry a child

Her heart ceased to beat

Mi’ja, I have lost you

What is a mother without her child?

There is darkness now, where my daughter used to sit

Listen… hear my cry, it pours like a the river

I wander night to night, from every pore of

My vacant and wilted body, searching

March 2010 Performance Calendar - UPDATED

Thank you for your continued support in my growth as a performing artist!!! See calendar below... there may be some adjustments to the calendar, I will send those updates as I get them.

Monday March 1st 6:30p
Poets & Writers Cross-Cultural Reading
at Cave Canem
20 Jay Street, Brooklyn NY

Tuesday March 9th 7p
Tato Laviera Tribute
Nuyorican Poets Cafe
236 East 3rd St, b/w Aves B & C NY NY
cover $7

Friday March 12th 7p
Femicide Art Show
Abrazo Interno Gallery: Clemente Soto Velez
Cultural Educational Center
107 Suffolk Street, New York, NY 10002

Thursday March 18th
Palabras Poetry Showcase
Binghamton University
More information to follow

Saturday March 20th 6:30p
Yes We Can!/Latinos NYC
Nuyorican Poets Cafe
236 East 3rd St b/w Aves B & C NY NY
Cover: TBA

Friday March 26th 6:00p
LoveMiOnline Glorious Sex Showcase

Nightingale Lounge

213 2nd Avenue (@ E 13th Street) NY NY

Cover $15

Saturday March 27th 6:30p
Latinas: Let's Get It Straight
La Pregunta Arts Cafe

1528 Amsterdam Avenue NY NY

Cover $8

Saturday March 27th 10p
Urbintel presents Verses w/ Helena D Lewis
featuring the HerStory cast
Nuyorican Poets Cafe
236 East 3rd St b/w Aves B & C NY NY
Cover: TBA

Tuesday March 30th 7p
Celebrate Cesar Chavez 2010
Nuyorican Poets Cafe
236 East 3rd St b/w Aves B & C NY NY
Cover: $7

If I Could

If I could teach the world religion
I would say that I have seen God's face
in the eyes of children and heard His
voice in their laughter

If I could teach young women
the true meaning of beauty
I would take the mirror from their faces
and hold it up to their hearts

If I could teach my father pain
I would show him my bruised soul
the one I used to shield my mother
after she had become his punching bag

If I could I would teach humanity love
I would allow them to discover it
in the sound of my mother's voice
and see it in the look of my mother's face

If I could teach adults to look upon
the world as children do;
playing in curiosity and discovering
the very beauty of - what is

If I could teach myself to love again
I'd look for it in the depths of my heart
I would learn to be brave enough
to share it with you tonight

If I could teach the world how to love
I would take orphaned children
and protect and nurture them
in my vacant womb

If I could I would teach the world that man
is my brother and woman is my sister
I would teach that loyalty is rooted in unity
that together we can coexist in hope

If I could I would teach the world
that labia are not meant to be sewn
clitorises not meant to be cut and
honor not meant to be taught with showers of acid
on a young bride's face

If I could I would teach man
that an act of violence upon my sister
is an act of violence upon me and
I refuse to be the subject of that violence any longer

If I could I would teach the world
that the blood coursing through my veins
also runs through the veins of the children of the Diaspora
and that I see Haiti when I look into the mirror

If I could teach the world empathy
I would ask that we not look upon our lives in woe
But instead see the power bestowed upon us
to aid the world in change

If I could I would teach the world
that every moment, good or bad
has brought you here; to this very place
to share in this unique moment