 That sounds great. All right, well, hello. Thank you for that wonderful welcome. And welcome to the 30th annual Bayview-Wadden Library poetry recital. My name is Linda Brooks-Burton. I'm the manager here at the library. And I haven't been here for all those 30 years. I've been here about 12 of those years. And I'm about to introduce to you the person who has led this poetry recital for the last 30 years. He's our neighborhood activist, community activist here in the Bayview-Wadden neighborhood and a well-known poet in his own right. Please help me welcome Larry Ware. Good evening, and thank you. And welcome to our 30th anniversary. It is indeed a pleasure. And thank you all for coming. And thank Linda. And let's give Linda and her staff a wonderful round of applause for the wonderful work they're doing here. And I tell you, I had a vision and a dream 30 years ago. And I would gather poets and writers here. And we'd meet in the community room. And I said, hey, let's get together and let's just start giving a poetry recital. So here we are 30 years later. And as customary, I'd like to pay tribute to some of our angels and fallen soldiers. I want to mention three wonderful ladies, in particular, Miss Charlemagne Lentz. She just recently passed away. Our families go back 50 years. And her brother is the one who suggests that Pastor Madares be passed of a double rock Baptist church and a really wonderful lady. And another lady, Lily Mitchell, has been a friend of the family over 50 years. One of my mother's best friends, she passed away. And another really wonderful lady been on me since I was a little kid. And I just heard some news. Miss Dorothy Turner Everett of Everton Jones, she just passed away. And her funeral will be tomorrow. And really wonderful lady, like I'd work for them from 77 to 89. I was their public relations man. And we hit it off right from the bat. She said, Larry, I need you to help me out at this restaurant. So I say, you got it, Miss Everett. She say, when can you start? And start maybe a couple of days. She said, I need you right now. So I've been a public relations man for 12 years. And let's say a prayer for these three wonderful ladies. And also, the many people who are not here today to celebrate this event with us. We'd like to have them in our prayers and pray for the sick and shut in. And again, thank you for coming. And welcome to our 30th annual poetry celebration. And I'd like to start off the program with a poem entitled, Write It Out All the Way to the Top. The inner self-respect became the light of my soul and a way of life. And my heart became entrusted with the virtues of dignity and pride. And my outer appearance was just an inner reflection of self-esteem, self-love, respect, and understanding. As I stood alone at the top of my world, and as I became a builder, engineer, and architect of my own destination, I started to write it all out all the way to the top. And as I became totally immersed in the stream of life, I started to write it all out all the way to the top. And as the eyes of truth got brighter, self-love surfaced and warm horizons turned golden as timeless wisdom dazzled in a wave of beauty and splendor. And as the gray clouds filled with rain get kissed by the lovely sunshine, the skies turned lovely blue. Then I knew that I could see forever and ever. Now I'm in harmony with myself as the spirits in a temple of wisdom touched my heart and filled my soul. And I became enriched with the many qualities of life. That which appears, disappears, then reappears, seek the plight of the horizon for your field of vision is clear. And when those creative, productive, and constructive thoughts begin to fill your minds, go for it because at one solid moment could strike any minute now. I desire to blow my own horn in a band of glory as heroes march across the sky because I've seen the light of many dawns. I do not lust for showers of unworthy self-glory for I will reach for the fire that would bring me rain and give my heart for the cause now because we have a chance for righteousness and be the dream of the dreamers. So right your way out, right your way up, right your way over, right your way to the top and don't stop. Then light up and right it all out, all the way to the top. Fulfilling are the virtues of emotional poise, composure, and self-control. So exert the leadership qualities, lead the way to the top and ride on. I would like to introduce our next poet here, this young man, extraordinary gentleman, brilliant poet and you're gonna hear a lot of things about this brother here. Let's give a rousin' and he also hosts his poetry slam. Just celebrate his second anniversary. So let's give a, okay, all right. Pause for the cause here. Okay, okay, well we'll go to the next poet and come back to Brother Jesse. Excuse me a moment. Our next poet will be Brother Leonard Brackets. Let's give Brother Leonard a great round of applause. Another outstanding gentleman here. Welcome to the show, brother. Thank you very much. All right. I'd like to, first of all, commend the branch library and its staff and all associated individuals who have made this evening possible. And I'd like to also offer a small little part of my collection of thoughts. They're not specifically set out in a poetic format, of course, but it's more of a philosophical endeavor. And I'd like to read on freedom. Okay, just a second. The topic of my choice this evening is based on freedom. The right to freedom does not negate the required accountability that is exercised that the exercise of that freedom demands. I would like to read that one again because I kind of goofed up. The right to freedom does not negate the required accountability that the exercise of that freedom demands. True freedom does not imply being free to be done. Being free to be done or to do dumb things has consequences to one's self or others. Freedom is not free, of course. Freedom has a price and the price of freedom is accountability. Freedom is relative. That is a personal perception. A person may be free from the shackles of physical chain and ball on their body, but may not necessarily be free from metaphorical chains and ball of circumstances on their body. He who is conquered by others and chooses to remain conquered may not get the chance to taste the freedom of victory. Freedom is a God-given virtue and whatever God has bestowed, man should not have to restore. And the last thought, freedom is in it to mankind, but history is littered with attempts by man to enslave others of his kind. Thank you for your time. Oh, look who's here. What's your name, young lady? Tasha's aware. Who is it? Who is your daddy? You are. You're my little princess. Daddy love you. That's my daughter, Princess Precious. That's what she means. Precious is gonna do something special a little bit later there. And let's see you, baby. Daddy love you. I have a seat there and I'm gonna call you. That's my baby. She was a little tiny baby the first year she just kept grabbing the microphone. And now a son and daughter, they write poetry. Yeah, so our next poet, this young man is a brilliant poet and a gifted orator and he was reciting poetry here about 10 years, I guess. And yeah, yeah, so he, this young man is brilliant and you're gonna hear a lot of things from him. So let's give a brother Jesse while they're a great round of applause. I could have gotten a better introduction, something like, you know, here comes the greatest poet of all times, I'm like that. We can do that later on. The next one. So I'm only gonna do one. Oh yeah. Well, he's after me so it's all good. So I just have one and oh, uh-huh. So I remember when I first started reading here, like all my stuff had like, like a lot of curse words and whatnot, it was ridiculous. I was such a horrible poet for like eight years and I finally got my act together a couple of years ago. Okay, so this is my one poem. It's called A Reading Rainbow. Let's go somewhere where we're aware of where somewhere over the rainbow is where the people can fly. And their eyes are watching God intently as he traipses triumphantly across the sky. And if Bill Street could talk, it would wonder aloud why the cage bird sings and why all God's children wear traveling shoes and not a halo or robe and silvery golden wings. Our ruby slippers are wing tips to wish away from one continent to another country and only a wink. Discover the whole earth and only a week. The souls of black folk no longer lonely and weak styles. So Tony and cheek, humor so tongue and cheek where laughter always seems to come so cheap in all shapes, sizes and hues. So even when the Negro speaks of rivers, hilarity ensues and faces go from white to rouge, black to soft blues to the color purple in a circle of seconds. To be or not to be is not the question. See I think therefore I am and damn if it hasn't given my existence arc and pull, unlike any idea a man can ever hope to pull from his meagre pool of understanding. Let's go somewhere where we are unaware how demanding being can be. Black boy and colored girls who've considered suicide when the rainbow ain't enough so only the stuff of legend will open their eyes so they can see and set them free. Just let them be, give them room so they can breathe, education so they can read that the end of the primitive is close and all the ghosts of Mississippi will holler if you let them go or forget they were or forget their work. So go tell it on the mountain so we'll never forget their worth, the learning tree as important as the poplar, hopefully as popular and even without an ocular over my third eye I still realize still I rise in the morning blessed to be alive. No more the invisible man, now everyone can see I'm no individual man. Instead of patchwork of indivisible man, catch me if you can in my dirigible man, descendant of the original man. Let's go somewhere where wherever we can, we wear the roots of our original land all over our feet, all over our hands. Wherever we go, folks are waiting to exhale in advance as we arrive their collective size or enough to make the known world expand in size. And we find kindred we never knew and renew broken family ties that bind us together and remind us forever is the chronicle of a death foretold that most of us won't live to die naturally at a hundred some odd years old surrounded by a village of people we help nurture and mold into number and kite runners and a number of other roles, some rolled into one to become as beloved as a native sun come back to watch the sun bury itself in the horizon and resurrect the next morning when the most high awakens and turns the lights on. His eyes are on the sparrow and he always walks the road less traveled. He is every rhythm, every riddle unraveled an arrow that pierces your heart and injects purpose straight into your bone marrow. So tomorrow you can dismantle each wall that has ever caused you sorrow brick by brick like the women of Brewster Place or the man in Giovanni's room or the specter of slavery in Uncle Tom's cabin where the miseducation of the Negro was given new life yet some say it never happened like African and Jewish Holocaust like mine comp was never written millions of Jewish men, women and children shot or gas to death were just hidden matter of fact they are still in hiding a tree never grew in Brooklyn the ozone layer is fine war is right and hip hop is as dead as disco so let's go somewhere where we are aware of where somewhere over the rainbow is where the people can fly and are so fly the sky isn't enough anymore and when you die there's even more and this life is only a wrinkle in time a precursor of what's to come there's so much else to explore this way follow me. Let's give brother Jess another great round of applause there, some great work there. Our next poet is going to be Darcelle Jones she's the children librarian and is doing a wonderful job here and a wonderful poet let's give Darcelle a great round of applause. Kiss me, this kisses long passionate kisses toe curling kisses tongue whirling kisses the promise fulfillment of unexplored desires kisses oh yeah I miss those kisses I miss kisses soft slippery kisses sliding down my neck and shoulder kisses gravity obeying kisses oh please a little further down kisses I dream of those kisses I miss kisses hard demanding kisses teeth crashing kisses heart pounding kisses ear ringing kisses head spinning kisses knee buckling kisses his weight pins my ass against the wall kisses my grasping his neck for dear life kisses his hard dick presses against my belly kisses his fingers tangled in my hair kisses stopping to breathe is a crime kisses god damn I miss those kisses. When you woo woo woo that was beautiful that that a wall called a fire department that was nice let's give Darcelle another great round of applause. I'm gonna do one poem and then I'm gonna introduce our next poet this is very new I wrote this about two weeks ago and it's entitled we fell in love in the rain the tenderness in your eyes the warmness of your smile the sweetness of your love tells me you're looking at my heart baby can't you see how my eyes just adore you can't you see my smile kissing you back now it's cloudy it's raining now there's tears of joy are waiting to fall then in a warm and loving way our hearts tenderly touched then we got caught in a love storm we kissed the kiss of love as our hearts danced in the rain that is how we fell in love in the rain oh my love what a joy the thought of you filling my heart with your love your tender love oh the love that my heart has needed for so long so very long then you looked at me with those beautiful loving eyes and said my love I wanna be with you then your arms said I wanna hold you hey girl why don't you try squeeze me a little tight real tight let's make it a love night you know you know what I'm talking about we look deep into each other's eyes as we began to fall deeper and deeper in love then we shared another I love you kiss in the rain now two hearts have become one one love in the rain yes I said in the rain now I give you my heart I'll shelter you from the storm and showers to come then we danced and romanced in the rain as our hearts showered together in the tears of joy we kissed the kiss of love as our hearts danced in the rain then our hearts exploded into a golden burst of sunlight love is the liquid sunshine for my beautiful flower you're my lady love the sweet love of my heart and that is how we fell in love in the rain okay thank you our next poet is gonna be uh... janis uh... Reeves so let's give uh... janis a great round of applause for the first time uh... this poem that I'm about to do uh... I wrote it a while ago and I just wanted to do it tonight so it's called of me why do you hate me can't you see that we are one that we're all in the image of me of one dna c not different species your father mother adamanty of the african soil euphrates from ethiopia iraqis skin dark brown hair nappy because i'm dominant you see making all mankind because all come from me every color you can see brown red yellow even white is of me albino you see because you are of me you've claimed everything of me doing your best to eliminate me but not accepting the fact that you are of me i made all men equal and free to love one another and to glorify in me but evil has corrupted your mind making you think sitting on your throne that you're somebody can't you see that you're being deceived used and abused until there's no more use for you the truth is written for all to see if you just take the time to get to know the real me but after all you've done against me i still can't hate thee because you are of me you will go on hating me you hated my son jesus just like me because of the devil's hatred against me i must get over that this world will never accept me until the day jesus comes again to set all those who believe in me free thank you that was a beautiful poem let's give her another great round of applause i want to share you uh... some that's that i treasure deep in my heart this is a treasure as it was written for me uh... someone that's right here to me uh... see this little picture there's a poem uh... somebody wrote this for me she's gonna come up and do it my daughter presses when it rains i hear drops of puddles when i step in puddles i feel wet on my pants i see dark clouds when i look up i smell flowers in trees they smell like sugar i taste the rain and the sprinkles of rain i think the flying but i really can't fly i see so happy because it rains thank you baby my baby was eight years seven years yeah seven our next poet uh... this is her first time and let's give her a great round of applause Tina Derrick's this is her first time this is not my first time up here this is my first time reading at this one but i was with jessie i'm kind of torn between which one of these i wanted to do and i wanted to know if it was okay if i could read two of them okay i'm gonna start off with a nice one first and i'm always nervous as you know i have a bit of a flu so forgive the voice this first one is called his gift though i didn't know the plan i dare not challenge his command i simply knelt and wept and gave to him my life which he did save my soul lamented doubt in mind for he who seeks so shall he find and when he spoke this then i knew his love was real like dreams come true his plan was simple i didn't know that to live anew i must let go of doubt and fear of shame and lies of tears regrets unwholesome ties of anger's pain that made me sad my life and all was his to have to heal to love without condition gave me hope in my admissions to him i stood and he alone would judge my life and cast the stone i needn't worry man is man and so i took my father's hand and to the past i bid farewell and to the shame i knew so well and to the anger set in stone and to the lies i told so long and to the pain that nearly killed my spirit rose i bid his will my god has given unto me the gift of life eternally the gift of joy and hope and love the gift of wisdom from above a gift as such cannot be stored cannot be questioned or ignored will not be silent won't be still cannot be told it's no big deal cannot be scorned or marred with shame to grate the power of his name i knew his will it shall be done and so i share his gift with everyone that when i wrote up when i was i was lost and then i was found and then i was like oh okay cool i know what it is now i know what it's about this second one i was kind of nervous about it but the spirit was on me to write it and so i'm just gonna read it to you it's called i wish sometimes i wish i could get inside my people get inside their hearts and beyond their thoughts because they ain't thinking or so it seems they've lost touch with what it means to have dreams and be free and you know what really bothers me my people they don't even see the pain the shame the loss of young life my baby's mama but never my wife always my nigga but never my friend sacrifice and who they are just for the sake of fitting in trying too hard to get over instead of trying to get in the doors of opportunity that exists within our own communities to reach out and beyond those ghetto chains and so-called bling and fly by night fame our children they don't even know the true game when nigger was used to cause us pain to keep us down replace our true african names and the truth is with heavy losses we overcame that backward time when slavery reigned but the battle for our survival still rages on because we've come full circle and our failures to move on returning to that ugly place our ancestors fought so damn hard to erase we're wiping ourselves out and at the hands of our own race so call it what you want to man it's genocide it's by our own hands and this shit's got little to do with the man who just sits back with folded hands and laughs while we fulfill the master plan the clan will hell we're giving him a hand by hanging ourselves with our own nooses with no real plan and lame excuses wanting to get yours by trying to take mine and pulling us all down by wasting precious time with robin and killing and toe in the line of that false ghetto fabulous bling state of mind i'm confused fed up and truly downhearted to see us go back to where it all started a terrible waste should be called a disgrace and be mad if you want but these facts must be faced and damn it to hell if i see him out of place but it's about time we took back our true race oh how i wish i could get inside my people and let them know that i've been there too so easy it was for me to place the blame the lies i told just a part of my game so i wouldn't have to grow up or wake the hell up or take out the rags of responsibility and wipe my own butt so easy it was to lay flat on my back in the hopes that another would pick up the slack and speak on my behalf just because i was black but i learned that ain't life not the way it should be my life is my own so the truth be on me and yeah it wasn't easy to get off my lame ass and build on my future by understanding my past not living the past but live for today this and so much more i wish i could say to my people who deal with loss and with pain to my brothers who think that my niggas their name to my sisters who want more but can't see the way to my people whose dreams seem too far away well i'm here to tell y'all it ain't over yet we need to rethink keep our own selves in check we are worth all the love that god has to give because we're worth so much more than that bullshit we live my people i say this because i am you because you are me and i love you i do let's work together by keeping it real because behind every way there's i can and i will we can if we choose to we fail if we don't take a look at the choices we will or we won't i want us to live how god meant us to be but that calls for so much more than one wish from one me you know uh uh uh beautiful yeah uh larry larry jr couldn't attend the night he's uh in a camp there they uh with a point raised on a school expedition there so and you get back call him professor where but uh he uh uh wanted to do some poetry but uh since uh he called me little spike i say well if i'm little spike who you say he big spike so i'm little spike but i just wanted to share with you uh some of his work since he's not here um this was precious just to show you we need to encourage our young people there's so many brilliant artists and and word smith in this community and around the the city and the bay area we need to promote art work and literacy and my little princess she uh did this for father's day and uh you see uh this guy here oh that's me and that's precious said um number one dad of all the dads i am glad that i confess you're the best i love you happy father's day for my little princess this from this is from larry jr and uh dear dad happy father's day you are special i love you daddy here's another one from junior his artwork i love you happy father's day i love you dad love you too and this is just one of many precious in june they'd be on the honor roll here you chip off the old block uh the perfect score and the spelling so they uh they uh get it honest but uh uh thank you um i showed their artwork to take a moment to uh speak of another brilliant person in this community another brilliant artist and i've been knowing this young man a long time and um you see all this wonderful artwork here just look at this extraordinary this is world my name is William Scott but the baby herring's phone will be redevelopment in the 2010 because uh baby herring's phone will be replaced as disney would as disney world as uh gospel disney world because we need a piece because uh because uh baby herring's phone needs to be changed because uh it needs to be uh replaced as disney world as a gospel town a peaceful because uh the gospel town is good for people to build people's good lives well baby herring's point will become new as disney gospel town will become hollywood will become a new neighborhoods into hollywood because uh see disney oh because uh the disney world will be in baby herring's point changing to hollywood will be uh superstars movie stars will be in the baby herring's point of the new neighborhoods because uh price first goal will be uh will be replaced as a new san francisco until gospel hollywood town will be take down all those original cityscapes to take down the penthouses so sorry so they can replace the new condos high rises balconies high rises into uh cityscapes for good people and hollywood stars will be living in the bay and will be living in the city of praise frisco because uh we need the peace because uh but disney uh seattle's areas a detail of areas that the that's going to be in 2010 because the reconstruction will be on christmas eve because uh because the construction will be coming to the baby herring's point to do construction uh 2010 will be doing because uh people will be moving out of baby herring's point on christmas eve on new years day construction will begin and baby herring's point to demolish the the to be demolished of the baby herring's point liquor stores will be placed liquor stores into uh hotels and high rises because uh because we've got to move people out of baby herring's point to replace the disney wood into new neighborhoods so people will be building people's lives to take to uh cancel the liquor stores so you want it won't have no more gangs no more violence no more guns because uh baby herring's point would become a new neighborhood and this year in 2007 and in uh december okay let's give William a break i just wanted to come up and and really point out you know how gifted William really is he goes to a um a school over in oakland called creative growth which is a school for for a challenged adults who are artistic and he's been doing that this for years and he has a lot in his head going on and it's all about his neighborhood and architecture is his thing and you can see the detail in his work you got you need to really come up and see it after the poetry and you might even recognize some some um streets you know some areas here that are in and around baby hunter's point that he has drawn drawn you know meticulously to the detailed point of course he would like to have fantasy there's a little fantasy involved here but that's that's the way he would like to see baby hunter's point and so i just wanted to point out that he is definitely a gifted artist and he has actually shown in many places including new york city um and we hadn't done anything here at the library for him so we're putting up his work for the first time and hope to do more in the future so thank you linda let's get this gentleman another great round of applause let him William we appreciate your artistic integrity we appreciate our next poet is going to be a first time uh let's uh greet uh joshua smallwood this next one is called races this next one is called races people always ask me what are you what am i doesn't matter i'm human just like you does a different race to make me a martian would it make me cooler would it make me a loser why do we look at people as a race not as an individual what if i told you would it what if i told you would it change your view of me would i be your friend would i be your enemy people always ask me what are you and my answer is always i am unique i just got a comment that josh is our president of speak up that's our our team advisory council so you know go josh he just started our book club too i want to introduce our next poet uh she's participated before Kathleen let's give Kathleen a great round of applause it's nice to be loved yeah um i um i was hoping to dance a poem for you tonight uh but but but um but i'll have to save that one for like another time um um i've been i've been told by our library assistant that this is strictly poetry so if i'm like if i say the poem and then dance it that would be kind of against the rules so you know so so i so so i so i brought i brought another poem um that i wrote um basically like precious i guess you know poetry is kind of contagious and when you when you get exposed to it a lot i think sometimes the spirit just lands on you and you know you you uh can you hear me better now yeah well next time i mean i'm not prepared to dance now um i wore my new leotard anyway though um but in any case this this poem was inspired because one time jesse uh was writing a poem about i guess getting older as he approaches 30 and um and and um you know i mean like all of his works it was brilliant but um this is what fell on my heart because it was kind of a response you know to that this poem is um is called 40 something hush young thing don't you cry the real work comes way after 25 i can recall when i was your age i know it's cliche but just turn the page i could tell tales of how dope and lust brought joy i wonder whatever happened to that nice jewish boy i s time marched on and we turned 30 he lived purely for his own pleasure as did i or at least until the high got dirty i drifted through that fourth decade wondering and wanting loved and lost and loved again until he came sauntering up to me as cool as can be changing my spirit forever it still won't let me be and know how i sought to be his wife so steeped in self and unable to see that he was too busy fighting for his life until he lost it at 47 and i am 40 by this time finally understanding how each year is a gift from the divine no longer fearing death more concerned with walking in the light i know through him that each year is a blessing and another chance to get it right now on the eve of turning 43 i lift my eyes and thank thee i pray to be the best i can be to leave behind a proud legacy of sharing caring and loving endlessly and embracing the truth to set me free i pray for the strength to give tirelessly to live one day at a time and accept that it ain't all about me and it doesn't need to be because the god i pray to promises eternal life and life more abundantly let's give captain another great round of applause our next port uh this uh gentleman another gifted gentleman here in the bay area um troy alexander is going to come up and do some poetry so let's give troy a great round of applause all right there troy and welcome again there brother hello how y'all doing i ain't got nothing prepared but uh actually i'm gonna go with my heart on this one i recently lost my little brother not too long ago on our 16th mission so i'm gonna dedicate this poem to him i'm gonna come straight from the heart on this one it's called uh my little breath little breath what's up with you man i know i ain't talked to you in a long time but uh i just want to tell you i love you i know you already know that remember all the good times we had back in the day all the way up until now i remember when i first seen you it was real small about five pounds six ounces i don't know i told you was though but you was real small though i love you when i first held you smile yeah i remember that man when you got a little older had your first girlfriend you told my mission was out with me when you was really at the park yeah i had your back on that one but it's all good you still my little breath let's rewind time forward when we first had all these dreams about making the big in the music industry yeah i'm still pushing forward for it too bad you can't be here to see it but i know you upstairs looking down on me helping me out do everything we got to do now remember that time we was almost mating man we made it to Sacramento we did them big old shows with Trina and Lil Scrappy those some good times even when pops died when i came back home from my little vacation we even stuck together i still remember that hood even though we got into that little fight in our education afterwards but i still loved it it was funny afterwards because we clowned it laughed about it on father's day when we both had our kids till it's funny telling each other happy father's day after we grew up for so long talking about yeah we're gonna be good daddies when we get older i know you was because you had a whole lot of plans for your junior i'm gonna make sure it goes through because with my junior too no breath i know how hard to say this though i just want to let you know i love you all of the family do it's t&t for life and i'll see you when i get there you know i had made a special request of my little princess to do something for me and she's gonna come up and do one of my favorite songs George Benson and Whitney Houston's uh now it's precious unique wears the greatest love of all so let's give my baby a standing ovation i believe the children are future teach them well and let them lead the way show them all the beauty they possess inside give them a sense of pride to make it easier find us how everybody's searching for a decent one to look up to i never found and so i learned to depict yourself is the greatest love the greatest love of all is easy to achieve learning to love yourself is the greatest love of all you are the sunshine of my life that's my baby that's tears of joy there that's my little princess let's give my baby another brother jesse is gonna come up and uh do another poem so let's give brother jesse okay first of all i did not want to do this i'm just doing it because of uh of you know what's it called yeah encore yeah so um for this i do expect each and every one of you to uh to give troy five dollars for me before you leave um yeah five bucks if you're gonna four ten do ten there you go so i'm gonna uh just do one this this one um i think this one has like one curse word in it so excuse me the little ears but this is called the unauthorized autobiography of me so uh some things are real some things are not lead up to you guys to figure out which is what i began writing poetry 29 years ago when i was only a ghost a spook who spoke in tongues about smoking lungs and cancer and bones about being black brown and blue and broken homes where sticks and stones hurt as much as being cursed first born second in command a man on the verge bound to his balls in his word but not to his world delivered from evil left-wing radical just trying to do right by his people with the power to see souls through peep holes in your pupils been a poet since i was a pupa born a pauper papa was a rolling stone as well an imposter popular poker face poster boy born in brooklyn the eldest son of a seamstress and a sharecropper mama gave birth to me flying over louisiana in a helicopter an actor one hella oscas my mirror has two faces the invisible man and the phantom of the opera a bayou bastard run faster than forest forage through a box of chocolates for a new life like men looking through male order brides for a new wife black the new white nah i just write like i'm light-skinned about the recollection at morning how at dawn the night ended and the sky was reinvented a color blue something tremendous electric and jumping pumping looked like the sky is falling in the womb when i got my calling it was the lord on the other end talking walking me through my lifetime and gave me poetry as a lifeline so i write rhyme like my life depends on it gave me a binder full of paper so i always feel safer when the pens on it told me life was so full of shit gotta put depends on it but imagination was so great you gotta put some friends on it and the fountain of youth is inside you and it's okay for you to binge on it that some laws are meant to be broken so whatever restricts you go ahead and infringe on it began writing poetry as a ritual to keep myself honest my word is mine i own it now the devil want to buy my soul so he can put a whole new demonic spin on it pow mountains of sin on it but that will never happen i'll even put ten on it and whatever the case i'll put the best men on it a father his son and the holy ghost is back up so whenever the line of communication with god is down i work overtime to get the shit back up and words taste so good make you want to put fingers down your throat and bring them back up call me hopefully adventurous vocally ambitious lyrically dexterous like a pastor that ebaniza and dexter avenue baptist so much power and verve in his verse could hold a congregation a nation captive want to be called a man who was courageous so advantageous with the truth he was almost dangerous honorary and cantankerous when he wanted to be just wanted to be himself so call him a poet if nothing else and put him on your bookshelf alongside the likes of angelo dunbar baldwin and walker miller and other famous authors a crucible or melting pot of people past present future and pretend i'll even sweeten the pot with spices of life and kernels of truth man can only hope he might someday comprehend but it all looks so good you can't wait for the feast to begin so much food for thought can't wait to dig in so thank you lord for this food we are about to eat and may it strengthen our bones and our resolve to make it through each week and keep us safe and sustained humble and happy till next time we meet in your name we pray let's eat i mean amen let's give brother jess another great round of applause that's a great poetry you know uh i tell you uh i tell you you know i was at the barbershop a couple of months ago and i was talking with some older brothers like those five guys it was like 80 and in their 90s and we was talking this doesn't talk about black history and different music and stuff like that and i got to mention some names i went to the vault in the crypt on it and they say wait a minute larry now we know you're sharp but man you're talking like you're older than us but it's just a blessing like i was just fortunate blessed to know some scholars and educated that handed me off to baton so i'm running with them and this is one example 30th anniversary um when i was a kid i thank you and you'll see i handed off the baton and torches to my son and my daughter and you'll see they do it well but um when i uh uh when we were kids growing up we knew how to have fun and you know like uh me like i'm a romanticist as you can see uh we talk about the the music like we need the one of the most wonderful things that happened it was bringing back to jazz and the doo-wop singers and um i just want to before i go on to the next poem i just want to do a a medley a tribute to 80 of the doo-wop singers who appeared on the tj labinsky show have passed away and among them some of my all-time favorites like who remembers this song as we stroll along together under stars twinkling high above who so in love who remembers this one hey girl i tell you no lie how am i supposed to exist without you and who remembers this one show up do be do show up do be do oh the still of the night love you darling i love you so in the still of the night who remembers this baby baby you don't understand how much i love you baby and how much i want to be your only man baby baby baby you don't have to go stay a little while longer baby i want to talk to you just a little more i see the little tears in your eyes about to fall uh another one here you got me going in circles whoa round and round i go you got me going in circles and then closer i get to you the more you make me see by giving me all you got your love has captured me over and over again and then i got to do my boys the tall and the tall ones uh they did a song i would build you a castle with a tower so high till it reaches the moon i'll gather melodies from birdies that fly fly and compose you a tune that's the temptations from tcb and uh iceman jerry butler gotta give my boy the iceman for your precious love means more to me that's my precious princess there and then uh gotta give my props to my buddy uh curtis the mightest the mightest man prettier than all the world yes and i'm so proud i'm so proud i'm so proud of you i'm so proud of being loved by you and uh it's been too hard living and i'm afraid to die okay well you know i left my home in georgia headed for the frisco bay now i'm sitting on the bay uh no uh let me see i'll do two more and then i'll go into the poem and let you know this poem inspired this uh many guys have come to you with the light that wasn't true and you're passing by passing by now they're in the center ring and their lives don't mean a thing why don't you let me try that's the delphonics and um one more one of my uh favorite songs uh this was the five keys they did it before peaches and herb close your eyes close your eyes take a deep breath open your heart open your heart whisper i love you i love you tell me you love me you love me you love me hold me tight hold me tight don't say good night we got time lots of time now i'm going to go into the poem that inspired that now as a kid like i wanted to be a songwriter like smoky robinson and holland doze and holland and whitfield and strung and uh gamble huff and bail at filling the national and this poem uh you know we were coming up as kids we used to stand in the doorways on the street corners and sang and this poem is entitled you you catch on it's entitled the splendor of ghetto suave initially those expressions of a sweet rapper but i took that out and said simply sweet expressions and you'll see why hey there lovely lady warm beautiful sweet tender sexy sincere and all of them kind of nice things you even more to my heart lady love i've searched all of my life all of my life looking for your kind of loving tenderness it's beautiful and real oh what is all the sweet love i feel i see it in your eyes and i feel your love looking through the windows of my world and my lovely one your smile is a warm and wonderful reflection of the love that's in your heart and when i look into your eyes i find myself saying my goodness alive your lips sure look tasty i'll bet they are very very sweet lady how are my chances very good i hope i'd be proud to be your suave lot anytime all the time day and night then we can share the beauty and pleasure of evening walks hand in hand strolling through the park stop under palm tree dancing in the moonlight so we can kiss and hug and whisper sweet somethings as a warm and lovely summer breeze strum sweet melodies from the strings of tender summer leaves baby you and me together is sweet melody magic as our hearts dance in celebration of the beautiful beginning of our love affair hearts touch on this lovely day sweet love smiles now let us listen to the sweet beat of the falling rain beautiful music to our ears sweet music for our hearts as we dance to love thank you and uh one thank you and i'm gonna do uh i'm gonna do a short one now just to show you how the inspiration just hit you i wrote this one in three minutes and it won seven national awards and essence magazine selected in one of their issues and it was raining one night this was a few years ago and um i i just uh you know the melody just stayed my head falling love falling love and you know the softness of the rain you know gently touching the flowers when they go from bud to bloom and fill every room uh this one is entitled falling love should a warm smile in the rain turn your days into beautiful sunshine falling love should a loving kiss awaken you amidst a beautiful dream tenderly in the night falling love should a beautiful song of togetherness a sweet song of love caress and warmly embrace your heart falling love should you find the feeling real and that someone who is true from deep within their heart falling love as the eyes of the heart look through the windows of the world they can see that there's just so many beautiful things in life for people to do together and should you find it wonderful falling love falling love with me so we can fall in love with life together falling love thank you our next poet thank you our next poet is gonna be uh uh janice uh reese okay uh okay tina derrick's will you come on let's let's give a tina a great round of applause all right i'll be sweating over here later you know this is an oldie but a goodie you remember this one i put a little twist on it this time it's called who are you who are you jessie really i wrote this four years ago and i read it at the last the first and last slam you'll know it when you hear it i find it hard to believe that innocence once lived within the madness of those cold brown eyes and even to your surprise as you raise your fists in desperation trying to be that man you want the rest of us to see and you don't give to her that what you gave so freely as a child because through those eyes her love is not the same even though she tries in vain to understand you in your pain wanting so desperately to believe in that innocence she waits for you to change but instead you lay in wait while she falls victim to your fate you whine and dine on her thin dime her sacrifice your peace of mind with delusions of grandeur entitlement and greed you steal what little love is left inside her and rob her till she bleeds and is it just me or is it time that allows me the gift of that which you don't see that to love another you must first love within yourself all that others oftentimes don't see and so i see that you are not the man that stands out beyond the rest because even at your best you cannot be so you pretend you steal the worth of worthy men faking your way through thick and thin a bit of soul that's been worn thin so who do you think you're trying to fool with all that foolish pride as you drop that so-called knowledge and waste my precious time because i ain't the one not like she and a replica is all i see of a broken man with broken dreams fiending for the meaning of what he means so screaming yet hiding behind what lies behind those cold brown eyes and the only one you're fooling is that fool inside with too much pride so wake up and take a look at what we see and give back that which you take so selfishly or give it up and man just be who who are you really okay uh okay what i'm gonna do is uh i'm gonna do a short medley and then i'm gonna give some prizes uh one per winner uh so uh name name that tune uh uh name that tune and you'll win a t-shirt um i've got sunshine who's uh who uh who who wrote the song what did he write it okay all right okay who did this song here um betcha by golly you're the one you got it okay the the next song uh uh who did this song here um chocolate girl be my girl i'll go do another okay who did this one here welcome back home where i'm the one that loves you okay who did baby can you stop the rain from falling won't you chase my claws away one one per winner uh one uh okay all right who who did this one here um i'm gonna take about two more minutes and whatever get away okay who did this one here um soft and warm a quiet star you got it hey smoky you got it well smoky smoky smoky all you got to say is all right with that all you got to do is say smoky you ain't got to say his last name uh okay the next one um closer i get to you the more you make me see by giving me all you got okay now uh i'm gonna uh go way back on you now um i'm gonna get you now um whoever fine you said it all okay um all right okay one more uh i'm gonna get all of y'all now um um i'm your magic man won't you let my magic hand just touch your heart and make your love appear i know y'all ain't gonna get that one that was robert winners and fall okay who did this one girl how was i to know when i first met you you got it uh continue with the poetry pro no he did uh well don't you tell me where does it hurt baby you will see the need of love i feel that's walter jackson oh walter uh uh now he may have did a remake but the originals okay uh that's how you stay you don't you remember when dad used to sing that to you okay william scooby-dooby-doo strangers in the night chasing glances lovers at first sight you got it precious and william y'all all star everybody's all star okay everybody okay ha sam cook uh okay darsel darsel want to do another one well uh when darsel okay well i'll do another one and i'm gonna do it uh everybody else is gonna do another one uh here's another one that i wrote um um this one is uh well okay okay well i'm the i'm the daddy since i'm the daddy i'll close it out the daddy anybody any any uh uh i'm playing stare who's the daddy thank you well uh again i would like to uh a heartfelt thank you to all of you for um making this a program possible and um i really appreciate it like it's not about me it's about us you know when i first started this program the first 17 years i pretty much financed and funded out of my own pocket and i would like to take this time to thank those who sponsored and contributed with the refreshments i like to thank my mother maxine there and the father revin where and i would like to thank um some of the business people and my friends uh uh brother pete at the barbershop brother langston uh contractor here in the community and every business who participated in some of my friends ed uh and amos who uh uh helped me out there and helped us get this program going um this year and i'll let's give a eric our cameraman and his staff for great job great show and um i would like to thank you all for your participation and we have food refreshments out there so once again uh next year it's going to be 31 so let's give a great round of applause there and i come here precious and my princess and till till next year what do we say oh i'll close that with a song good night sweetheart well it's time to go good night sweetheart well it's time to go i hate to leave you but i really must say good night sweetheart good night till then my darling each memory till then good night and thank you and uh all the poets all uh oh may i have your attention every poet please write your full name so that uh we can have it on the screen and you'll get a copy of the entire presentation yes okay