“Run your fingers through my soul. And for once, just once, feel exactly what I feel, believe what I believe, perceive as I perceive, look, experience, examine, and for once; just once, pretend you understand.”
See what is difficult to understand is the stages of a man
Let alone myself as a poet
Each experience brought forth life to what was once dead portions of my soul
Education fractured by a surrounding world imposing unfamiliar values on an unsuspecting teen yet
“From a concrete jungle who knew a flower would grow”
And from that flower a new poet
One to change the ideas of many
One that breaks modern stereotypes
One that redefines what it is to be a black man
Forcing those who doubt to stand by idly
As I utter
“You see things; and you say, 'Why?' But I dream things that never were; and I say, 'Why not?'”
Why not become the poet I know I can become
Why not master magnificent metaphors meticulously making for a modern muse
Why not challenge the conceptual barriers set by writing in order to become better
And as I fail
“If at first you don’t succeed try, try again.”
Try harder to achieve what I never had before
Despite criticism rise and excel and be the poet I am
And as the phoenix rise yet again from the ashes of defeat
Coming into my own and giving life to new art
“Spoken Word is the rhythm of my voice Spoken Word is the way my words move off pages and serve as beams to your mind Spoken Word is my tone, my diction, and my breath. As I exhale you inhale spoken word and when you exhale I inhale a piece of you. Spoken word is a form of communication. Spoken word is me”
Spoken Word is who I’ve become
It is a portion of my soul that cannot be severed
As a member of Cazenovia College my spoken word has not been tainted but strengthened
Each experience molding my very human nature into what it is
Moral Valor and Loyalty all traits exemplified
Spoken Word is no longer just an art form
Spoken Word is now Yves
