Tuesday, 10 March 2009

TO BE A FATHER

TO BE A FATHER

TO BE A WARRIOR

TO BE THE VOICE

THAT REASSURES

REASSURE THAT THE DARKNESS

HOLDS NO FEARS

HOLDS NO TEARS

HOLDS ONLY THE IMAGININGS

OF A BILLION BRAIN CELLS


TO BE A FATHER

IS TO MERGE WITH YOUR TWIN SOUL

SOLELY RENEWED FOR ANOTHER

A OTHER HOLDS THE KEY

TO THE DOOR OF YOUR FUTURE PLANS

THE KEY TO OBTAIN AN AMBITION GREATER THAN SHINE

BUT TO HOLD THE LIGHT SO HE CAN SHINE

SHINE THROUGH THE LIT DARKNESS
OF A BILLION POSSIBILITIES

TO BE A FATHER

IS MORE THAN BESTOWING ON YOU

MY FATHER’S NAME FOR KEEPSAKE

BUT PLEASE KEEP FOR THE SAKE

OF TRACING WHERE OUR BLOOD ORIGINATES


TO BE THIS FATHER

IS TO LAY OVER YOU

ARMS CUPPED

LAY OVER YOU

AS MY SKIN IS PIERCED

BY GUNPOWDERD SPEARS

LAY OVER YOU

AS MY LIMBS ARE TORN

BY RAINING BOMBS

LAY OVER YOU

AS MY BLOOD NOURISHES THE EARTH

THE EARTH IS NOT ENOUGH FOR YOU

FOR YOU THE SKY IS YOUR PLAYGROUND

EVEN AFTER I LAY IN THIS GROUND


TO BE THIS FATHER

IS TO SMILE EVER WIDER

THINKING OF YOUR FACE

COS WHEN I STEP THROUGH THE DOOR

MY SMILE MIRRORS YOURS


TO BE THIS FATHER

IS TO REALISE

THAT THIS BURDEN

IS THE GREATEST BLESSING OF ALL

Friday, 20 February 2009

To BEAT Or not To BEAT

I feel i must issue a disclaimer before i proceed with this jagged subject..here it goes

i ,thought,do not in any way condone or have partaken in domestic abuse

Now that i have got that out of the way....
I promised myself that i would not take part in idle gossip and the lynching of an accused before evidence is provided, but i find myself having to address this issue that seems to have spread faster than the Australian bush fires.
The case in point is that of two highly successful and highly profiled R&B singers. As in everything celebrity these days, their lives becomes our concern and tidbit for conversation by the water cooler or in my case online communication. I have maintained my silence for the above reasons,but i felt the need to stamp my own view on the generic topic rather than focus on the specific limelight individuals.
few followers of this blog have enquired about my position...here goes again.
See above disclaimer.....however i will raise the question more as a start of a social debate rather than a finite position on my part. The question i am asking my village (see tune in/tune out)is...

'could there ever be any justifiable explanation to a woman being beaten by a man'?

I have spoken to both male and female friends and they are instantly shocked by such a question.
Responses range from "how could you say that" or "are you condoning domestic violence"
My response is that,have our village been so indoctrined that it is viable for a woman to hit a man without any social or legal consequences,but as soon as a man retaliates or in some cases self defends,he is labelled the Ike Turner of his generation,a deviant, a wife beater,a morally corrupt man...i could go on.
What fairness can be attained by blind and blanket labelling of individual cases?
Once again see the disclaimer above...i sense blood boiling.
I understand the argument backing the disgust towards men hitting women absolutely,however this does not cfully compute.
I was personally raised to believe that a man should never hit a woman and the argument to support that will seem to go against the preachings of Feminists over the world.

I was taught that women are physically weaker than men (which automatically invokes a superiority complex in a young male)
I was taught that a man should protect a woman (which automatically portrays the woman as a wilting flower that needs to be shielded from the harsh world)
I was taught that if you EVER hit a woman, you are not a real man (which automatically confuses the definition of man to a young male) i.e Men don't cry,but women do (sign of weakness)
I could go on....
Every sign to support such a distorted social view also supports women in a weak position.

Many moons ago, i was the recipient of a ill judged physical attack by a man,(maybe he didn't like the smell of my Isi Miyake aftershave). My retaliation was immediate, and the assailant saw the error of his way (machismo alert)

In previous relationships (with women) i have been the recipient of physical and highly painful punches to the face and chest and stomach and also an attempt to destroy my crown jewels,which luckily missed. My retaliation was to instinctively enbolden my stance, stare down my attacker and.....back down. You see my brain got engaged before my nature could fully react.
My brain has been programmed to not retaliate physically, and i guess i was programmed well. In other incidents my backing away was not sufficient to disuade my previously soft looking girlfriend,as she continued what in that moment seemed like a frenzied attack (no, i didn't leave the toilet seat up).
My village, what should i have done......what i did do was to physically hold her off...strongly (my head was throbbing at this point) in which she replied by trying to kick my testicles through my urethra..(men take a moment to digest)

Scenes like these occur more often than documented,but i am sure the reactions will be along the lines of, "just walk away"
But this behaviour is excused by patronising responses of "maybe she was hormonal" or"what did you do to her" (i get that one a lot) as if there is an explainable justification for my assault.
My village, i put it to you that this way of looking at this humanistic behaviour is a warped view wrapped in good intentions. It should be equally inexcusable to assault anyone. If self defence is a legal right,then should it not be a social right???
By the way, the punch i received from the man hurt less than that of both women....so save me the weaker sex shpiel...i am sure if i was hit by most women i know...i would feel it as much as if hit by some men.
My village go forth and discuss and be sure to fill me in....

In the mean time...men, if you are on the receiving end of a perfectly placed and timed punch/kick....breathe in ,put your arms out, try to contain the swarm and if possible give them the look...you know , the look that says...i'll shake the weave out of your hair.


Thought

Thursday, 5 February 2009

Mutiu

Rise high above the mediocrity that is life

Mourn not what was never yours to keep

Rejoice the shepherd that led you to this junction

that you may one day lead your own flock

Feel him rise above the constraints of the shell

As he goes home to join his Father...again



thought 14/01/09

The scene

The darkened room was lit by whispering voices
"i want to kiss you"
"we can't" heaved the female voice
"No such word as can't" responded the deep male voice,briskly, as he moved a step closer.
"we shouldn't she replied with haste, as she stepped further into the darkness.

"I wish...i wish.." she muttered.
"Don't wish ...DO" intercepted Sean as he steps forward,his face is lit from the faint light into the room,through the window, from the solitary street lamp.

Sean stands there peering into the dark and beckons her forward with his eyes.
"Lola" he whispers "i want to kiss you" he utters achingly,as his heart beats like a drum roll,in anticipation.
Silence envelopes the room,and is only punctured by the constant droning noise of the fridge in the distant kitchen.What seemed like eternity and a day elapsed for Sean.Then suddenly, Lola accepted his inviting eyes,and joins him in the light.

The two faces float slowly towards each other like a fatal beautiful collision into the inevitable entangling of lips.
Sean's breath blankets Lola's face,as her harsh anticipating gulps pierce through her ears.

Just upon impact, a voice is clearly heard in the distance,stalling the two faces in the light,like two deers interrupted by another world.

"I'm home now,gotta go,don't want to wake up the missus" drifted the voice,into the bedroom,via the front door .The humming fridge was heard no more as keys rustle in the door.

Impact evaded ,as panic calm roamed the room.





thought

Wednesday, 7 January 2009

Tune in /Turn out

I say the world should be treated as a village then maybe we will take ownership of the events that occur in it. Am i alone in feeling total uselessness in seeing the slaughter of the innocence in Palestine and to a lesser extent in the southern towns of Israel?! I am including the loss of life in Israel intentionally as not to lose sight of the need of a balanced view in this conflict.

As i am typing this and as you are reading this 600 lives have been lost in a small stretch of land called Gaza in Palestine and countless thousands have been injured,some severely. As you are reading this, 2 lives have been lost in Israel.

The numbers do not bare comparison but derision. The two figures cannot be mentionedin the same breadth, but alas i must mention it to highlight the shame i feel as a member of this village. I am seeing through shielded cameras the daily slaughter of lives,of children,of mothers and fathers of communities of dignity, and whilst this is going on ,part of my village are fixated by the dramas not of the middle east,not of the decades of bitter dispute that engulf this part of the village,NO!!

Whilst i am wondering what i can do to come to terms with my responsibility, some are embroiled in the dramas of a house in England,a house filled with sychophants and a public tuning in their tv and online stations in their millions to view and vote and post comments about the 'celebrity big brother house'
Millions of viewers have tuned in almost religiously to partake in this petrid fascination with mindless drivel.
Millions, in other parts of my village are shielding the remaining members of their familyin their arms wondering when the whole village will tune in and vote on the outcome of their fascinating lives.

The audacity of hope ,replaced with the resignation of hopelessness.

My village , i am thinking of you and keeping hope alive