The Rare Move

I would like to thank all the people who have followed this blog.  You may never fully understand what you mean to me.  But I've decided to switch platforms for now, from Blogger to Wordpress.  While I have enjoyed everything the wonderful team at Blogger has offered me, I'm just interested in something new.  And so the move.

I hope every one of you will continue to follow my blog on it's new home:

Rare View Me

I look forward to many more great interactions with you all there.

Marcus Jamison, the Rare Poet

The Evolution

Change happens.  It's inevitable.  Over the past 31 years, I've grown and changed, along with the world I live in and the people around me.  In order for there to be growth, change is necessary.  Anything that stays the same becomes stagnant.

I would like to thank all of the wonderful people who have been enjoying my blog for such a wonderful stretch of time.  (19 months....wow, I can't believe it's been that long).  But new things are to come.  This is not my official final Rare View Me post, just the announcement that one is soon to come.  But don't be sad!  Something new is brewing in the horizon, and as the loyal folks who keep me motivated, you will be the first to know.

Much love,

Marcus Jamison, the Rare Poet

The Occasional Crazy Rare Quote # 14

The greatest Americans 

have not been born yet.

They are waiting patiently 

for the past to die.

Please give blood

--- Saul Williams

Life's Not So Rare Lessons, Feb.25, 2012

We keep learning things.  It's a part of our progression.  Sometimes, we forget them, but something brings them back.

Not too long ago, I was watching a portion of a wonderful movie I hope everyone has seen called Talk to Me.  The 2007 film tells the story of Ralph Waldo "Petey" Greene, a Washington D.C. native and prominent radio/television personality, who went from an ex-con to an influential community activist.

"Petey" Greene

(courtesy of Wikipedia)

There's a powerful scene in the movie, highlighting the events that happened in the nation's capital following the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.  Many people credit some of the statements Greene made in those trying moments with helping quell the riots that were occurring throughout the city.  At the end of his segment, Greene shared a song.

There have been many times that I've needed that song.

I was born by the river, in a little tent.  And just like the river I been running.  Running ever since.
It's been a long time coming, but I know.  A change is gonna come.  Oh, yes it is.


These powerful words, made famous by the late, great Sam Cooke, have always been a source of hope.  I've listened to them when searching for direction, in some of my most trying times.  They have literally brought me to sudden tears, with the overwhelming realization they always manage to bring.  And they remind me.

It can get better.


Usually, upon hearing those words, our human instinct is to immediately ask how.  We've all been in need of something more, something better, and get so caught up in trying to get there, that we forget to exhale and take comfort in knowing that better really is possible.

That new job you've been looking for.  That change in your lifestyle.  That little piece of hope to keep you going.  It really is out there.  Sure, getting there is important, but it's good to know that there's a path.

It's been a long time coming, but I know.  A change is gonna come.  Ohhhhh, yes it is.


Knowing this has brought me from some dark places.  I hope it can bring some of you from those places, as well.



Sam Cooke - A Change is Gonna Come


Before the stresses of your life overwhelm you, take a little joy in knowing that things can get better.  Only then can you try to figure out how to get them there.

Marcus Jamison, the Rare Poet

Back Again

I'M BACK!!!!


Sheesh!  These extended hiatuses have become alarmingly frequent, where I find myself completely cut off from doing things that I love to do, which lately has included both writing and blogging.  But I'm back at it again, promising more exciting posts and interesting tidbits from my increasingly broad imagination.  I'm about to once again make it a habit to post everyday.  And it's also about time for some aesthetic changes as well.

So enough ranting about being back...it's time to get the show back on the road.

Marcus Jamison, the Rare Poet

Because First, We Must Love Ourselves

Love After Love
by Derek Walcott


The time will come
when, with elation
you will greet yourself arriving
at your own door, in your own mirror
and each will smile at the other's welcome,


and say, sit here. Eat.
You will love again the stranger who was your self.
Give wine. Give bread. Give back your heart
to itself, to the stranger who has loved you


all your life, whom you ignored
for another, who knows you by heart.
Take down the love letters from the bookshelf,


the photographs, the desperate notes,
peel your own image from the mirror.
Sit. Feast on your life.

I Had to Do a Double Take

Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer in an apparently heated discussion

with President Obama  (photo courtesy NY Daily News)

When I saw this picture this morning, far too many thoughts rushed to my mind.  All of them ended up with a jaw-dropping comment floating in my head.

"Oh no the hell she didn't!!!"

Normally, I don't flaunt my political opinions or debate things political, due to the excessive emotions people display during such discussions.  While I would certainly classify myself as liberal in my views and beliefs, I do feel a restructuring of the American political system is long overdue.  But this didn't even touch me on a political level.

This irritated me on a human level.  Isn't it taught to us from an early age proper behavior when in conversation with others?  Shouldn't someone who has been elevated to a role of public office, especially one as high in the ranks as governor, be aware of such etiquette?  Even if this wasn't the President of the United States of America, I would be offended by this photograph.  I'm certainly aware that tempers flare when people are involved in passionate discourse.  But finger pointing?  Seriously?

I don't even need to know what the topic of this conversation was to know that sticking your finger in someone's face is a sign that polite talk has shifted.  Perhaps Gov. Brewer is lucky this WAS the President she pulled that tactic with.  Because I know many people who would have smacked that finger with some quickness.  Personally, I would have walked off at that precise moment, letting her point that finger at my back.

People keep saying respect is earned.  Maybe so, but decency should be universal.  At least in my humble opinion.

Marcus Jamison, the Rare Poet

Because The Bridge Eventually Wearies of Traffic

The Bridge Poem 

 by Kate Rushin

I’ve had enough
I’m sick of seeing and touching
Both sides of things
Sick of being the damn bridge for everybody
 
Nobody
Can talk to anybody
Without me
Right?
 
I explain my mother to my father
my father to my little sister
My little sister to my brother
my brother to the white feminists
The white feminists to the Black church folks
the Black church folks to the ex-hippies
the ex-hippies to the Black separatists
the Black separatists to the artists
the artists to my friends’ parents…
 
Then
I’ve got to explain myself
To everybody
 
I do more translating
Than the Gawdamn U.N.
 
Forget it
I’m sick of it.
 
I’m sick of filling in your gaps
 
Sick of being your insurance against
the isolation of your self-imposed limitations
 
Sick of being the crazy at your holiday dinners
 
Sick of being the odd one at your Sunday Brunches
 
Sick of being the sole Black friend to 34 individual white people
 
Find another connection to the rest of the world
Find something else to make you legitimate
Find some other way to be political and hip
 
I will not be the bridge to your womanhood
Your manhood
Your humanness
 
I’m sick of reminding you not to
Close off too tight for too long
 
I’m sick of mediating with your worst self
On behalf of your better selves
 
I am sick
Of having to remind you
To breathe
Before you suffocate
Your own fool self
 
Forget it
Stretch or drown
Evolve or die
 
The bridge I must be
Is the bridge to my own power
I must translate
My own fears
Mediate
My own weaknesses
 
I must be the bridge to nowhere
But my true self
And then
I will be useful

Being Prompted, Jan. 23, 2012

I love this prompt, because I am so impressed by its author.  Those of you who know me will quickly agree that Chookoolonks is one of my favorite sights on all the web.  Mrs. Walrond has the remarkable talent of finding beauty wherever she seeks it.  It is seen in her photographs, it is embedded within her thoughts and ideas, and it resonates to all who witness these things.  Here is her prompt (also taken from the reverb10 website, which unfortunately is no longer active).   

Beautifully Different.

Think about what makes you different and what you do that lights people up. Reflect on all the things that make you different – you’ll find they’re what make you beautiful.

(Author: Karen Walrond)


To describe all of the things that make me different feels like a daunting task.  Even as a small child, I've always felt I am cut from a different cloth.  There are several things that make me different, but the one that stands out is my mind.  Or more accurately, it's the way I think.  I've always been able to analyze things from all sides.  Even when I have a particular point of view or opinion on a subject, I often find myself examining it from the opposite angle, if only to gain some perspective.  I think this trait has serve as both a benefit and a hindrance.  It is wonderful to be open-minded, but such deep analysis often leads to stagnancy or procrastination.  


Yet my mind remains my greatest asset and also the one thing that sets me apart from others.  There are other writers in the world, other fathers, other thinkers, but none of them think like me.  Thoughts lead to actions, which eventually determine who we are and how we are remembered.  I'd certainly love to be remembered for this complex, beautiful mind of mine.


It has led to all of the words and insights I've shared with others.  Hopefully these things light people up and leave them smiling, pondering, and formulating thoughts of their own.  If so, they served a purpose.


What makes you beautifully different?


Marcus Jamison, the Rare Poet

Being Prompted, Jan. 19, 2012

Over the past few weeks, I've been collecting an assortment of various writing prompts because, frankly, I could use the motivation.  I am a writer.  It is somewhere embedded in the joined strands of my DNA.  This doesn't mean that I never struggle to write.  There have been many days, notebook before me, that I've found myself staring blankly at the page, waiting desperately for the pencil or pen to start moving.  But nothing happened.  So hopefully these prompts will help change that.

The first prompt comes from a collection of prompts that I intended to follow during December of 2011.  So many things happened at the start of that month, causing me to forget said intentions almost immediately.  But somehow at 1:30-ish in the a.m. on this lovely Thursday, I find myself looking back over them.

Gwen Bell is another one of the many marvelous individuals who I've stumbled across on the web.  She is a plethora of invaluable information, a model of living life at it's lifeyness (so NOT a word), and the creator of such incredible writing.  The idea for these prompts was originally found on her Reverb10 website, which sadly no longer exists.  But I'm going to use them anyway!!!

One Word.

Encapsulate the year 2010 in one word. Explain why you’re choosing that word. Now, imagine it’s one year from today, what would you like the word to be that captures 2011 for you?
(Author: Gwen Bell)

If you notice above, I had to strike through the years, because obviously they are inaccurate.  But still an interesting prompt.  I'm also adding a bit of a spin to it.  While all of these prompts were supposed to be written at the end of the year, I'm going to apply it to the beginning of this year.  So 2012, in one word?  Hmmmm.

paramount

It's interesting that while I was thinking of several other words, this one seemed to bully its way into my head. From there, it simply stuck.  And I love how this word's definition so literally applies to how I envision this year.  Chief in importance or impact.  Preeminent.  (Which is another amazing word, meaning distinguished above others!!)  I certainly see this year falling into that category, mainly because this is the year that everything comes together and begins to ascend towards the goals I've set to obtain.  Ten years from now, I imagine being able to look back and say "2012....that was the year it all got set into motion."

As for a year from now, in 2013?

fruition

Just the thought of that word makes me smile.

Marcus Jamison, the Rare Poet

Where Does The Time Go To?

Has it really been 12 days since my last post?  Wow, time might not fly, per-say, but it certainly has a knack for getting away from us.  So let me update you all.

I've been visiting family and friends in North Carolina.  My son is so adorable and has grown so much!!!  He has also developed a talent of leaving me smiling and speechless.

I've also just started my second semester at school.  Less classes this time, so I won't feel so stressed and burnt out by the time midterms roll around.  I'm aiming for all A's this semester, so wish me luck.

And of course, still pursuing the dreams......  <----  Can't wait to drop the pursuit and replace it with achievement.  But it's coming!!

I hope all of you are having a wonderful time in 2012.  This first month seems to be flying by, so it's time we get it together.  We have goals to reach!!!

More good stuff to come.  So, until next time.....smile, for no reason at all.  (It just feels good!!)

Marcus Jamison, the Rare Poet

When You Get to Wake Up to This, You Can't Help But Feel Good

This is what I saw this morning when I walked outside, shortly after 7.

It inspired me to write this:

Dawning

Inches away from explosion, the red is

so deep it bleeds

up through the clouds.

The power, of such anticipation, to

set the trees ablaze.

Can't you?  Feel it?

Stirring, growing,

the swell of new, bursting

suddenly.

The birds sit still, wings

motionless.

As if captured by the very way

it thrums.

Sky spreads open, its arms trembling.

Awake, morning!  Breathe!

(End poem)

And with that, I hope each and everyone of you has been enjoying a great new day.

Marcus Jamison, the Rare Poet

2012

YAAAAAAAY!!!!   My first post of the new year!!!

I've been pretty busy since the end of December, but am back for more blogging fun.  I've already dedicated this year to the flourishing beginning of my writing career.  So I'm optimistic about 2012.

I'd like to sincerely thank all the people who've been reading my thoughts since I began this.  I promise you that more new and exciting tidbits are yet to come.

Enjoy this wonderful new year!!

Marcus Jamison, the Rare Poet