Iraqi-born Canadian author Ahmad Al-Khatat revels in imaginative fancy nearly as much as Mahbub, although acknowledging the power of painful memories to inspire grief and withdrawal from the world.
Nigerian writer Chimezie Ihekuna’s latest relationship advice essay encourages us to make carefully considered decisions about marriage and divorce. Rather than getting swept up in infatuation or petty grievances, think through everything you do clearly in light of reality.
Imagination can guide us to better understand reality
Caution on our use of imagination: There can be gaps between how nature works and how people think, and maybe nature and evolution have better ideas than our imagination.
From Albuquerque, PW Covington’s poems explore gender through power exchange in relationships and our relationship to the natural world by remembering the cycles of seasons and how ultimately, nature and geology are humanity’s ‘landlords’ and ‘border guards.’ We should be thankful for the privilege to pass freely.
Speaking of Christmas, one of our regular contributors, Chimezie Ihekuna (Mr. Ben) has released a new book for the holiday season, entitled Christmas Time!
From the book’s website: Christmas Time! Is a collection of short stories that reflect the mood of the season—Christmas—as it affects the lives of people who appreciate it’s worth. A story collection related to children and young adults, it mirrors the ordeals people go through to observe the yuletide and reflects the courage they summon and the inspiration and encouragement they receive in order to celebrate the season in merriment.
thunderstorms this weekend yet another chance of snow tonight and then thunderstorms this weekend the typical weather here in ohio wait ten minutes and then be pissed off yet again
the best medicine they say laughter is the best medicine they obviously have never drank a bottle of whiskey while taking morphine
misery and tears near the end of my grandmother’s life, she looked like willie nelson she couldn’t play the guitar worth a shit and certainly didn’t have willie’s weed but she did have his whiskers by this time, her mind was fucking gone she was reliving her childhood in the hills of kentucky through the depression and wars and eighty some years of mostly misery and tears she certainly could have used the weed
too much of an asshole positive thinking never worked for me i’m too much of a realist too much of an asshole to think i am well or the world is a better place i figure my father never said he loved me and i have passed that gift to the world these cycles tend to never end
souls better than ours another night where the gin tastes as good as your legs look in that black dress we’ll dance the night away under a neon moon pass back memories of the lives we have finally left behind by morning we’ll be miles down a road meant for souls better than ours but we’ve cobbled together yet another chance to find the love that has kept us running for years now may the bliss of what could be save us before death finally knocks down the door
J.J. Campbell (1976 – ?) was raised by wolves yet managed to graduate high school with honors. He’s been widely published over the last 25 years, most recently at Heroin Love Songs v2.0, Horror Sleaze Trash, Cajun Mutt Press, Rusty Truck and The Rye Whiskey Review. you can find him most days on his mildly entertaining blog, evil delights. (https://evildelights.blogspot.com)
In a way, Drive is a very feminine [and feminist] movie. Feminism is actually more masculine than what masculine is. Feminism is much more interesting.
Nicholas Winding Refn
What
does it take to be considered human?
In a film
like Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner, the ultimate question of what it takes to be
considered human is asked. No answer is provided but according to the film’s
ending; to be human is to exist as a citizen of the patriarchal system,
understanding what the role expects of the individual; a cis, White, man with a
female tagalong who was once an independent hybrid but now a compliant,
compassionate ally of the patriarchy.
When I first
saw Nicholas Winding Refn’s “Drive” a masterpiece of a film about a character
on the margins of society, a male whose sole purpose in life is to drive the
streets of Los Angeles where he could blend with the surroundings, wearing the
definition of cool in the form of a jacket with a scorpion imprint and impersonating
the Hollywood antihero who rarely speaks his mind; I realized that feminist
films do not necessarily have to be about a female main protagonist. Women in
this film come into the male-dominated universe not as candy-wrapped fantasies
only for the males to wrap/unwrap, but they exist in their own mini-verses
through carefully structured bubbles where their storylines continue unmarred
by those of the men’s. Whether the quiet, loving mother Irene or the voluptuous
Blanche, the latter appearing for a swift moment to shift the intensity of the
film but when she’s gone the audience can’t help but remember her for the rest
of their life.
Movie poster for Under the Skin
In Jonathan Glazer’s “Under the Skin” a creature taking the form of a
female human being drives around looking for susceptible male subjects. In the
only moment where the creature suffers an identity crisis of what it takes to
be “human”, the creature loses its power, submitting to the patriarchal society
which it –supposedly- studies, understanding ultimately what it takes to be a
woman and a “dark-skinned” being in a world that is predominantly male and
White.
Los Angeles – You can be a Criminal or a Movie Star
I was drawn
to “Drive” just as I was drawn to “Heat”; two inherently masculine films that
surprisingly broke masculinity with the same tactical focus through which they
ascertain glorification. Both films show male characters doomed with their
burden of the masculine hero/villain. Lines are blurred between good and bad,
men are wrapped in their loneliness and seek solace in the relentlessly coveted
city.
In a city like Los Angeles, crime is a glorious, sensational lust. Films
that both imply and dissect a society wild with the need to be known or seen
either decapitates or assembles the tales of those who thrived and survived on
fame in the city of angels. In Michael Mann’s “Heat” and Refn’s “Drive” both
films with a single word for the title; masculinity is impaled on the same
shrine on which the city is worshipped. “Heat” shows an emotionally-charged
finale, worthy of “Titanic”, of two men consumed by loneliness in the merciless
city where they get to play their respective roles, even if it forsakes a
rather successful friendship that was not and could have been, while “Drive”
recounts the tale of the Night prince whose false kingdom of machismo, coolness
and the ability to roam an entire city free, no-strings-attached is complicated
by the fact that the only thing that means something to him is domesticity; a
home with a regular-looking woman and a child. How both films deconstruct
masculinity as an ominous presence, able to engulf all that comes in its way;
and yet something fragile as to crave the simplistic pleasure of a shelter,
says a lot about the ability of their male creators (Mann and Refn) to observe
the male-centric world from a realistic, humble lens.
In “Drive”, the driver does not have a name, stylistically even
resembling Clint Eastwood’s fetishistic Western depiction of manhood in action.
But unlike the series of spaghetti Westerns where Eastwood glorifies in the
shining armor of toxic masculinity, Refn’s men eat each other, devouring and
devoured by their greed and hunger for power. Even the Driver derives strength
not from the anonymity which covers him jacket-to-car, but from the false dream
of the domesticated American man, who returns home from war to a simple woman
and a child; the perfect depiction of the American dream reconstructed.
Under the Skin – Driving around with a Shell of a
Woman
A lot can be associated with Scotland, but to be human is not one of
them. To understand the choice of shooting “Under the Skin” there would be to
decipher one of the film’s multiple mysteries. Is it about alien invasion? Is
it a gender-reversal where Snow White becomes the Huntsman and the Big Bad Wolf
is essentially a woman?
Or is “Under the Skin” a gender, sexual and political statement in the
face of patriarchy and capitalism? If so, why did the creature break when it
tried to examine what it takes to be human? The unnamed creature rebelled
against the purpose of driving around in a van, luring male victims into a
black abyss where their energy is sucked into a greater alien being.
In “Under the Skin” a trick is played using an icon of modern feminine
sexuality such as Scarlett Johansson to play a highly sexual but non-sexualized
character. A creature, agender, bound by no form takes the shape and the sexual
physicality of a woman to help its camouflage from the land it inhabits. With
all the murder and the mayhem, the creature drives around in the van, using the
vehicle as a false armor for the fragility of the feminine in patriarchy.
Unable to comprehend the icicle thin presence of being a female, the creature
abandons the cold, detached driver status to immerse itself in the fragile and
flawed world which it tries to take apart one male passerby at a time.
The creature’s predatory attitude is complicated by the fact that when
it shelters itself from the emotional mayhem through which gender coexist, it
succeeds in being the dominant, alpha presence. Only when it succumbs to
exploring what it means to be a female human trapped in a female body, does the
creature’s suffering begin. The rape scene at the end, where the creature is
both hurt and sexually violated for being a woman, then for being a
dark-skinned being, only reveal a glimpse of what it takes to have the upper
hand in the human world, and the price to pay when the societal privileged
positioning is lost. When the hunter becomes the hunted, the Creatures face
demise.
Unnamed Drivers – Masculinity and Femininity from a
Lens
In “Under the Skin” and “Drive”; both drivers are unnamed, roaming the
roads without much of a purpose for the driving. Unlike “Baby Driver” where the
getaway driver uses his position as a purpose to explore his moral compass and
his coming-of-age in a criminal, bloody verse where he chooses to escape
through constantly listening to music. “Drive” is a film –as Associated Press
reporter Christy Lemire states- not about actual driving, the getaway driver is,
in fact, a getaway plot twist to trick viewers into believing they are about to
watch an action movie, only to discover a layered, character study of male
vulnerability in the city of angels. “Under the Skin” uses driving a van as the
trap that most men in the real world wield to hunt for their female prey, the
faux lure of a sheltered vehicle becoming at times a coffin, or a wheeled metal
box to contain the screams and pleas. And yet when the creature decides to
rebel against the same power and privilege that it exerts over the human
subjects, it becomes human and thus exposed and naked to all things evil that
humans act against each other. The Creature is molested and subjected to a
horrifying rape attempt because of its disguise as an attractive White female.
In the end, The Creature is burned to death because it is revealed as a
dark-skinned being, highlighting the fear of the White, cis male of all things
dark-skinned and non-conforming to pre-constructed gender and racial politics.
A White, lost woman in the dark forest would be raped; a dark-skinned, agender
creature might be killed.
Both “Drive” and “Under the Skin” use their leading stars’ power to
deconstruct the Hollywood perfect image of beauty and sexuality;
Johansson’s first nude scene is deprived of any sexual metaphors, with
her self-reflection a shoutout to the male gaze behind the screens, as if
daring them to observe with her a body that would soon be dissembled, and not
for the ritualistic catharsis for the man lurking in the darkness of the movie
theater, waiting to be enamored by the violence against the woman onscreen, but
more of the haplessness that is shared between the audience which beholds a
sexual crime taking place; unable to stop it or actively participate in lifting
off the injustice that befalls the woman in question.
Ryan Gosling boasts darkness and mystery in “Drive” that has nothing to
do with the glamorous Hollywood male stars; the “silent types”. He is
vulnerable. He resorts to violence only when his safe “nest” is in harm’s way.
Yet, he doesn’t get the girl or get anything at the end. There are no steamy
sex scenes or mind-blowing relationships. The Driver is there to suffer, only
interlocking paths with the few items that give his sheltered, meaningless life
peace. Gosling plays it down to the base with a nuanced performance and an air
of undeniable cool. Yet there is nothing extravagant about him or his
character.
Both drivers use driving purposelessly. Driving is not an integral
element of the plot, nor a plot twist. The drivers here are trapped within
false skins; the cool silk jacket with an embroidered scorpion for The Driver,
and the lace stockings, mini-skirt and denim jacket for The Creature. Both are
garments for false anonymity, which both protect and break their senses of
security and gender power when they are undressed.
Prof. Haines
– As announced previously, today’s lecture covers “How to get an interview or
endorsement from Oprah”. As you know an
appearance with Oprah, or her endorsement can mean millions of book sales.
First is there anyone here
who has not read the reading assignment “Wild”?
OK, you two can leave. Don’t
hurry back.
What gets Oprah to notice
you?
Sex – Enough said.
Drugs – People want that vicarious thrill of watching a
train wreck.
Abuse – Builds sympathy.
Tragedy – We are glad it happened to someone else. We may feel real empathy.
Spouses – Hate them, love them, we can all relate.
Social status – We like the extremes of society. Trailer trash and celebrities or the rich are
exotic to most of us.
Redemption – After all of the tragedy, we want a feel good
come back.
Good writing – Always helpful.
Therapy – Scores well with the touchy-feely types. It doesn’t hurt that Oprah is our therapist
general and a huge segment of the population gets its guide to life from self
help books, talk show hosts and columnists.
Social
media use – It is the 21st century.
Previous
success – Always good.
Truth
– Check out the trouble that James Frey
and Greg Mortenson got into with alleged fibs in their memoirs.
Supporting
cast – No one operates in a vacuum.
Closure
– Do we know how the author feels at the end of the story? Are loose ends tied up?
Let us see how “Wild”
scores on these points.
Sex – Based on her Googled
photos, Ms. Strayed is attractive, although she downplays her looks on the
trail. Her encounters with Joe, her
Portland guy and heroin addict, and Jonathan the handsome man she met in
Ashland are not graphic by current standards, but then if they were they would
qualify her for the Penthouse Forum instead of Oprah. She appears to be a sex positive feminist, who
could turn off conservatives, but her descriptions probably appeal to most of
the straight population and maybe some of the “other”. Men can imagine they are among her no strings
pickups. Women can imagine that they are
her having impersonal sex with her hot pickups, and later having a happy
married life.
I give her a B for Sex.
Class – Why the paucity of
writing about sex with Paul? Mr.
Henderson?
Mr. Henderson
– Professor Haines, throughout literature, no one cares about married sex.
Prof. Haines
– Good Answer.
If she had been having sex
with family or animals and could not write, she would be Springer material.
Drugs – Heroin goes with
the overall tenor of the story. It is
kind of a hipster drug and fits well with her sadness. Meth and coke might be too serious and
marijuana not serious enough. The shot
to the ankle just before her hike was a good touch.
I give her an A.
Question for the class –
would her story have been better if she was addicted rather than a user. Ms. Anderson?
Ms. Anderson
– Professor Haines, I think that if she had been addicted, the PCT hike would
not have made much sense. How does she
get her fix on the trail?
Prof Haines
– Good point.
Abuse – Her father was
despicable. Certainly others have had
worse abuse than her, but hers was bad enough.
Call it a B. Move on.
Tragedy – A lot of bad
things happened to her, but some have claimed using the new cliché that they
were “first world problems”. That seems
harsh to me. It wasn’t just one thing –
her mother’s death was the worst, but then her family and marriage falls
apart. She is set adrift and adopts an
extreme and unusual solution.
I give her an A minus.
Questions? None, OK moving on.
Redemption – Thousands of
people have hiked the PCT and other long trails. Many people have achieved amazing
journeys. Most of us have huge losses in
life and love. So why does “Wild” work
so well? The key is in the subtitle “Lost
and Found”. We want to hear about those
who have struggled and yet managed to triumph over their obstacles. Her critics complain about her extreme
sadness over what is not that unusual a situation. They point out accurately that in some ways
she was less organized for an eleven hundred mile hike than a normal hiker
would before a ten mile hike. She had
not tested her shoes or pack before starting.
I could, in the cliché of our former president, feel her pain intensely.
As a sometimes backpacker,
I’m surprised that she did not refer to the difficulty of dumping
environmentally in the woods. It may
have too much ick factor to be mentioned, but she mentioned urination,
menstruation, but not defecation.
Personally, tents have usually outsmarted me.
Given all that, would she
have a best seller with only the loss part, or with only the found part? I think not.
We have to keep in mind stories about perdition and redemption go back into
the mists of history. Think
Ulysses. He screws up big time, but is
the hero at the end of the story. Oprah
laps up this stuff.
Solid A.
Ms. Creech –
Professor, she did refer to the difficulty of shitting in the woods fairly
early on in the book. She mentioned how
difficult it was to dig in the ground and how she almost fell into her own
crap.
Professor Haynes – Good catch, sorry I forgot that passage.
Spouses – We don’t know
much about either one from the book. We
can get info on the current husband from the internet, but not much from the
book other than he was handsome and ready to give up promiscuity.
Usually in these types of
books the author is dumped, keeps marrying the wrong person, or gets to trade
up to a better model. What happened
here? Throw out some ideas.
Ms. Grant –
I wanted her to get back with Paul. He
was such an understanding guy.
Mr. Krasny – I liked the charming bad boy Joe, but
hanging with him could have cost her her life.
Whatever happened to him?
Ms. Fenton –
I would have guessed that she would hook up with somebody from the trail after
the hike.
Ms. Anderson
– Without knowing more about Paul, I’d say she traded up.
Prof Haines
– I’ll give her a C for spouse based on what little we know.
Social Status – Clearly
she starts at the deprived end of the spectrum.
Her housing is rustic at best.
Finances are limited. Of course
if she had been a celebrity, no pain or achievement would be required to write
a best seller.
Although not the worst of
circumstances, I give her a B for social status.
What is the status of her
life now?
Ms. Shandon – With her current fame, money and semi-celebrity
husband, any memoir based on her life post 2012 would have to be celebrity
writing. My God, according to her website
she wrote on an island off Brazil and will be a part of a writer’s workshop in
France. She could, however, mine earlier
times before the celebrity phase.
Good writing – She is a
trained writer and a good one. Her
integration of the hike and the tragedy is very good. The pain and the triumph both work.
Another A
Therapy – Her reference to
therapy is very short. We don’t know who
performed it or when. This snippet
appears to underline her “male” approach to sex – she finds an attractive guy
and gets it on. Another thing we don’t
know if her attitude changed after her mother died, or if that was always the
way she was.
Make it a B, good
relevance, but very limited.
Social media – Her website
lists Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Tumbler.
Let’s call it a B – she
must be missing something.
Previous Success – Her
popular novel “Torch”, which is clearly closely related to her nonfiction, was
a natural setup for “Wild”. At that
time, she had no other full length books, so give her a B.
Truth – So far she has not
been “Freyed”. Note taker that is
F-r-e-y-e-d, a reference to James Frey, not f-r-a-y-e-d or s-t-r-a-y-e-d.
No one has questioned any
of the book and in fact it would be difficult to do so. We don’t the real names of most of the people
in the book outside the family and most events are undated. The details which could be verified are
incidental. We can’t check on her
abortion, various sex partners or heroin use, so even if she has lied we would
not know. Mr. Tyne?
Mr. Tyne – Sir,
she said early in the book that her backpack “Monster” weighed half as much as
she did. In a later interview or FAQ,
she said that she did not know what it weighed.
Then how could she know it weighed half as much as herself?
Prof. Haines
– Good catch, I’ll give her a pass on a minor goof. Make it an A.
Sidebar – She seems very insistent
about condoms, but gets pregnant with Joe.
Ideas? Ms. Shandon again.
Ms. Shandon
– She got pregnant before the trail, so maybe she learned her lesson.
Prof Haines
– Mr. Grant –
Mr. Grant – Given
her loss and regret for her infidelity, maybe she was looking for pain or
punishment? Maybe it was the heroin
clouded her judgment? What do you think
professor?
Prof. Haines
– Either or both of you could be right.
If brain research has taught us anything, it is that our actions
frequently can’t be rationally explained or understood.
Supporting Cast – This may
be the weakest part of the book. Even
granting that it is her memoir, except for the family we don’t get to know
anyone well. We get few details about
people that she meets on the trail. Even
the family, other than the mother, is very thinly described.
Other than being a saint,
giving her all the space she needed and taking her away from heroin, and a
flake, flipping between Ph.D. and guitar player – Paul is a cipher. Did he favor the divorce, acquiesce, or
appease Cheryl? What happened to him in
the twenty years after the divorce?
Lisa is a friend. That’s about it.
As previously noted, Joe
charmed her into sex and heroin. That’s
about all me know about out him.
Can’t give her better than
a C
Sidebar – One thing that
makes me a little happier about humanity is that none of the characters in her
book have tried to leverage their closeness to celebrity to write their own
tell all book. We know that relatives of
Joan Collins, Sylvester Stallone and so many others have exploited the fame of
relatives.
Closure – She is found,
she can go on with life. She has become more
her true self again than changed. She
forgives herself, but I’m not clear on how a hike does that, and what exactly
she is forgiving herself for. The
abortion, infidelity, the inability to save her mother or her family? Maybe the pain and single mindedness brings
clarity. Sometimes we can run away from
our problems,
Call it a B.
Overall, a great Oprah
Book. Nothing below a C. Most books get a number of incompletes. An A overall despite some low individual
scores.
Postscript – The fame or
notoriety of her story has inspired a tour company to sell coed “Divorce or
Loss PCT Hikes” including porters, camp setups, happy hours and condoms and
private tents for those that hit it off.
Prices to be announced depend on length of hike, but don’t expect them
to be cheap.
I hope that we have had
some fun today and not taken it too seriously.
You will never get an Oprah endorsement, but you might shoot for a local
rave. Despite my disdain for Oprah and
Oprah types, Oprah might be an actual human being behind the mega corporation façade,
hard to tell. If you can’t get an Oprah
look, you can claim that your readers don’t want an “Oprah Book”. It could help with the literary snobs. I’m fairly certain that Cheryl Strayed had
some reason for writing her book other than hanging out with the big O.
Another little postscript,
I’m thinking about restarting the 50 mile walk craze that started when JFK was
president. I don’t intend to seriously
prepare for it, at least not publicly. I
still have to work on motivation, the
deep underlying cause. Coincidentally,
I’m up for tenure.
Next class, “How to have
your memoir turned into a movie”, same text. Assignment is to take basic ingredients of “Wild”
and turn it into a Rom-Com pitch with lots comedy, no tragedy and your ideal
cast.
Any Questions? Mr. Franklin?
Professor, to me this is
just white people whining. Is there any
relevance to people of color?
First of all, do you have
any idea what “people of color means”?
Is that just a catch phrase implying that people of non color are the
oppressor class? Are people from India
of color? Japanese? Middle Eastern? Or are people of color PC for colored
people? My rant is over now.
We can assume that Ms.
Strayed’s family was all white based on the cover art. Paul is probably white. The race of Joe and Lisa are unknown. If they were, say, black it might have been
racist to mention it. I will admit that
the book in no way addresses race issues, but that was not what it set out to
do, so I see no problem.
Anyway, to paraphrase Joe
South, before you accuse or abuse her walk a few hundred miles in her ill
fitting shoes.
We’re out of time, see you
next class.
Professor Haines – I hope that you remember the
assignment from our last class – Take the bones of “Wild” by Cheryl Strayed and
come up with a Rom-Com pitch, soon to be a major motion picture. Has a novel ever been turned into a minor
motion picture? Has a TV show ever been
partially new? Sorry, I got off track
for a moment.
Somehow, you
have to take the major elements of “Wild” and manufacture a story which is
funny and the “right” people end up together.
So, you have to have a mother dying, a marriage breaking up, an 1100
mile trip on the PCT and “Cheryl” or whatever we call her in the Rom–Com happy
at the end.
What do you
have people?
Ms. Schoonover – First we emphasize the break up,
downplay the mother. This is a romance,
not a tragedy.
Mr.
Sheen – I
felt sorry for “Cheryl’s” husband “Paul”.
“Wild” says nothing about how he ended up. What little we know of him from “Wild” he
really tried to make “Cheryl” happy. I
think he could have corresponded with “Lisa”, “Cheryl’s” friend and after a
long correspondence they discover that they have more in common than their
concern for Cheryl. He visits Portland,
they end up in love.
Mr. Grayson – The trail is a problem in the
original version. We have to dial down
on the things that go wrong and find the funny.
Let say she trips and falls on somebody’s crotch. Maybe there is a mismatched couple on the
trail that always fights, but always ends up making up in their tent at
night. A guy that drinks, and seems
really slow, but ends up the fastest hiker?
Ms. Schoonover – One of her food deliveries ends up
being paste instead of pasta? She might
meet some guys to get her out of her dilemma.
Professor –
Who does she end up with?
Mr. Franklin – It can’t be the same guy she met
after the hike. That would violate the
rule that you have to meet the boyfriend / husband early in the film.
Mr. James – If we wanted to lean towards a
women’s channel movie we could enlarge the threat from the Bear hunters in
“Wild”. Maybe some handsome guy could
have save her and lead up to a romance.
Mr. Sheen – I could see her hooking up with
“Joe” the bad boy that introduced her to heroin. In the original book, she hoped he got
cured. In the rom-com version they could
stay together after he goes through the cure.
Ms. Steel – How about she gets a job
waitressing in Portland and her trail stud Jonathan show up at the
restaurant. He turns out to be an
executive from an outdoor wear company, they start to talk about her hiking
equipment and romance blooms.
Actors?
Ms. Reyes – Any pretty faces from some TV
series. Somebody from “Gossip Girl” or
from one of those movies on the women’s channel. They couldn’t afford anybody very expensive,
because who wants to see “Wild” turned into a rom-com.
Professor Haines:
This isn’t real life; just pretend the movie was never made.
Mr. Tyne:
None of the younger actors have made any impression on me. From watching Turner Classics, I’d go with a
young version of Janet Leigh for the Cheryl roll and maybe a young version of
Jack Lemmon for Paul.
Professor Haynes:
I see that our class time is only half over, but let’s get an early
start on spring break. See you in two
weeks.
In order to know
His good tidings come from above,
Where the bright morning star and angels belongs.
Christmas Is Here
Christmas is here,
How can I be there?
Let’s all come
together,
With a merry hearts
as we gather.
In one accord, we
can rejoice
Even as we sing
with our voice.
Different kinds of
carol songs,
To know where He belongs.
Thus, not in the
dirt of the manger
As some thought
He’s a stranger.
Christmas is here,
So let’s go to
where?
Well, it’s time to
celebrate.
Aside, interact and
corporate,
With those who
understand the season.
And accept it
purpose and reason
In order to walk
His paths and ways
For us to cherish
debts He still pays.
That’s why we speak
about His goodness,
On such special moment of His loveliness.
Christmas And Carnival
Christmas and
Carnival,
Walk hand in hand
like lovers.
In one accord,
their intimacy becomes occasional,
As masqueraders are
the shakers and movers.
Christmas and
Carnival,
Come with joys of
the season.
Even with some mask
shapes being oval,
Like an egg ready
to fry and make a dinner it reason.
Christmas and
Carnival,
On the streets of
our city and suburbs of our community.
It makes us feel
the pleasantries of being sensational,
And the delights of
feeling its felicity.
Christmas and
Carnival,
Bring about the
carols of brass-band.
Accompanied with
singing and dancing with heart of renewal and revival,
In the space of
time, as we trod on the land.
Christmas and
Carnival,
Is about Christmas
realism and secular paganism.
To the ordinary
mind, it’s just crucial and cardinal,
As it brings about day and night enthusiasm.
Yuletide For Me
Yuletide for me, 3x
YFM, on 97.9
The young at heart,
Will dance like the
flying butterfly.
With colours of
this fine art.
Yuletide for me, 3x
YFM, it for you.
I mean you, the listener.
As your ear has
been yearning to hear,
Imagine when we’ve
the Christmas dinner.
Yuletide for me, 3x
YFM, we have known.
It’s time of His
birth celebration,
Which we’ve enjoyed
the singing of ‘Joy to the World’ 3x, Jingle Bells 3x …..
As we cruise in
citations of His felicitation.
Yuletide for me, 3x
YFM, let’s come
together.
After all, the
elections have been peaceful,
Besides, the
victory is for all to climax this year.
In oneness of heart
and mind in love as we gather.
It’s Christmas Eve
It’s Christmas Eve,
Lo, not about Adam
and Eve, I believe.
It comes every
year,
That’s how our eyes
see and ears hear.
It’s Christmas Eve,
There’re some gift
items to receive.
As we prepare his
birth celebration,
With our hearts of
felicitation.
It’s Christmas Eve,
Almost around the
globe, I perceive.
Of course, the
times look different,
Although, we can’t
relent but rent.
It’s Christmas Eve,
No need or news to
deceive.
By virtue of His
good tiding,
Which bring some by
flight landing and sounding.
It’s Christmas Eve,
Prior to His birth
Mary conceive.
Thus, knowing it’s
24th December,
And worthwhile to remember.
Biography
Isaac Adjei Boateng as his original birth certificate name. Preferably, known by many as ‘Ike Boat’ due to its simplicity to mention both locally and globally in the field of Arts, by virtue of the poetic lifestyle. He’s born on 11th June, 1984 in the city of Takoradi – south western part of Ghana in West Africa. He had both his primary and junior secondary level education at ‘Bishop Essuah Catholic Complex’ which he became school prefect at all the levels. He then pursued General Arts course at St. Johns School which he completed in 2002 at Sekondi, Western Region of Ghana. Having developed the passion and enthusiasm for writing and publishing online, he became song-writer thus composed a song for the ‘OM Ships Ministry’ dubbed ‘OM All The Way’ which is featured on YouTube via: https://youtu.be/KVcaIWjpOoE
In the space of time, he also developed the habit as well hobby for writing poems which he later became a ‘Spoken Word’ performer as a Poet on various platforms and even radio programs. In the year 2014, he’s sponsored and supported to study German at ‘Goethe Institut’ which he passed with Average marks, thus being able to converse bit by bit in the German linguistic. He’ll often states “Ich Sprache ein Bischon Deutsch” literally “I speak a bit of German”. Whilst learning, he never stopped his heartily writing routine which led him to write poems in note-books and other sheet of papers. He likes to ink oftentimes about matters of the country’s economy, politics, societies, organizations and several other topics in relation to poetic lines as he seldom writes and publishes articles. In 2014 and 2015 he became the first African to be short-listed as Nominee with regard to the ‘National Poetry Awards – NPA’ of USA. And in 2016, he won the ‘International Poet of the Year’ category of the ‘National Poetry Awards’ held in United States of America. He’s won other Poetry related awards via online platforms.
Vision
His prime vision is to
tour around the world and share on platforms through organized events as well
as corporate functions or programs in relation to poetry recitals as well as
personal stories to impact lives.
Mission
His prime mission is
to educate humanity through all forms of Arts as in Literature and world of
adventure to nurture both youths and adults.
Forsake me, lover; and all my sins You know that must be leaving again Like that country song we used to sing The highway never ends
I bury sunflower seeds in the summer And mums sprout back every spring When the Monarchs come through and the temperature drops I’ll have blooms in my garden, again
Red mountain finches and white wing doves C-130’s and perennial loves Head south for season, and lives fly by And, I’m aching and seeking a way to stay high
Most of the poets give birth in the spring time With hope and recollection
Tomato cages and high desert rain I finally stopped chasing hurricanes I’ll harvest my thoughts and catch up on my prayers When sunny morning chill fills the autumnal air
Alpha Red
She knows how to hurt me
yet, never harm
How to torment and tease
when I plead,
“Please”
To smile with red lips, empowered, Alpha
as the welts
rise
As tears well in my eyes
She takes and locks away
That hidden little piece of me
I save for only
her to see
As reparations
For all the nights she’s had to sleep unrequited
As the satisfaction of her lover
Pooled and cooled
And soaked into the sheets
Beneath her
No more
Neither mortal time nor distance can deny her
Heat and steel resolve
She holds me firm
Oh, my sacred fuck,
She knows how to hurt me
And never bring me harm
Even in tender moments
When we both lay most exposed
The Queen needn’t be reminded
of the power in
the flame
That drew me near
The Furs of Venus never scorched as tender
As when she calls to me
Petitioning surrender
In those few dark and perfectly formed moments
when the storm has barely quelled
When she slowly brings me back from inner space
Her Alpha lips
Those dark, deep, eyes
That ecclesiastic face
Multiple Re-Entry
The greatest Customs and Immigration officers I ever saw Stood guard Atop the bluffs At Belinda Beach
Salt cedars, twisted redwood sentinels and eucalyptus (immigrants, here, themselves)
Roots and branches Wood and leaves Bring you back to things terrestrial For half a mile after that Grey-washed, rocky cove
They inspect your senses with aromatic late spring, welcome And, slowly, as you declare yourself With destinations of concrete and real estate The ocean’s never ending, Lunar tune grows muffled
Here, at this landing On this shore At this organic checkpoint of the soul, These green-clad, towering, ancient agents Stamp every sun-blessed, fortune-kissed, trans-Pacific Pilgrim’s heart that passes as ‘multiple re-entry’
Score
That chick that was crashing at Lisa’s place
Mexican Lisa, used to live off Central before she caught that case
Shows up with two big ass bottles of pills
Never tells me where she got ‘em
And I didn’t much care
Said we should get right tonight
Said she’d suck my cock
Long tablets, scored once,
Sickly yellow like crusty linoleum
Like chalk
You put three or four in a large spoon, a tablespoon
Give them a cold water rinse
Crush and soak the pills
Stir that slush in the spoon
With the little plastic end off the plunger
Use the BD brand, with UltraFine tips
Throw in a little piece torn from a cigarette filter
Draw it up into the barrel. You’re loaded
If shit’s gone right, you end up with a one mL shot of yellow liquid that looks
like fresh piss
Knock that fucker into the crook of your arm and take a little break
Maybe a nap.
When you wake up, if she’s still there.
Start soaking another round of pills.
See if she’s still down to suck
Scratch your nose. Find your lighter. Blaze that cigarette.
Ask that chick that was crashing at Lisa’s place if she wants a drag or two
From the one with the torn filter
Someone should probably scrape the fucking spoon clean
Before we hit that shit
Again
