"Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave..."

-Maya Angelou, "Still I Rise"

Words and sounds, lovers and friends.

I've always hung out with poetry in the traditional sense but a few years ago I began to experiment with Sonic Poetry. Here's what I've come up with so far...

Still I Rise (Sonic Interpretation)

This is my interpretation of Maya Angelou's "Still I Rise" through sound, culminating in a recording of the poem read by Ms. Angelou accompanied by the Ramsey Louis Trio's rendition of "Wade in the Water."

Freedom

This an original poem I created; lexically and sonically. Some words came first, some sounds came first.

Freedom contains a portion of "Why Don't We Fall in Love", Rich Harrison, Amerie.

Freedom (Words)

Capsule of content

I step in

Digits catalyze the aural awakening

Bliss bleeds in the space

Prescient praise in preparation for my breakthrough

On the eve of joy

Light is broken into darkness

Not the wonderfully textured blackness of my people

But the absence of light in a never-ending night

No shades

No variance

No moon

No stars

Just monotony

Monotony

Shucking, jiving

Only I can claim fault

Transported

I’ve strung myself up in the chains of my ancestors,

Through my own funded academic torture

Technically free but enslaved psychologically,

For I have allowed my spirit to be compromised

This is not what was fought for

Drifting into melancholia

I hear their screams

A drinking gourd

Fire lit, it becomes clear

Freedom, for me, is

In the people

Freedom, for me, is

Family

Friends

Those who allow me to be my best self

Their handclaps, smiles, kisses and hugs

All inspiration

Freedom, for me, is

The joy found in self-commitment and self-expression

Without neglect

Neglect of those that have come before me

Those that are with me

Those that will come after

Freedom, for me, is

Singing when I want to sing

Voice unencumbered

Freedom, for me, is

Peace

A glowing, warm presence of peace that

When true

Reveals itself

Effortlessly

Beautifully

Present.