Rare Groove, Feb. 10, 2011

Cage the Elephant --- Shake Me Down

Starts slow, but then delivers quite the punch. But what else can you expect from such a consistently awesome group?

Marcus Jamison, the Rare Poet

To Wake with Such a Feeling

Stephanie A.M.

she is everything that’s right about the morning,

bright,

stirring, realization that

I am so alive,

shining, reflecting pools,

her eyes find mine, eager,

spreading smiles through the air like

sunlight tendrils,

when they reach me

everything seems to begin

she is everything that’s right about the morning,

gentle,

soft new beginnings, joy

trickles down her thighs,

singing songs

in the key of me

that always wake me from my slumber,

I dream, to count the seconds until

I find her at my side,

for she is sunrise to my senses,

leaves them illuminated, prepared,

intrigued,  I touch her beauty,

taste the joy our hearts have shared,

so aware no darkness

stands a chance, as long as she is there

she is everything that’s right about the morning,

peaceful,

serene, splash of magnetic radiance,

that I grab and hold inside,

I gaze upon her like first flecks of new day,

startled by the beauty and yet so happy that

she’s finally arrived, she reflects

all of love’s brilliance, beaming

like daybreak before my eyes

she is everything that’s right about the morning,

and I long to keep her with me

through each and every night

[End Poem]

Feels pretty good.

Marcus Jamison, the Rare Poet

Some Just Have Gifted Pens

Urban Renewal XVII
What of my fourth-grade teacher at Reynolds Elementary,
who weary after failed attempts to set to memory
names strange and meaningless as grains of dirt around
the mouthless, mountain caves at Bahrain Karai:
Tarik, Shanequa, Amari, Aisha, nicknamed the entire class
after French painters whether boy or girl. Behold
the beginning of sentient formless life. And so,
my best friend Darnell became Marcel, and Tee-tee
was Braque, and Stacy James was Fragonard,
and I, Eduard Charlemont. The time has come to look
at these signs from other points of view. Days passed
in inactivity before I corrected her, for Eduard was
Austrian and painted the black chief in a palace in 1878
to the question whether intelligence exists. All of Europe
swooned to Venus of Willendorf. Outside her tongue,
yet of it, in textbooks Herodotus tells us of the legend
of Sewosret, Egyptian, colonizer of Greece,
founder of Athens. What’s in a name? Sagas rise and
fall in the orbs of jump ropes, Hannibal grasps a Roman
monkey bar on history’s rung, and the mighty heroes at recess
lay dead in woe on the imagined battlefields of Halo.
                     ----   Major Jackson

Rare Groove, Feb. 09, 2011

Nneka --- Love

Apparently, I am just in a Nneka mood...lol. But she really is an amazing artist!

Marcus Jamison, the Rare Poet

The World's Pain

Today I've been getting better acquainted with the work of the artist Nneka, from my last post, and I am liking what I'm hearing a lot.  Growing up in poverty stricken Nigeria, she has a humility that is unparalleled, coupled with a soul that clings to love.  This version of today's rare groove really had an impact on me.




In a world where so many suffer, we need to be aware. We need to embrace love and support for all, not simply some, because those of us who are fortunate might have found ourselves in a different place. Like the singer says in the video, God is good at all times, and we should embrace this, and reflect this in our daily lives. Living life to the fullest, through love and good, will help make this world a better place.

I pray for the people who are forced to endure pain, suffering, and hardship, and hope to one day be in a position where I can help some of them overcome this. The world's pain can be alleviated, if we all try to do our part to help. God bless.

Marcus Jamison, the Rare Poet