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