i returned to
the salt mines
because i could not
turn a dime with
my words to feed
the open mouths
of our creation

sensations of doom
and economic gloom
echo across the
open channels of distress
masquerading as cartoons
for our entertainment
and distraction, mind
the attraction of
the blue pill

I tapped out
a message under
neath the stars
my pencil beat going
dot, dot, dot.
dash, dash, dash.
dot, dot, dot.

no reply i
curse the moon
and wonder why
she does not
like me, laughs
at my demise
curse the son
in ascension
dark conceals
light reveals
truth hidden in
the shadows
beneath my eyes

My family & I have decided to take part in the “Walk for Water” to raise money to provide access to clean, safe drinking water for thousands of families across Africa.

We will be doing a series of 4 mile walks – the average distance women and children in Africa walk for water.  Check out the Walk for Water website to find out more.

I have had the good fortune to be invited as one of 15 poets to be interviewed on a radio program that will document World Poetry Month in April.  Here are some of the details:

Poets around the world call for a World Poetry Month. Fifteen poets from such places as Saint Paul, Minnesota; Rye, England; and South Africa, Johannesburg will unite and discuss the need for a World Poetry Month. Fifteen talented poets from the Gaia.com E-community – Empowered by Poetry – will be interviewed on April 13th and 20th from 8:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m. EST (Eastern Standard Time). Ella Curry of EDC Creations, John D. Evans, Dominant Muse of the Gaia.com E-community and founder of The Evans Poetry Collection, and select poets from around the world will unite and call for a World Poetry Month designation for the month of April.

The poets will engage in educational, inspiring, and meaningful discussions on poetry and they will explain how poetry empowers. All visitors can chat live in the chat-room during the show live at: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/Black-Author-Network . Let’s make this epic event an exciting and unforgettable one.

I hope you can join us and even participate in the live chat sessions.

I made a special appearance for red nose day:

http://claylowe.smugmug.com/photos/490764674_Bn9zR-S.jpg

I am in a place of being…not talking about being or thinking about being, but being and doing being and being being and living being.  I am a human…being.

We are a time-clock civilization.  We wear time on our wrist.  We hang time on our walls.  We have time in the corner of our TV screens.  We have time on the dashboard of the cars we drive.  We have time on mobile phones, console games, town squares, microwaves, cookers, computers…time is everywhere.  Time for this.  Tine for that.  Time does not exist, yet we use clocks to tell us otherwise.  The clock on my mantlepiece is ticking, ticking like a time bomb.  Ticking with excitement.  Ticking with anxiety.  Ticking with reflection.  Ticking with anticipation into the void.

An old family friend was visiting us.  She looked at Ruth and said to me:  “She looks good.  She doesn’t look haggard, which means you are being good to her.”

“What about me?’” I asked.  “Do I look haggard?”  The old lady placed her hands on my cheeks and inspected my face in the light.  “No,” She said.  “You look good too.  You two are good for each other.”

He walked up to the roof of the hotel to get some fresh air and watch the night sky turn to dawn.  The time between dusk and dawn is meant to be a time of magic.  At the precise moment when it is neither night nor day, the gods can be summoned.  He has never seen a god before, maybe today will be his lucky day, but he doubts it.  The gods abandoned man a long time ago when we decided we no longer had a use for them apart from killing each other in the name of one god or another.

The cars in the distant stream by like shooting stars.  He moves closer to the edge and looks down. Edges make him feel uneasy.  He always feels compelled to jump.  He struggles for reasons why he shouldn’t.  Lately he has found it harder and harder to find a reason that’s worth a damn.

He hasn’t said good bye to his wife.

He steps back from the edge.  Maybe tomorrow he won’t be so lucky.

Poor human hearts pounding everywhere, lying in their beds, walking their dogs, worrying about their future, dwelling on how their life took a wrong turn as they ride the bus to work in the morning.  I’m lying here in my hotel bed.  No other guest are stirring at this hour.  The dull roar of distant traffic reminds me that the poor human heart pounds 24 hours a day.

My past is a distant memory.  Who I was before no longer matters.  I resist thoughts of the future; they only bring anxiety born of uncertainty.  My crystal ball is full of thunder clouds, the clouds of unknowing.  Not being able to see the distant shores makes me seasick. I ground myself in the present with Jack’s words.  On my nightstand is last night’s entertainment, the Portable Playstation, Burnout Dominator crashing into cars to earn points, a fantasy of the human heart pounding of road rage.  Dark Resurrection, a hero’s quest to claim an unknown prize.  The prize doesn’t matter, what matters is the adventure along the way.  I long to feel my human heart pounding with the anticipation of unknown trails, dangerous trails, where the capacity of one’s own wit and resourcefulness determines life over death.  Adrenaline becomes my addiction, instead of cheap whores and booze.  An addiction that prowls like a hungry wolf on a cold desolate winter day looking for his next kill to keep him from Death’s steel jaws, the circle of life, the pounding of human hearts beating to different tunes on their iPods.

I close my eyes.  I’m on an empty beach watching her stand with her feet in the sea.  Her peach colored Spanish dress pulled above her ankles, she is dancing with the waves.  I feel lonely in this empty bed of fluffy white blankets and pillows listening to my poor human heart pounding.

And what does it matter in the end, the prince and the pauper travel different roads to reach the same end, buried six feet beneath cold earth, food for the worms and a silent eternity.

I’ve heard the eternal footman hold my coat and laugh hysterically, and I laughed with him!  You have no choice but to play the game hard and fast because he’s always riding your ass and one day the bell will toll for you.

Civilization is only good for the very weak and the very clever; the strong lose their natural Darwinistic advantage.  The weak can get a way with shit they would never pull if they didn’t have the law to protect them, like the counter clerk who gives you attitude because they are having a bad day.  Perhaps they would think twice before mouthing off if they knew there was nothing stopping the now irritated customer from reaching across the counter and ripping their eye out of the socket.  The clever are clever because they put the whole system in place to protect their asses against the savages amongst us who would go around looting and pillaging and having their way with the weak and the clever.  If you are not weak or clever, you are one of the masses doing time with shackles on your feet that you cannot see.  What’s even better than being clever is being strong and clever; then you rule!