To The Princess

This goes out to the Princess:
The one who considers herself a vegetarian,
because she only eats caviar.
The one who who considers herself generous,
because she always gives her opinion.
The one who considers herself interesting
and likes to conversate.
Tho one who considers herself
in charge
but takes responsibility for nothing
because she is the princess.
This goes out to the Princess:
Who is of the royal line,
and checked the flow of history
to see
that all great Queens were once princess
and became queen
by earning her thrown
not just by lineage
but who understood that a real ruler
know that a balanced house
a balanced Queendom
is one where the subject dwell in peace
not just by her rule and word
But this one
is for the Princess
who may never become
A Queen

COPYRIGHT 2012 MJ Peters. All Rights Reserved

On Becoming An Empire

Each day time that we look to uphold a tradition
We actually create a new one in our consciousness Reaching
Reflecting
Recalling
Trying to pass it to the next generation
As they look at us at times with blank stares
Not sure why, but follow what we say.
Words of wisdom can only be seen as such when heard through the ears of experience
Knowing Where we've been
and
Knowing enough to pay attention on the second trip through

 In business as in life,
You will learn that the pen is not only mightier than the sword
but can move more than the shovel
For words put in writing means
Word is Bond
In dealing with others,
you'll rather those who require a pen over those who's words require a shovel.
For those who's words require shovels
build castles in the sky wondering why no one will move into them

Pick your team with more care,
than you pick your friends
But never pick a teammate who's not a friend
Those who bear shovels are there to dig holes
that are to be filled with cement below the frost line
Pay them what you owe them and move on

Be ready to celebrate with your team
because
In success,
it's not so much about remembering who was there when you started
as much as celebrating with those who stuck by you until your ship came in
and saw the house complete

COPYRIGHT 2012, MJ Peters

A Message to the "Promoters" Out There...

Please stop calling yourself a promoter if:
1) It sounds better than admitting that you're unemployed.
2) You fail to protect your clients from being undercut by others.
3) You're too busy kissing the ass of folks who you think are big in the industry to see your own opportunities.
4) Your spelling, grammar, and vocabulary are atrocious.
5) You're working from a cell phone and your kid's laptop.
6) The last big thing you did was in the 1990s.
7) The people you brag about working with regard you with pity or pretend not to know who you are.
8) When the lies you tell are easy to prove as false.
9) When you have to tells your lies in other circles, forgetting that all circles are concentric. 
10) When disassociating with you brings new opportunities.
11) When you spend most of your energy covering your tracks as opposed to promoting product.


See my "Artists Guide To Dealing With/ Selecting Promoters" blog coming soon.

More Light...

Watching people avoid the inevitable,
Is like trying to watch somebody
out-run their own sweat...
Traveling in circles, in designer sunglasses

trying to avoid the west
the place where even the light ends
Yet,
ironically
It's always been a matter of their inability
to face the light of the sun,
or even recognize it.

COPYRIGHT 2012, MJ Peters

Mwalim to present "You're An NDN??" @ Dudley Branch Library - 5/3

An Easter Side Poem

Okay,

The church, in spreading the word, would absorb and adapt pagan beliefs and practices into those of Christianity.

A lot of these practices were written into the seasonal celebrations of the church.

Since at least the 3rd Century, pagan cultures in Russia, Gaul (France), Prussia (Germany, etc.), and the Mongolian regions celebrated the Vernal Equinox; celebrating the renewed fertility of mother earth, where the plentiful presence of rabbits and eggs symbolizes her bounty.

Dig this:

The German surname Easterhausen (Easter Bunny) dates back to the 6th Century.

Since at least the 12th Century, this time of year has been celebrated as Easter, observing the death and resurrection of Jesus, the truth, light and way for those who believe in him, to ever lasting life.

A piece of the reflection of Easter is the shedding of his blood for the new covenant.

When the Spanish encountered the Aztecs, they were introduced to Chocolate, which the Spanish related to blood.

Go figure.

Chocolate is a sexual stimulant and the origins of giving chocolate were as an expression of sexual desire. These desires, if reciprocal, could lead to procreation.

Could even say they're fuc'n' like Bunnies…

Rabbits and older chickens were given as sacrifice to the goddess in ancient Europe during the Equinox period. The new chicks that were born were a symbol of rebirth.

Jesus gave himself for the sins of the world, according the church, shortly after the equinox.

Rabbits and chicks made of chocolate are given out as a symbol of the pagan traditions.

Jesus shed his blood for our sins.

Folklore has a way of merging when cultures collide. So dig this metaphorical peanut butter cup when I say:

Jesus is the Easter Bunny.

Chocolate is my sin.

For the Black Indian in America, the Devil has very little to show him... Ask A [former] Cherokee.


(c) 2006, M. Peters

A Message To A Poet Warrior

Ahhh,
It had been a while since we talked
I didn't get to say goodbye
the right way
But you know...

Poet Warrior
What's in those scrolls on your back?
What do you carry? Son, Father, Boy, Man, Grandfather, Writer, Friend, Visionary, Time traveler, slayer of evil, storyteller, con man, prophet, teacher, healer, actor, director, singer, producer...
Poet Warrior...

I can't bring myself to call this a memorial
or a eulogy
Because that would mean you're not here.
I know you are, I can close my eyes and feel your presence
 Like the first time I met you,
In the Bronx, at The Point.
From there on, you have been my brother.
To Rush Gallery, To The Nuyorican, To Bar 13, To Cafe Largo, To The Brooklyn Moon,  To Libraries in Yonkers, To Basement Recording Studios on Westchester Ave,
To the look of pride and love on your face when you first held my newborn son,
I know you look out for us all from where you are.

No, this Ain't No Eulogy,
Just like That wasn't No Pocket Diary
To making plans,
To making movies,
To making Moves
You could rally us all and lead the charge up the hill
Showing us that the windmills really were dragons
Lead the charge Poet Warrior
I'm right there with you
Until I'm with you
Bendicion

To Raul Maldonado
R.I.P.

Consider the Power of Thought

Consider the power of thought
Then
Consider the inspiration that thought gives to action
or consider the tragic effects of a thought fleeting
A thought that only remains a thought
that could have changed the world
but is quickly replaced
by a less profound thought
A thought that would have been amazing and beautiful as an action
But got killed off by a distraction or a desire
left to fall into oblivion
Perhaps it waited there
and grew in strength
as it plotted
planned
and waited for the chance to re- appear
disguised as a new thought
one that took over your body, mind and soul
compelled you to act on it
Leading you to greatness
or not
or your own demise
where the though has reaped it's revenge
and laughs at you as you lay on the ground
in pain or dying
all because you ignored a thought
once
Consider the power of thought

COPYRIGHT 2012 MJ Peters

BHM: Griot Spotlight: Richard Pryor

It's been my first official week of sabbatical and I already miss teaching. So this blog is going to have to become my classroom. With that in mind, allow me to explain the principles of my main teaching method (Socratically based); one where I often tell my students that "in my class, Google is one of your best friends..."

I'm going to give you a name, a perspective and and example of their work (via link to printed or video-based material) and eave it up to you to find the rest. Agreed? Okay, so here we go:

As an academic, I've chosen to reflect of Black History Month as a sort of time of reflection and rejuvenation around the socio- political experiences of being Black in America. I find the whole notion of a national theme for Black History Month remarkably insulting, and yet another irony in the Black experience. When does Black History Month become a time of enlightenment? When does it actually get used as a time to fulfill the objectives of Carter G Woodson?Instead it becomes another opportunity for us to act as intellectual sheep.

In this light, allow me to use this time to reflect on the Griots of Black America. Griot, a collective term for a tradition found in several West African cultures of storytellers, philosophers, poets, oral historians, advisers, mentors and teachers of our collective cultural roots; who in American culture have often been reduced to the roll of street corner poets and store-front knowledge droppers.

In light of this, I would like to hold up one of the greatest and best known griots of the 20th Century, Mr. Richard Pryor. While stand-up comedy was his forum, there are few Black orators, actors, teachers, philosophers and/or journalists who could equal or surpass the razor- sharp insight that Mr Pryor had as it related to the social, political, economic and cultural experiences of Black people in America, particularly race relations. Teamed with the equally brilliant Paul Mooney (subject of a future Griot Spotlight), Richard Pryor became one of the most insightful voices in America. Enjoy the clips below.

Riddle Me This? The Mystery of the Granny Gown

Over the past few years, I've run this scenario past a few guys. Most of them could relate, but none knew the answer. So allow me to put it out there:

You have been dating or involved with this lady for quite some time. You're having one of those late night chats  where she reveals that she's in her bed, butt naked.

Okay, so let's fast forward to the night or the weekend where she's staying at your house or you're staying at hers. The night has been romantic and steamy and now it's time to retire to the bedroom. You come to bed properly attired (or sans attired) but she comes to bed in a t-shirt and shorts or sweats or the ubiquitous granny night gown. Mind you, the temperature is about 10 degrees warmer than the night of the phone conversation.

Now, a few nights have passed, you're back on the phone with her and, again she tells you that she's in bed completely naked. Then, she wonders why this news leaves you not only un-impressed but even slightly annoyed. Talk about a day late and a dollar short!

Any answers to this???

A Silly Original Riddle for A Monday

RIDDLE: What do you call a kid 'bustin' a sag' in a field in South Dakota?


















A: Catcher in the Rye

The Numbers Game

My clock went off at 8:01
I slept for another ten minutes
which turned into 55
kinda like one birthday your twenty five
and the next
your 30
I walked into the fist church
on the fourth Sunday
it was my third time there
behind the 88 keys
but all the songs only used five of them
"Numerology is the tool of the devil!"
Declared the preacher, to his mostly approving congregation
He said it three times, then directed us to open our bibles to the book of numbers
33 books in the old
33 books in the new
33 degrees in the Scottish Rite
331/3 make a third of a circle
like 120 degrees in a circle
or 120 lessons...
Lemme take four steps back
See it happened about 21 years ago
when I told Jesus it would be alright if he changed my name
So he started calling me "Mwalim", handed me a prayer rug
pointed east and told me there were 72 paths to the end of the story
Along the way I met a brother
on the corner of 5th and 12th
who offered me a twenty bag
and some photocopies of 120 lessons
which were also summarized by a Queen who divided herself into seven
and in the end found god in herself
and she loved her
five senses, five fingers, five pillars
seven sins
seven virtues
seven days
Seven senses (for those who think)
I thought these things always come in threes
12 moons
12 hours, twice
12 steps towards knowledge
12 disciples
12 tribes
12 students is the ideal classroom size
12 bars to the blues
12 tones to a chromatic scale
the sun hangs in the middle
dejavu?
this happened before
at least once
Aussar got cut into 14 pieces
at least, that's what his wife found
7 is the age of reason
28 is when you become reasonable
don't trust anybody over 30
until they turned 50
I knew this 52 year old guy who was talking to a 21 year old woman
we told him he was too old
he replied that is she's over 18, she can be under him
He met her five years earlier
and he would have gotten ten years
for what he had in mind
I've told that story at least 100 times
in the last six months
to be continued
in 24 hours

--------

So now that I've taken five
for several hours
Lemme count back about twelve years
back to the street corner
with the brother who gave me the photocopies lessons
it was 120 lessons
and some actual facts
and some solar facts
120 lessons
taken from 155 problems
then
move forward by about 14 years
and it was my turn to give him some questions
traveling east
same light
new way of looking at it
ahhh, I've told this story at least 100 times
7 days
7 African Powers
even though there are really sixteen
which still comes to seven
but I'm getting ahead of myself
like the time I met the man with the limp
sitting on the three legged stool
rolling two dice
trying to avoid a seven
120 lessons
120 beats
House music all night long
musical symmetry
lowest tone on the bass
is an E
at 42HZ
Count 'em in Bobby
1,2,3,4 hit me
on
the
one
Stay tuned
more to come