Yeeeeeup ...

Rest In Peace ...

Abstract Love ...

Rumi ...

Why are you so afraid of silence ???
Silence is the root of everything ...
If you spiral into its void ...
A hundred voices will thunder messages you long to hear ...

Song of Solomon (Chapter 13) ... Toni Morrison ...

You think because he doesn’t love you that you are worthless ...
You think that because he doesn’t want you anymore that he is right ...

That his judgement and opinion of you are correct ...
If he throws you out, then you are garbage ...
You think he belongs to you because you want to belong to him ...

Don’t ...

It’s a bad word, "belong" ...

Especially when you put it with somebody you love ...
Love shouldn’t be like that ...

Did you ever see the way the clouds love a mountain ???
They circle all around it ...
Sometimes you can’t even see the mountain for the clouds ...

But you know what ???
You go up top and what do you see ???

His head ...
The clouds never cover the head ...

His head pokes through, because the clouds let him ...
They don’t wrap him up ...
They let him keep his head up high, free, with nothing to hide him or bind him ...

You can’t own a human being ...

You can’t lose what you don’t own ...

Suppose you did own him ...
Could you really love somebody who was absolutely nobody without you?

You really want somebody like that ???

Somebody who falls apart when you walk out the door ???

You don’t, do you ???
And neither does he ...

You’re turning over your whole life to him ...

Your whole life, girl ...

And if it means so little to you that you can just give it away, hand it to him, then why should it mean any more to him ???

He can’t value you more than you value yourself ...

Malcolm X ...

And for the first time in my 39 years on this earth

I stood before the Creator of all

And felt like a complete human being

Bob Marley (Feb 6, 1945 - May 11, 1981)

Only once in your life, I truly believe, you find someone who can completely turn your world around. You tell them things that you’ve never shared with another soul and they absorb everything you say and actually want to hear more. You share hopes for the future, dreams that will never come true, goals that were never achieved and the many disappointments life has thrown at you. When something wonderful happens, you can’t wait to tell them about it, knowing they will share in your excitement. They are not embarrassed to cry with you when you are hurting or laugh with you when you make a fool of yourself. Never do they hurt your feelings or make you feel like you are not good enough, but rather they build you up and show you the things about yourself that make you special and even beautiful. There is never any pressure, jealousy or competition but only a quiet calmness when they are around. You can be yourself and not worry about what they will think of you because they love you for who you are. The things that seem insignificant to most people such as a note, song or walk become invaluable treasures kept safe in your heart to cherish forever. Memories of your childhood come back and are so clear and vivid it’s like being young again. Colours seem brighter and more brilliant. Laughter seems part of daily life where before it was infrequent or didn’t exist at all. A phone call or two during the day helps to get you through a long day’s work and always brings a smile to your face. In their presence, there’s no need for continuous conversation, but you find you’re quite content in just having them nearby. Things that never interested you before become fascinating because you know they are important to this person who is so special to you. You think of this person on every occasion and in everything you do. Simple things bring them to mind like a pale blue sky, gentle wind or even a storm cloud on the horizon. You open your heart knowing that there’s a chance it may be broken one day and in opening your heart, you experience a love and joy that you never dreamed possible. You find that being vulnerable is the only way to allow your heart to feel true pleasure that’s so real it scares you. You find strength in knowing you have a true friend and possibly a soul mate who will remain loyal to the end. Life seems completely different, exciting and worthwhile. Your only hope and security is in knowing that they are a part of your life ...

RUMI ...

We come spinning out of nothingness, scattering stars like dust

ibn Hazm on beauty ...

‎Gracefulness consists of delicate features
Supple movements
Graceful gestures
A soul in harmony with the form which fate has given it
Even where this is no visible beauty

Saul Williams ...

The triumph of love is in the victory ...

The triumph of fear is in defeat ...

The triumph of will is over mystery ...

The triumph of heart is in the beat ...

Rumi ...

I want a heart which is split
Part by part
By the pain of separation from God
So that I might explain my longings and desires to it ...

Love this poem ...

Anais Nin ...

I love your silences, they are like mine

You are the only being before whom

I am not distressed by my own silences

MJ ...

In a world filled with hate, we must still dare to hope ...

In a world filled with anger, we must still dare to comfort ...

In a world filled with despair, we must still dare to dream ...

And in a world filled with distrust, we must still dare to believe ...

(Michael Jackson, address at Oxford University 2001)

Without courage you can't practice any other virtue consistently - (Maya Angelou)

Beautiful Video ...

Tryo ...

You cannot even begin to imagine the great power that you are ...

History is YOU ...

It is YOU that creates history ...

Tu n'imagines pas la puissance que tu es ...

L'histoire c'est toi ...

L'histoire c'est toi qui la fait ...

Sometimes your nearness takes my breath away ...

And all the things I want to say can find no voice ...

Then, in silence, I can only hope my eyes will speak my heart ...

(Robert Sexton)

WIND ...

Ghassan Kanafani ...

I write well because I believe in a cause, in principles ... The day I leave these principles, my stories will become empty ... If I were to leave behind my principles, you yourself would not respect me ...

Michael Eric Dyson is a G !!! ...

My Strength Lies ... By Wangechi Mutu ...

Bruce Lee ...

Bruce Lee ...

Zora Neale Hurston, Their Eyes Were Watching God ...

No moment is ever eternity...

But it has its right to weep ...

Mussy Love ...

Interesting Read ...

Interesting interview with the daughter of Alice Walker (author of The Color Purple)

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1021293/How-mothers-fanatical-feminist-views-tore-apart-daughter-The-Color-Purple-author.html

Beautiful ...

APRICOT — A Short Film by Ben Briand from Moonwalk Films on Vimeo.

Thas Wussup ...

Suheir Hammad with a copy of my book

Almond Eyes Hears The Dove's Cries ...

She Had Never Seen The Ocean ... By Jafar Alam

This girl once told me
She had never seen the ocean

Has never smelled the salt
That wakes her inside

Never heard the sound of waves echoing
From the inside of her body


She had never seen the ocean ...


I thought to myself ...

Where does she let her memories sleep ?

If she drowns
Who would come and find her ? ©

Call her moonchild, dancing in the shallows of a river ...

Waiting for a smile from a sun child ...

(King Crimson)

Saul Williams ...

If a killer is capable of "planning ahead" ...
Imagine the plans of the lover ...

Lorraine Hansberry ...

There is always something left to love ...
And if you ain't learned that ...

You ain't learned nothing ...

Hafiz ...

I wish I could show you, when you are lonely or in darkness ...
The astonishing light of your own being ...

Audre Lorde ...

Looking inward and outward at once ...
Before and after ...
Seeking a now that can breed futures ...
Like bread in our children's mouths ...
So their dreams will not reflect the death of ours ...

one of my favourite drawings ...

My book was presented to Hamza Yusuf at the 2010 RIS Knowledge Retreat ...

Wish I could've been there ...

Look at the sky: That is for you ...

Look at each person's face as you pass on the street: Those faces are for you ...

And the street itself, and the ground under the street, and the ball of fire underneath the ground: All these things are for you ...

They are as much for you as they are for other people ...

Remember this when you wake up in the morning and think you have nothing





- (Miranda July)

What assumptions do you make about people based solely on gender ???

LOL ...

Ali's Life Recipe ...

My nerdy-mysticism interest ...

The Lost Joy ... By Olive Schreiner

All day, where the sunlight played on the sea shore, life sat ...

All day, the soft wind played with her hair, and the young, young face looked out across the water ...

She was waiting ...

She was waiting, but she could not tell for what ...

Love This ...

Interesting Australian Ad ...

A Litany For Survival ... By Audre Lorde (The Black Unicorn)

For those of us who live at the shoreline
Standing upon the constant edges of decision

Crucial and alone

For those of us who cannot indulge
the passing dreams of choice

Who love in doorways coming and going
In the hours between dawns

Looking inward and outward
At once before and after
Seeking a now that can breed
Futures

Like bread in our children's mouths
So their dreams will not reflect
The death of ours

For those of us
Who were imprinted with fear

Like a faint line in the center of our foreheads
Learning to be afraid with our mother's milk

For by this weapon
This illusion of some safety to be found
The heavy-footed hoped to silence us

For all of us
This instant and this triumph

We were never meant to survive

And when the sun rises we are afraid
It might not remain

When the sun sets we are afraid
It might not rise in the morning

When our stomachs are full we are afraid
Of indigestion

When our stomachs are empty we are afraid
We may never eat again

When we are loved we are afraid
Love will vanish

When we are alone we are afraid
Love will never return

And when we speak we are afraid
Our words will not be heard
Nor welcomed

But when we are silent
We are still afraid

So it is better to speak
Remembering
We were never meant to survive

Come With Me ... By Nneka

Full Video ...

Dope MC's ...

Sometimes being a friend means mastering the art of timing ... There is a time for silence ... A time to let go and allow people to hurl themselves into their own destiny ... And a time to prepare to pick up the pieces when it's all over ...


- (Octavia Butler)

Everybody's born with some different thing at the core of their existence ... And that thing, whatever it is, becomes like a heat source that runs each person from the inside ... I have one too, of course ... Like everybody else ... But sometimes it gets out of hand ... It swells or shrinks inside me, and it shakes me up ... What I'd really like to do is find a way to communicate that feeling to another person ...


- (Haruki Murakami)

It is one of the blessings of this world that few people see visions and dream dreams ...

- (Zora Neale Hurston)

Your secret from Jean-Sebastien Monzani on Vimeo.

Taken ... By Jafar Alam

Sometimes we give ourselves ...

Only to be taken (c)

Beautiful Poem ...

Ya Basta ... By Jafar Alam

Ya bani Adam (O Children of Adam)
Ya bani Adam (O Children of Adam)

Ya basta ...
Ya basta ...

O Children of Eve
O Children of Eve

Basta ya ...
Basta ya ...

Enough is enough (c)

Adrians Kiss ... By Jafar Alam

Adrian was only 6 years old
When his mothers heart stopped beating

He cried
Shook her
And screamed her name

His mouth was full of
Heartbreaking words

When nothing was able
To revive his mom

He kissed her forehead

Later, when the nurse cleaned her body

Her forehead had a small
Wet circle

She washed her face
Carefully around

Adrians kiss (c)

They Have Never Met ... By Jafar Alam

I know of a boy who has no bride
I know of a girl who has no groom

They open their eyes to the same sun
And shut their eyes to the same moon

They live under the same sky
Where lonely days, pass them by

His mind wakes and sleeps
Her heart aches and weeps

They have never met

Each other (c)

How Strange ... By Jafar Alam

How strange are those
Who fear death

And yet they still

Long for sleep (c)

How Is It ... By Jafar Alam

You are a mountain of sorrows
But my heart's as calm as a river

If I'm different from you

How is it that you move me so deeply ? (c)

True Story ...

An 8 year old came into my store today and said somethin like:

"No one can touch the sky ... You can touch air, but not the sky" ...

I was like "WORD" ...

People wish to be poets more than they wish to write poetry, and that's a mistake ...
One should wish to celebrate more than one wishes to be celebrated ...


- (Lucille Clifton)

sick-a-tating ...

He folded his fear into a perfect rose ...
He held it out in the palm of his hand ...
She took it from him and put it in her hair ...

(Arundhati Roy)

Keep It Real ...

Feelin' this jam ...

COEXIST ...