Wednesday, December 23, 2015

Thursday, December 17, 2015

Just My Thoughts: The Mystery of Black History... #Poetry

Just My Thoughts: The Mystery of Black History... #Poetry: There is a certain truth that moonlight brings/ That truth is as sharp as Valyrian steel/ Sharp enough to slice through a ...

The Mystery of Black History... #Poetry




There is a certain truth that moonlight brings/

That truth is as sharp as Valyrian steel/

Sharp enough to slice through a lie/ this particular lie/ you chose to believe just to satisfy/ 

The basic needs of a man’s vanity/

This lie pisses me off at times, but I’ll try to get through this without profanity/

But I really can’t promise that/ so try not to be mad at me/

Sitting in your chair like… Oh The Humanity!/

Cutting through the bull/ SHING!/ and down to the white meat/

Wu Tang Clan/ style exposing a mystery to black history/

The mystery won’t be solved however, by putting a sword through/ or bringing attention to/ specific dates/ of the greats/ that came before/

The mystery won’t be solved by speaking on Africa’s riches/ the exploitation and the way governments thrive on war/

Black history wasn’t a mystery as a youth now was it? An awareness that made us unaware at ages below 5/

So alive/ and unaware of the petty differences/ yet, well aware however of what we felt inside/

We will carve our way down to the roots or should I say reason for the lie/

Which makes folks believe that their skin color is somehow more special than yours or mine/

As if our light doesn’t also shine/ as if the phoenix that burns inside every one of us is not divine/

Like an omnipotent being couldn’t bless everyone at the same time/

Steel sharpens steel / but how could you make that statement real/ If you teach a child to go against what they feel/

Cutting to the truth/ our children are smarter than us/

They trust easier than us/ living more in the now like we should do/

So in truth the mystery of black history is more about the psychology/

Follow me/ a mind that is already young and free/ will enslave itself willingly/ after being taught the thoughts of supremacy/

So if lies are the poison/ and truth is the remedy/ how come there are so many that learn the truth but so few show signs of recovery/

We all know Moses probably wasn’t pale/ but wouldn’t think twice when he’s played by Christian Bale/

How we don’t mind the facts being twisted in big budget motion pictures/ but a black Santa on a lawn would have your neighbors whisper/

I can give you a dozen examples/ with a thousand verses/ with a million letters/

But we all know that wouldn’t make this poem any better/

Sort of like Haethcliff Huxtable in trademark sweater/

Having his accomplishments overshadowed like a major city with inclement weather/

Making the mystery of black history/ less about the psychology/ or how the walls of supremacy were built/  

Some of you may be surprised to see/ that the mystery of black history/ is solved when we accept the truth about guilt/

There’s a certain truth that moonlight brings/ and this truth is that no one likes to be corrected/

Its human nature/ and bad behavior/ but it has to be respected/

Just expect it/ especially from an ego with a vanity mirror pleased with its view/

For if it ever sees a reflection it doesn’t like/ it will pretend not to see/ willing to accept what they know just isn’t true ~

GB

Saturday, December 12, 2015

Just My Thoughts: Do Your Selfish Ways Serve You?

Just My Thoughts: Do Your Selfish Ways Serve You?: If you say that it does; I must say I’m not impressed/ you always act like you could care less/ but I’m spiritually sensitive and ...

Friday, December 11, 2015

Do Your Selfish Ways Serve You?




If you say that it does; I must say I’m not impressed/ you always act like you could care less/ but I’m spiritually sensitive and I can feel your level of stress/

Damn Sun… you’re a mess/

You seem to be stuck on checkers/ playing with Rooks, Bishops, Queens and Kings who are ready for chess/

This isn’t a game though/ and you’d be hard pressed/ to go through life treating it like some kind of contest/ where you’re trying to be the best/

To be honest… you look like you could use some rest/

Are you working smarter or are you working harder? No or Yes? /

Let me stop being overly critical for I myself am a work in progress/

So I’ll digress/

We all know that “Love” is the answer to many questions of the heart/

Yet when it comes to being a loving person most of us don’t even audition for the part/

We’re more concerned with the reasons fake fuckers walked away/

Instead of showing love to the ones that stay/

We’re kind of fucked up in that way/

“Squeaky wheel gets the grease” or at least/ that’s what they say/

I would argue that selfish ways really aren’t self-serving at all/

At least not in a long term sense/ where the get back comes in the form of a harvest/

It seems to come back in the form of karma/ making you blind to the light in the darkness/

But it’s not like you’re heartless/ and I truly believe you’ll come full circle regardless/

If it’s in this life or the next/ and I really don’t expect/ you to about face or change your ways/


If you really want to serve yourself serve others the way you wish to be served/ and that same energy will return to you some day/

GB

Sunday, December 6, 2015

Just My Thoughts: #BlogTalkRadio We talk "Pros Vs Joes" as it pertai...

Just My Thoughts: #BlogTalkRadio We talk "Pros Vs Joes" as it pertai...: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/kulturezinenetwork/2015/11/19/just-my-thoughts-with-graffiti-bleu I walk in spirit with God's ...

#BlogTalkRadio We talk "Pros Vs Joes" as it pertains to poetry on this episode of #JMT






I walk in spirit with God's wind at my back... I think out-loud and I share those thoughts with critical thinkers. Today's thinkers are the "Breakfast Club" a quartette of poets that are from Sacramento. 4 uniquely different poets who meet weekly with the purpose of making each other better. And Yes, Coon the poet and Rob Esperanza join Graffiti Bleu for this discussion. 

Just My Thoughts: #BlogTalkRadio We talk "Fearlessness & Courage" on...

Just My Thoughts: #BlogTalkRadio We talk "Fearlessness & Courage" on...: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/kulturezinenetwork/2015/11/04/just-my-thoughts-with-graffiti-bleu I walk in spirit with God's ...

#BlogTalkRadio We talk "Fearlessness & Courage" on this episode of #JMT






I walk in spirit with God's wind at my back... I think out-loud and I share those thoughts with critical thinkers. Today's thinkers just happen to be 2 beautiful females. Carolyn Blackey and Dyvacat are 2 very different versions of the strong woman. One is an accomplished poet and theater performer; The other a self professed communicator and entrepreneur with a talent for being in the right place at the right time. The spirit lead me to these ladies to instigate a dialogue about fearlessness and courage.

Just My Thoughts: #BlogTalkRadio We discuss "Love & Hate" on this ep...

Just My Thoughts: #BlogTalkRadio We discuss "Love & Hate" on this ep...: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/kulturezinenetwork/2015/11/04/just-my-thoughts-with-graffiti-bleu

#BlogTalkRadio We discuss "Love & Hate" on this episode of #JMT







I walk in spirit with God's wind at my back... I think out-loud and I share those thoughts with critical thinkers. Today's thinkers are Ebony London & The Faithful Few. Ebony London is a talented artist, painter and published author. The Faithful Few is a collective of 7 poets who have contributed audio of their very popular "Fear & love" poetry cypher to the podcast.

Tuesday, October 27, 2015

How is it Possible for Love to be a Loss?


How is it Possible for Love to be a Loss?


A grown man cried/ another saw him and lied/ by stating that “Nice guys finish last” as if he had proper context/

I speak in spirit when I say this/ in its proper context that guy’s statement is nonsense/

Sheeeeeet… back in the days “nice” was slang for “Progress”

“Oh he’s nice with his pen game” meant you didn’t want a contest/

For those on the blog I must confess/ The ego is present in the stage version of this/ 

presentation… but not in the word and its foundation/

So let’s have a conversation/

I took the ego out of the driver’s seat and told him to man another station/

Co-Pilot is a better look for em/ “congratulations”

I just hit you with the key/ that unlocks the mystery/ or better yet/ I’m giving you the winning combination/

Glory be/ to G.O.D. I can only speak for me/ nonetheless I have to share this revelation/

Iv’e never walked in light or moved like love moves and took a loss/ 

Not as a dishwasher by day or at night as a boss/

Not in the streets/ not on stage/ not even in hot romances that ended up frost/

Walking in light always produced a winning reality in my heart, in my soul and between my ears /  

So then I started thinking of those popular myths/ the one’s you’ve never heard but somehow they exist/

Just to give you some ideas/

Like the notion that pain is persistent/ and joy is intermittent/

Or that fear couldn’t make the selfish blind to the value of oneness/

Or that great sex should be forbidden/

You kidding? /

I drive with divinity in the head lights traveling at the speed of self awareness/

Some may call me “a nice guy” for that/

For seeing the beauty in all things/

Back to these misinterpretations of niceness/ I’ve got to instigate the question that challenges that bullshit/

How is it Possible for Love to be a Loss?

Ya see cats are so confused with this turn the other cheek shit/

They think it means/ stand there and make the same mistake twice/ 

Scared of the next slap/ they listen to Fear’s advice/

Try listening to your gut next time when it tells you that their energy… ain’t quite right/

Try teaching your lips to say “No” as often as your brain does/

Especially if they are not worthy enough to be in your space/

If they’re not standing next to you in the first place/ how could they ever be close enough to smack your face?

Ah… you understand now/ funny thing is/ you already knew that/  I’m just helping you remember/

Love will not compromise itself/ Love is circular like all things/ We cannot harm love/ we cannot destroy love/ 

We can however choose not to experience love/ The oneness of love/ the beauty of love/ the warmth of love/ the tranquility inside the folds of love’s linen/

That wouldn’t be very “nice” now would it?

GB
















Thursday, October 8, 2015

Just My Thoughts: So How Can My Fire Turn You Cold?.. #QuickVerse

Just My Thoughts: So How Can My Fire Turn You Cold?.. #QuickVerse: Funny how passion can scare some people/ Or better yet maybe it’s not funny at all/ Fear is about as funny as an insecurity ...

So How Can My Fire Turn You Cold?.. #QuickVerse





Funny how passion can scare some people/

Or better yet maybe it’s not funny at all/

Fear is about as funny as an insecurity looking to control what cannot be tamed/

The eternal flame/

That will give you hell if you try to contain it/

Let alone explain it/

Do so in poetic verse if you've got the balls to do so/

You may find your friends to be a Faithful Few/

If you do what you love and love what you do/

Somebody somewhere just said true/ true/

Now watch me address the fearful and confess my joy/

Love always builds/ fear always destroys/

So how can my fire turn you cold? /

Unless your intentions were to control? /

Behold/ God flow/ Mastery as it unfolds/

Truth be told/

I love you regardless ~

GB

Just My Thoughts: I Support Your Freedom... #QiuckVerse

Just My Thoughts: I Support Your Freedom... #QiuckVerse: I support your freedom/ You are free to express yourself/  Not that you need my permission/  You are free to undress your...

I Support Your Freedom... #QiuckVerse




I support your freedom/

You are free to express yourself/ 

Not that you need my permission/ 

You are free to undress yourself/ 

Not simply just for a sexual position/

You have the freedom to shed the skin you're in/

Shape shift like the goddesses that rule over men/

Change form like a child's mind at play in the land of pretend/

Me supporting your freedom is how I plan for us to win/

Treating you like I would want to be treated allowing your light to shine from within/

GB

Just My Thoughts: Queen of What?

Just My Thoughts: Queen of What?: The Queen of hearts broken/ Possibly/ The Queen of humility not spoken/ Humbly/ The Queen of everything hot like s...

Queen of What?




The Queen of hearts broken/

Possibly/

The Queen of humility not spoken/

Humbly/

The Queen of everything hot like steam/

The queen of broken dreams/

The Queen of a fear that makes lovers turn mean/

Incredibly/

Does a Queen cause her King anger? / 

Maybe/

Does a Queen turn a King who was her best friend into a stranger? /

Despicably/

Does a Queen refuse compromise with the backbone of her throne?

Does a Queen insist that she rule the kingdom on her own?

I am sure this Queen exists but tell me where does this Queen rule? /

Is the land she concurred glorious and is her King a fool? /


Queen of what?


Please tell me so that I can see if the people she rules have smiles on their faces/

Are her subjects loyal to her/ No matter what the case is? /

A beautiful Queen she is indeed/ inside and out/

And I don’t have a single doubt/

That a Queen is exactly what she is from the tip of her toes to the diamonds in her crown/

However when I decided to take the route/

Of seeing what being her King was really about/

I was asked to get on my knees and at first I was more than willing to bow down/

But she asked me to stay down/

And that I was only allowed to stand when she said it was okay for me to do so/

I told her I couldn’t rule in a position where I wasn’t on the ready/

On my feet/ side by side with her/ and that kneeling for long periods was for the petty/

Not to mention that I had knelled to the previous Queen already/

And before you get beheaded they put you on your knees while they hold their sword steady/

So kneeling isn’t a good look for me/

So please tell me…


You are the Queen of what?


What land do you rule and do you ask me to kneel in jest?

I’m confused and not quite sure why you would make such a request/

My love for you is a right knee to the Earth/

Connecting me with the divine mother/ 

Forcing my ego to take a back seat to all things beautiful in your soul/

My respect for you is a left knee to the Earth/

I listen to your feminine perspective and hold a high regard for the wisdom you unfold/

Now that’s 2 knees/ anymore/ and I will be on all fours/

Like a good dog whining when he wants some affection/

Begging for spiritual food and attention/ 

Kept in the back yard for the house’s protection/

Unable to stop the mailman from sliding letters through the slot/ Or the tax man from getting his collection/


Queen of what?


Indeed you are a Queen/ just not the Queen of me/

Perhaps in another life/ one where there’s no insecurities/

A land where butterflies fly free/ as the summer breeze as do the flowers sway/ that they/ choose to land on/

A land where the Earth is free to spin/ yet steady enough for a King to stand on ~


GB

Sunday, August 23, 2015

New York State of Mind...





Location, location, location…

New York City. 

I grew up in this city.

I left this city because the world was spinning too fast at the time. Now I’ve come back to make it stop. Life can throw you into a storm; on what was seemingly a very sunny day. I have learned to adapt to sudden changes. 

Ironically... in this very city. I’ve reached a point in my life where I am once again, looking for myself. 

I came to NY for a video project, but the more I walked the streets of Queens, Harlem and Manhattan… (Simply didn’t have time for the Bronx or Long Island) the more I considered living here once again. California has been a good look for me for a loOong time.

Sunshine is not the only reason I live there, trust me. However there is a sincerity I miss from the North east that isn't common place in the west. The kind of transparency I have not found anywhere else. A “tell you up front” attitude that appeals to my truth seeking nature. Will I move back? Just be on some artist sh*t and be “about that life” full-time? Who knows... It would be difficult for anyone to get me out of my lovely Roseville apartment. #flyshit
I would move to Harlem or Brooklyn if I did though. I would expand the collective as well. (Not to mention the team would consist of cats I’ve known since High school. Or do I continue in California? Change the game and bring organization, east coast hustle and perspective to the Bay Area and beyond?

Only time will answer this one…

Tuesday, August 4, 2015

Just My Thoughts: How can I make your ugly beautiful?

Just My Thoughts: How can I make your ugly beautiful?: How can I make your ugly beautiful? / First I have to go to that ugly place/ put it in  verse and give it perspective/ R...

How can I make your ugly beautiful?




How can I make your ugly beautiful? /

First I have to go to that ugly place/ put it in 
verse and give it perspective/

Raw dog no contraceptive/ only to give birth to a beautiful truth/

My beautiful truth to be exact/ since we are all aware of the fact/ that your truth and my truth are probably not be the same/

One ugly is promoters and poets/ so eager to blow up in the game/

That they lose sight of their artistic vision/ blinded by the flashing lights of fame/

Trying to be P Diddy/

But you wouldn’t do an internship/ or take a train ride into the city/

You see there’s even an art to being a gangster for the paper/

Unwilling to put the work in/ counterfeit becomes the caper/

Without having any integrity for the creating process/

Investing in nonsense/ short money/ talking fast and sounding funny/

These big dummies/

Some create awards for themselves that don’t exist/

Some claim to be on the best seller lists/

Trying to get love from the fans

Ugly like a missed dunk from a player trying to be flashy/ who could’ve won the game with an assist/

What part of the game is this? /

You’ve done lost your mind thinking art is disposable/

This is a lyrical lobotomy to see if you have any brains left to view/

Ewww/

It’s ugly in there too/ all I see are thoughts filled with a slave’s mentality/

Every time I tell you “we’re free” you turn around and get mad at me/

Metaphorically and systematically trying to make slaves out of the rest of us/

Filing the game with mistrust and disgust/
Lust/ led you here to this ugly place/

You aren’t lusting for hot bars tho/

You’re lusting for sold out shows without buying in to the concept of practice, practice practice/

And it’s really okay if you happen to lack this/ caliber of skill to spring forward so your time falls back quick/

What good is fame and being in it/ if it’s only for 15 minutes? /

Minute 16… shows no traces of your career/ and I find it hard not to stare/ because the ugly doesn’t stop there/

Ugly is everywhere/

It’s at the open-mics sitting in the captain’s chair/

Making the dope spitters wait/ while mediocre verses fill the air/

I can go on and on/ hurting your feelings like I don't have a care/

But I have a job to do/ and remember/ this piece of art must turn your ugly into something beautiful/

Besides there are many things uglier than you not paying artist or offering vendor tables at venues/

There’s that ugly that hides inside the bold bluffs of the fearful/

Steady fronting like they’re prepared to be reckless/ but really being overly careful/

Knowledge of self was left behind on this trip/ so they can’t see themselves in the rear-view/

I understand they do not know any better/

And that’s why I over-stand you/

The fear of love/

The fear of pain/

The fear of not being a success/

Can make you see what isn’t there/

And make you fold under the stress/

But you promoters that rip off artist are the kind that live fearful but maintain composure/

That's why I took it to the street and parked the metaphors parallel so that this poet could expose ya/

Breaking you down like the pies you should've sliced for my fam who's art is their profession/

Now that the team ate/ every crumb on the pie plate/ let’s get right back to the question/

How can I make your ugly beautiful? /

Testimony is a start/

I observe your wicked ways/


Then turn them into my art/


GB



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