Sunday, March 30, 2014

Poetry Slam Volume 3: Unreachable Love

Hotep,

This next poet is no stranger to W2TM or BTWF.  As a barber, he does an impeccable job of keeping my image tight.  

As a writer, he's in a class all by himself.  Blogosphere, welcome to Bucktown.

Your MannofStat
--------------------------------------------

Two and a half months ago, an experimental reading and writing workshop was offered to us here on death row.  It is appropriately called "writing from captivity." Initially I was reluctant to participate; especially considering the workshop is being supervised by the manager of the prison's psychological program.  No way was I going to give the prison administration a 'free' opportunity to psychoanalyze me.

That could work against me considering I'm in the midst of my appeals and anything I say or do can be used against me.  But then I thought about it and considered the possibility of the workshop being of some benefit to me.  After all, I do consider myself a writer and I'm always working on improving my writing skills.

Well, I signed up for the workshop and I'm glad I did.  It is one of the most enlightening experiences I have ever had.  "Writing from captivity" is about more than just writings from people who are incarcerated, its about expressing thoughts and emotions that are held captive inside of us.  

You see, being incarcerated, our opportunities to tell people what we think and how we feel are limited - relegated even, to being written down.  It is said that words are power.  Well, being in such a powerless situation as incarceration, writing gives us the best power of expression available.  Otherwise, we would not be heard.

This workshop has helped me see this better.  So I repeat, it is one of my most enlightening experiences.  I say this for several reasons, but for the sake of brevity I'll only give two.  The first is the book "Man's Search for Meaning," by Victor Frankl.  Its an autobiographical account of his experience in the Nazi concentration camps of World War II - not so much how he survived it, which was miraculous, but rather how he endured it.  

The second reason is the heavy focus on poetry.  My understanding of poetry is, it is simply an artful way of expressing one's emotions and/or thoughts. Even more, it draws out the true individual, the part of them that is rarely seen.

Thoughts run rampant in a place like this and writing is a therapeutic process that we all employ consciously or not.  As one who does so consciously, I'm glad the workshop is being given.  It has inspired me and increased my passion for writing.  Literally "writing from captivity." This doesn't have to be a bane.  It can be a golden opportunity to reach out beyond captivity.

Bucktown.



Unreachable Love

For the life of me I can't seem to crack the code
Find the key to your heart even more mines won't let go 
of thoughts of you despite your aloofness
The signs that my efforts to connect with you are useless
What are you, a voodoo priestess? 
Who has cast a spell on me with your essential sweetness
My heart is a prisoner of your memory
Longing for just a glimpse of your energy
A synergistic connection
A semblance of your affection
A moment to bask in the glow of your enchanting eyes
A distant vision of your hypnotic stride
To have the melody of your voice caress my ears
It would be sublime to hold you near
Ahhh hopes and dreams they seldom come true
But despite my knowledge of this I can stop thinking of you

Bucktown
Copyright (c) 2013 by Rodney Taylor

1 comment:

  1. I love the writings they really are so straight to the point of knowing and feeling the true power of true love♡♥♡♥♡♥♡♥♡♥♡♥♡

    ReplyDelete