silent daisies

Today I was standing by the river

throwing daisies down, into the water;

watching their petals grasp the wind

and dance, and swirl

until they landed with a ripple.

You came over as they floated away,

with questioning eyebrows.

I tried to explain, and you picked me another daisy.

"It's okay." I said.

For some reason, I wanted to keep the daisies

to myself;

there was something about being the only witness

to that moment of beauty

that seemed so enticing.

A perfect secret, between myself

and the world

a new day, a new way

i think in thoughts,

bare with me;

not the top of charts, top spots

can take from you what is not yours.

The chores we do,

this course, we're forced

bring forth your youth and shed and sort

your mind, your matter, it's alright now

to say and speak

your own accord.

we fly, we board

the trains to nowhere,

show there is some hope, so go there;

where is my luck? where is your cup

it's over-flowing, your head is showing

your eyes are bigger than half your worth

your nails are bubbling, are spilling forth

with lessons learned,

you covet urns and yearn for something

bigger; something better,

something brighter than hers ('s that yours?)

well now it's mine,

i gave you this you can't define

my eyes are mine

they see through lies,

through all your spies,

through all your skies,

all your clouds and rain and oceans

I dare to look deeper

and deeper into the water

until there's no more water left

blah blah bloging my thoughts since i've quit facebok cold turkey

You know what? our age is strange.

Here is Erykah Badu's latest music video: (art)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9hVp47f5YZg

And here is Lady Gaga and Beyonce's new video: (art)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GQ95z6ywcBY

I realize these videos are on the opposite side of the musical spectrum, but when i was told to watch both of them, i couldn't help but notice the similarities.

I mean other than the fact that both of them have to do with (basically) getting or being naked,

I think these videos are showing something that is emerging in our current culture.

In Erykahs video, it seems to me that she is pointing out what we (as americans) have become, especially at the end when she speaks;

"they are quick to assassinate what they to not understand, they move in packs, ingesting more and more fear with every act of hate on one another. They feel most comfortable in groups; less guilt to swallow. THEY are US. THIS is what we have become. Afraid to respect the individual. A single person within a circumstance can move one to change. To love herself; to evolve."

It seems to me that by stripping down completely naked she forces the people around her to see the rawness of the human body; of the pure individual. She talks about respecting the self, about loving, evolving. I'd like to mention, by the way, that this song is from the New Amerykah Part Two album. ... Anyway. What she is pointing out is our FEAR of what isn't in "the norm."

She does it in such a powerful way too, to force the viewer to follow her and watch as her story unfolds; as she undresses in the streets and gets shot.

Gaga's videos, i must admit, are something else. She directs them herself, too. And the weird parallels between the videos move me to ask questions about our culture. Gaga's reputation is strange; what with the hermaphrodite rumors, outlandish costumes, and "i don't give a fuck about what you think" attitude.

I just feel like these two videos touch so much on the same subjects, and the backgrounds of both the artists contribute highly to the messages that they deliver. They are both emphasizing the importance of the SELF. of BEING yourself. Not following the crowds, not doing what other people do, but following your heart and your soul and letting things take their course by making your decisions. Gaga's reputation and video shows that. Badu literally just tells us.

They touch on LOVE; love is love, gay or straight, black or white. (which, i find hilarious in the end of Gaga's video that Beyonce is dressed in black and Gaga in white.) Erykah shows love by contrasting it with hate and fear. She was killed because she was trying to express herself.

i would also like to add, as a last note, why i think these videos reflect our culture. It comes from the title of Badu's album, New Amerykah part two, and the part of Gaga's video when there is a huge group of people dancing in sparkly america costumes. There you have it. plus it is contemporary art. I shouldn't even be arguing this, it is so obvious.

SO, if anything, the message i get from these videos is to express yourself. Be COMFORTABLE with yourself; move yourself to break your boundaries, to grow, to EVOLVE, to show whoever what you are, what you can be, what you COULD be, how to change.

It showed me that america can be pretty cool;

we've got a lot of great people, a lot of great ARTISTS, living in our country.

i just wish that everybody had the same mindset.

WE ARE US. come on now.

get naked and dance!

show me the ropes

"one of the most extraordinary consequences of human consciousness is the ability it gives us to imagine things that are physically impossible. By this device we can explore reality in a unique way. placing it in a context defined by impossible events. In this way we are able to create resonances of meaning and juxtapositions of ideas which are mind-stretching and stimulating."

-John D. Barrow-

one thing i learned today is that when the student is ready, the master will appear.

i read that in a book.

so lets resume, and consume, all the fumes in this room-

made of ruins, i assume, and crews that smell of perfume

this person will probably never read this.

but thank you anyway.

i'm glad we met,

you had such an influence on me.

you didn't TELL me to change;

merely showed me,

and let me find my own way.

you gave me purpose to achieve more;

to aspire to be everything i could be.

i drew energy from you;

returned it;

and it was always given back.

you were my source, my light,

my inspiration.

inexhaustible, i learned from you

to give EVERYTHING.

all at once.

WITHOUT HOLDING BACK.

to tell the truth;

to be honest, real.

(which we all should be anyway.)

i let go of my self,

yet learned to be entirely myself.

strange how paradoxical the truth can be.

and now, i just have to live it. every second.

and remind myself;

NOTHING is permanent.

this will all pass, with or without consent.

so SAY WHAT YOU FEEL

all the time. let people know.

you can always tell when you meet someone

who changes you for the better.

you can always tell what effect they have.

It's like, if you meet someone better than you,

then you should raise your thoughts to their level;

if you meet someone lesser than you,

you should look inside

and examine yourself.

that sort of thing.

anyway.

who do you think you are.

what a beautiful night.

It's nights like these

that make me want to cry harder;

to enfold myself in the conceptions,

in the abstractions,

in the extensions and the contractions,

i cry out my stars,

but it looks as if i'll just be

breaking my own heart tonight.

It's nights like these

that make me want to dream farther,

feel my visions

like i feel dropping coins

seeping through my skin,

lacing my veins with their metallic chaos,

day and night and day again.

It's nights like these

that I notice the moon, spinning

needles in haystacks

and prickling thorns

on roses that i

only just painted red.

(slightly red)

It's nights like these when I feel every step.

Before I take every breath

out of every last one of you

i owe it to show you two

sides of each story

lines and pictures

and sounds

of waves all around

us now

i wish you would just

be REAL with me, how

can i get to the place

that i showed myself

so not long ago?

-----

om mani padme hum;

the jewel in the heart of the lotus.

the love in the heart.

not the outer appearance,

not what it SEEMS to be,

look past what is pretty

or witty

or shitty

and see what REALLY matters

mad hatters seem mad

but they're really quite brilliant.

create. love what you create.

make what you make of it

send it on it's way

BRING ON THE NEXT ONE

just remember,

december is

not the last month

it's only the beginning of another circle,

a full cycle,

and the gold and the money doesn't matter

what matters is that your HAPPY.

purple makes me happy,

i try to live my life within the purple

sometimes i stray of course

and sometimes I go on forever,

forget where i'm heading,

and write a new story.

we all sing our songs

you can still sing along

even if you can't sing

you CAN

we all have a

voice to

be

heard.

DO YOU HEAR ME?

what a beautiful day!

it's days like today that
inspire me to walk farther
to breathe deeper
to scream louder
to spin faster
to fall harder
to smile wider

to play more
to laugh louder
to walk barefoot,
to get my hands a little dirty.
and not care a cent.