I Thought My Voice Was Too Small

Even in these four years of consistent blogging as well as an extension of my spoken word/musical moniker, I didn’t expect to have an impact even if it wasn’t overreaching.

I am still quite small in this microcosm and thought my voice would match the lack of height.

Perhaps my voice was bigger when I see and hear responses.

Replies from around the world have given me solace.

Inspiration takes wing for those covering multiple topics.

Maybe they soared like the ospreys in my moniker.

Maybe I spoke louder than I thought.

Then again, everything sounds louder when one has been silenced for so long.

Has Anyone Seen My Joy?

I’ve been through tumultuous times before

But this year has been affecting everyone

Horrific memories flood my brain

Even if those years were objectively “better” compared to now

No justice has been done

My smile has greatly diminished whether I use it to hide or not

My passions have been downplayed

One interest has only been there, so I can finish something

Have I become a drone or rather would it be better as such if I was?

I do my best to mention serious topics as well as supporting multiple righteous causes

Do people even care?

I want to have joy again, but it’s on life support.

Colorblindness as a Fallacy

“But I don’t see color.”

That’s been said to my face since I was a child.

I never couldn’t counter it at a young age.

Once experience and research pooled in, this was an intellectual slight.

If one is legitimately blind, then I’ll give them an excuse.

Anyone else, how can anyone NOT see color?

False defenses rear up to prevent oneself from the worst word one could be called (in their perspective).

Ignoring the plight of those with melanin was a form of indirect violence.

That and feigning ignorance.

Minimizing such bigotry to either nasty slurs and hoods is beyond erroneous.

Said bigotry isn’t always that obvious although many would deny it.

I better not hear the words “Well, they didn’t mean it!”, “You’re over-analyzing.”, or “You’re a racist for assuming something or someone is racist!”

Please, I have no such sociopolitical power to enact any kind of systemic oppression in any field of activity.

Flaws on Display

Shortcomings kept me grounded, but also prevented me from ascending.

Time to get literal for a few sentences.

I struggle with self-loathing.

I get depressed or even paranoid at worst.

I internalize my anger.

My thinking is better in preparation than on the spot most of the time.

Now, back to my regularly scheduled abstract wording.

Pointed fingers and gavels rain down on me as my mind is in a monsoon season. It causes me to ponder if the storms believe they are deities in their own right. Should I point the finger back, it gets sliced off. God forbid I spot the plank in someone else’s eye even if I know I’m right. There were moments where I wished I could be beyond these flaws and others would extol me, but that’s only a pipe dream at best. I doubt a time machine would exist in my lifetime to correct everything.

Denial Is An Opiate

Reality weighs heavy on so many minds

Exponentially increasing paranoia

Escaping into comfortable fantasies where atrocities and uncomfortable truths don’t exist

Downplaying obscure narratives

That can crush someone’s worldview

It doesn’t matter if one believes in a higher power or not

Since anyone can get strung out on saccharine lies

There’s an illusion of an absolutely safe capsule, but one risks being stuck there for eons

Proving Alexander Pushkin right a thousandfold

The 2nd Rebuke of a False Queen

It’s time to take your artificial halo down once more

Stop making shallow homages to the Motherland when you already plagiarized someone’s video from there

You’re not sorry, don’t lie

You’re just an accomplice involved with the biggest legacy of animated theft, cultural degradation, and appropriation

Your followers are nothing but drones

The fact you do wrong, but never own up to it is beyond childish like the last on-screen boyfriend you had in 2019

Funny how you’re the type to flagellate a man for the smallest slight, but never own up to your faults when the fingers point your way

Some woman you are

This attempt at empowerment is lip service at best

While you are a different hue than your handlers, you’re nothing but a patsy buffer for a corrupt agenda

Real heroes and heroines don’t have your wealth and fame

The ones in the street, the ones raising awareness, and those raising money for righteous causes are more valiant than you will ever be

At least try to act like you care…oh, wait. You can’t act for crap.

Destiny should’ve disowned you a long time ago, you idol

Balance These Scales

Video by video
Name by name
Victim by victim
The cries become louder
While the gray is harshly minimized and criticized
There is a clear duality
The whole world casts it’s eyes
On a cracking facade of a beacon
As no judgmental word falls upon other nations
Those logs are barges in the eyes of the watched
Someone needs to balance the scales
As more of them are removed alongside a warehouse full of wool

Cinema-Sanctioned Dehumanization (Is This How You See Me?)

Is this how you see me?

Preconceived notions of assuming I’d talk “street” or “urban” instead of being as articulate as I can are so predictable. The dog whistle language couldn’t be more obvious. Chains and grills are so unbecoming. I do have a sense of humor, but it’s more advanced and less crass than how one would guess. Spare me the images you perceive of me. I’m beyond over being one’s comic relief at best or some useless associate at worst in their eyes.

Is this how you see me?

These reverse compliments of me being having skills are meaningless when you want to brand me with outdated ideals. Regardless of the tonality of my skin, I would look nothing of the sort even if I had a darker hue. Centuries of minstrel shows and shucking around are far beyond the pale. It’s sad enough when the stars and stripes incorporate the images, but when the Land of the Rising Sun adopts it, it becomes just as problematic. I’m sure millions would scream if a character had prominent buck teeth and canary coloration. Whatever positive traits set are all for naught. International waters have no alibi appropriating unfortunate implications.

Is this how you see me?

Do those images conjure up in one’s mind as one assumes I could be up to no good? The expectations of sounding savage (pardon my wording) need to be erased in so many brains. Could this be the same imagery invoked since 1994 when the cell populace exploded regardless if anyone did anything or not? I refuse to see myself as such. I’m closer to being prey anyway. Shame on those who believe equality equates to chaos or how I should be starved out or hurt with impunity. Isn’t it odd how more people are rampantly denial of these images, but will (reluctantly[?]) call out crows, orangutans or Siamese cats?

I didn’t deserve to be declared subhuman.

Those who had those declarations should change the channel.

All images and videos are property of their respective owners and used under US “Fair Use” laws.

Skids and Mudflap are property of Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. The photo is from NY Daily News and is property of Hasbro and Dreamworks.

Mr. Popo is property of Dragon Ball Z. The photo is from Pinterest and is property of Funimation.

Shenzi, Banzai, and Ed are property of The Lion King. The photo is from Pinterest and is property of Disney.

 

Juneteenth Poem (Yearning for the Purest Freedom)

Emancipation was certainly an upgrade during the times of my ancestors

The elimination of privately-owned human trafficking was a call for celebration

That was all fine and dandy for a hot minute

However, there shouldn’t have been an asterisk when the quill made the 13th update

How far have(n’t) we come?

Proving humanity and competence on a daily basis were chains onto themselves

Even with more hard-fought laws on the books, some of them have to be voted on every few decades while others have their rights etched in stone

The refusal of such protections and dignity are a detriment to everyone

Whether those emancipated stayed here or went to the land with a one star and stripes (also red, white, and blue), they and their descendants deserved far better

That liberty and pursuit of happiness needs to apply to all just like what it said on that paper

There are times where I wonder if compassion is so rare, it might as well be a superpower.

These tragic times have reveal humanity at it’s worst

Melanin and pandemics become hot button issues

Humanity and compassion have become hidden treasures of sorts

As bigotry has been king for over 4 centuries despite having elected officials

Those in solidarity have been a surprise on so many levels (hopefully, there are those more genuine than not)

I just hope those treasures can be excavated sooner than later