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on reading Saul Williams

Dwelling among the children of transparent identities,
where daydreams turn to daymares
and nightdreams turn to nightmares.

Greeting the wilful child.
Uninhibited.
At times destructive.

Entering the shapless.
Inauthentic.
This passage, my right of.

It is the question of return,
this journey hinges upon.

Lacking space or time
the possibility of the journey,
is all that matters.

i don't remember Saul Williams from the Nuyorican, probably because i started going there in 1997 i think, and he was already gone and onwards and upwards to better things.

but there are some outstanding poets that come/came out of the Nuyorican.

Bob Holman had originally been one of the co-founders but then came the split with

Miguel and Bob went out on his own. doing many many things. i don't know how

these guys got along in the first place.

i did gain the dubious recognition/reputation of being the only poet slamming formal poetry.

but back to your poem, the following has to be worked on

(it does not read well aloud, too many stumbles because of sound)

pay particular attention to the vowels which jump around:

Dwelling among the children of transparent identities,
where daydreams turn to daymares
and nightdreams turn to nightmares.

it was hard to read, even though i tried it a few times.

also a couple of spelling errors in your haste.

it was not meant to be "slam", nor written word poetry

I became interested in Saul Williams after seeing the movie slam nation,

This was written mainly as a reflection on the following lyrics /poem, from that film:

"sha-clack-clack"

If I could find the spot where truth echoes
I would stand there and whisper memories of my children's future
I would let their future dwell in my past
so that I might live a brighter now
Now is the essence of my domain and it contains
all that was and will be
And I am as I was and will be because I am and always will be
that nigga
I am that nigga
I am that nigga
I am that timeless nigga that swings on pendelums like vines
through mines of boobytrapped minds that are enslaved by time
I am the life that supersedes lifetimes, I am
It was me with serpentine hair and a timeless stare
that with immortal glare turned mortal fear into stone time capsules
They still exist as the walking dead, as I do
The original sulphurhead, symbol of life and matriarchy
severed head Medusa, I am
I am that nigga
I am that nigga!
I am that nigga!!
I am a negro! Yes negro, negro from _necro_ meaning death
I overcame it so they named me after it
And I be spitting at death from behind
and putting "Kick Me" signs on it's back
because I am not the son of Sha-Clack-Clack
I am before that, I am before
I am before before
Before death is eternity, after death is eternity
There is no death there's only eternity
And I be riding on the wings of eternity
like HYAH! HYAH! HYAH! Sha-Clack-Clack
but my flight doesn't go undisturbed
Because time makes dreams defer
And all of my time fears are turning my days into daymares
And I live daymares reliving nightmares
of what taunted my past
Sha-Clack-Clack, time is beatin my ass
And I be havin dreams of chocolate covered watermelons
Filled with fried chickens like pinatas
With little pickaninny sons and daughters
standing up under them with big sticks and aluminum foil
Hittin em, tryin to catch pieces of fallin fried chicken wings
And Aunt Jemima and Uncle Ben are standing in the corners
with rifles pointed at the heads of the little children
"Don't shoot the children," I shout, "don't shoot the children!"
but they say it's too late
They've already been infected by time
But that shit is before my time
I need more time
I need more time
But it's too late
They start shooting at children and killing them!
One by one, two by two, three by three, four by four
Five by five, six by six, but
my spirit is growing seven by seven
Faster than the speed of light
Cause light only penetrates the darkness that's already there
and I'm already there
I'm here at the end of the road
which is the beginning of the road beyond time, but
where my niggaz at? (Oh shit!)

Oh shit, don't tell me my niggaz got lost in time
My niggaz are dying before their time
My niggaz are serving unjust time
My niggaz are dying because of.. time

Serpentine hair and a mouth with no face,

timelessness equals eternity, are you ready,

are you ready, are you ready for the trip,

the trip, the trip that goes in circles

like a cat chasing its tail. Yes, its tail,

a tale of cotton rubbing alcohol on wounds

beneath the wounds, on broken cabinets

inside compartments inside minds

built by a carpenter with no tools,

yes, no tools but the imagination,

the imagination triggered by need, need

for company, for it's lonely up there, up there

inside the borders of your head.

So you swing in the zoo of make believe

there is tomorrow in yesterday or yesterday

in tomorrow, ageless space behind an eye,

a single eye with tunnel vision--let us call

determination tunnel vision, let us sing

together this illusion on the dancefloor,

on the stage, dance, dance, sway

until you slip and die, slip of the tongue,

Freudian slip, verbal fingerprint on print,

paperless death equating life for living

cannot be confined in coffins or a box--

a window of contentment must be opened

to look out, to see the sea, to hear the voice

of others in one's head, the gods, heavenly

tubas, violins, concoctions of word-play

spitting fantasies of truth, oh The Truth,

give me a break or break me, here,

take your blue tongue and slice open my flesh,

eat from this pain in the side, liberate me

before I walk into a cage of garlic a zombie.

(phew, i got tired, do you listen to rap a lot)? this was almost a voodoo cleansing. ha!

what are you doing up at this hour? there are vampires lurking in the dark. *wink*

that was a GREAT performance and piece. i loved it. if it was 2002-

i might've been gone by then. i only hung around for a couple of years.

but her name sounds familiar to me, and her face looks familiar.

i may have seen her in another venue or on tv.

thanks for the link.

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