This is the beginning of a project the working title “The Same Stories”. Within any community where the rise from poverty is one of the main struggles those with insight are usually saying the same things; it’s, hard, it’s not acceptable and above all lacks the fairness that the broader community is based upon. These ideas might sound different coming from different people but in fact they are the same stories only being told from a myriad of perspectives. Within that community of powerless growing towards powerful individuals there is also the black story. Without those who have come before me telling theirs I may not have made it out of my own struggles to where I am now. One thing missing from those stories usually is an explanation, A why. The cause and effect might seem obvious and it is but without visible solutions knowing the problem becomes almost virtually useless. For the most part these stories leave us stuck emulating and in no way elevating.
Before I go any further one thing you must know is that this project is in fact a book backed up by audio and video. Usually when I write it is a motion picture in my mind and not a collection of still images. Often I think this idea is lost to the reader and this is my attempt to further open up the thought process. As such I’ll try to record as many as seem appropriate with the tracks that inspired them. Also where possible there will be videos making an effort to depict the words on the page. All in all nothing you haven’t seen before. It’s an alternate perspective with a different method. Remember also, these are poems and meant to be read. The reason for them being recorded is only meant to add to the experience not change it.
The title of this poem is “Outlet” and the motivation to write it was Joe Budden’s “Skeletons”. Poetry is my outlet and without it I may never have been able to find myself in the cliché sense. Without Art or an expressive form like it most of us would never see our reflections and continue to show an image to the world without ever understanding why the world was unreceptive. This is in no way saying that we will change or conform but to understand one’s position in the universe is to understand choice. Even without definite answers being able to ask the questions becomes therapeutic. Why didn’t they see the struggle, the pain and all the wrongs that came along with being who we are? Why weren’t they familiar with our environment and continue to judge us on standards we were never allowed to share in? Why did they treat us as less than human? Couldn’t’ they understand our motivation? Poetry became my outlet for my own contentious mind and I was able to step outside myself and reflect. This is not a privilege all of us facing the everyday grind and search for self worth are always exposed to. That is the purpose of this project. To tell a story that not only I can see myself in but allow others to see their own growth and the pitfalls that come with an attempt at progress (from another viewpoint).
Original song: Skeletons – Joe Budden ft. Crooked I & Joell Ortiz
Instrumental (strings Intro): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mkl1t3wCB3Q