Robeson

Thought Crime

Remorse

As Sons Love Their Mothers

Jealous

By The Way

Black Men and Alcoholism

Cycles can be natural and unnatural, beneficial and non- beneficial.  The cycle that prompted this thought is a highly destructive one.  One in which generation after generation can be handcuffed by habits not only bad, but addictive.  Alcoholism which has decimated the Native American here in North America seems to be leaving its fingerprint on the African American community as well, and like his Native American neighbor the dilemma is one sided and rarely discussed outside small meeting halls with extremely committed counselors and staff overshadowed by pathetic funding and little if any major exposure signifying how grave the situation is becoming.  Of course if there is a winner in all of this it is the alcohol industry who says, Paul Kelly, director of Alcohol and Drug Prevention, Bobby Wright Mental Health Center, and co- founder of the City Wide Coalition Against Tobacco and Alcohol Billboards (Chicago, Il.), “It has been estimated that the alcohol industry invests less than $.25 for every $25,000 they make off of the African American community.”  But the danger lies, not in the monetary exploitation that surely goes on, but rather in the sons, of sons, of sons who are being and, will be profoundly impacted by alcoholism (Powell, 1996).

All across America black males aged 18-40 seem to be in this perpetual, destructive war with themselves.  Unfulfilled lives paint the landscape as if warranted by some unseen hand, made bleak by choices which don’t seem like choices at all.  I wanted to speak to some of that pain, that loss but the lifeless eyes and callous demeanor walking down dark streets and paths puzzled me.  Before sitting down to write this I thought maybe I was somehow narrowing my gaze, fixing my attention on something that was more my imagination than the reality that garnered my concern.  But I was not creating bleak lives and attaching them to individuals at my discretion.  These lives and too many other lives were simply being crippled, while arrested development was coursing through veins as freely and as frequently as the alcohol which introduced it.  Weakening promise, at an age where strength was supposed to be at its optimum.  Not only did this sadden me, but it inspired me to look for answers, find the roots associated with my findings and from there assess how my community and others might assist in working towards a proactive remedy to some of the perils that come along with using alcohol as a means of coping with life and its challenges.  The ostensible purpose of this whole blog really comes down to wanting to be an active voice in a community pock marked by unfulfilled promise which can, in many instances, be linked to formative years being derailed by alcoholism and its many consequences, one of which being depression as Solomon H. Snyder so clearly states in his book, Drugs And The Brian, “Depression is many times the root of the problem, with alcohol being only an external manifestation.” (Snyder, 1996)

Gratitude by Jeffery Martin

Love Affair by Jeffery Martin

Forgotten Warriors by Jeffery Martin

The Miracle of Venice Beach

Our plans sometimes conflict with what destiny (or fate I guess) has for us.  I, for one, had a grand summer planned.  I had written everything out in my head down to the last detail.  After working summer school I was going to save me a few pennies and travel to some far off land, taking in the culture, writing some poetry and just getting away from the routine that was my life for a while.  Well, budget cuts within the school district curtailed that ideal and I had to find something to do so that my summer would not be a complete bust.  I decided to sale my poetry and children's books at Venice Beach.  It has proven to be one of the best experiences I have ever had (and I've had a bunch).  It has been like going all over the world in the course of a day.  I have met and talked with people from Holland, England, Russia, Australia, Israel, Netherlands, Ireland and countless other places.  The experience has been both fascinating and humbling.  Venice Beach has given me the opportunity to see the beautiful relatedness of the human family in brief sketches as my mind's eye takes it all in.  No, I didn't go across the waters but the waters of Venice Beach brought a multitude of experiences to me and... I sold a few books!

Poetry at Venice Beach

http://whatdoino-steve.blogspot.com/2011/08/selling-poetry-at-beach.html

speaking

To think before speaking saves one both from embarrassment and the blatant reality that once expressed words cannot be safely taken back or removed from the psyche of the ears or eyes that experience them.  Putting oneself on the other side of dialogue mentally insures that words will be chosen a bit more wisely

Finding You

In this information age everything is upon us with just the push of a button.  Knowledge and just about everything else is there for all of us without the slightest indication that quick sometimes unsettles our quiet.  In saying this I in no way want to go back to card catalogs or manual stereos.  But priorities can be turned topsy turvy in the hustle and bustle of our new millennium.

 Regardless of where you fit in the scheme of things, finding you is imperative to true peace of mind.  For years I yearned to find my place, my voice, my calling.  It seemed as though i was chasing ghosts.  Elusive ghosts at that!  I didn't want to hear the quiet, but instead ran headlong into the noise.  The noise of acceptance.  The noise of status.  The noise of materialism.  The noise of external love.  The noise of just measuring up to whatever was considered success.  I discovered an interesting truth in all of this searching.  And that was:  Nothing or no one can help you on this journey.  Not mom, not dad, not children, nieces, nephews, aunts or uncles...it is a solo metamorphosis.

When the light goes on and mind, body and spirit are on the same page the universe seems to open up its arms, giving you a power that steps out of the noise into that quiet space, a space where self appreciation looms large.  It's not anything magical.  It just feels that way.  Once tapped into the mystery reveals itself...happily.  And although finding information at the push of a button is remarkable, nothing compares to the magnificence of finding that precious, often undiscovered, gem called you.

Some things, or the understanding of those things, are infinitely beyond me, so I am puzzled and humbled simultaneously.  I do not understand greed.  I do not understand unnecessary violence.  I do not understand love without respect.  I do not understand hatred.  I do not understand racism. I do not understand the need for drugs in an attempt to find happiness.  I do not understand the mindset that makes god a monster.  I do not understand why some children deserve a better education than others.  I do not understand why money equals worth.  I do not understand why sacrifice is unappreciated.  So, in a nutshell my quest for knowledge is never ending because so many questions about this life completely baffle me.

WORK WITH ME

WORK WITH ME 

Work with me

and together we can re-establish

a nation

long forgotten

but waiting

Lets put our heads together

and bless the earth

once more

with jewels that dance

around our doorsteps

and play hop scotch in our

streets

Work with me

and together we can move

mountains

painting rainbows across all

our horizons

lets put our heads together

and write pacts of love

vowing never again 

to walk the lifeless

desert of separation

let us begin now constructing

pyramids of pride

that are both timeless

and beyond definition

work with me

let us begin

work with me

let us begin

again

and finish what we started