Live it
Then write about it
An empowering spoken word poem.
Live it
Intro
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"Intro" is one of the first slam poems I ever wrote - and its the first spoken word piece that I ever performed at a slam, down at the Bowery Poetry Club in Manhattan. To me, this is a poem about life and a poem about perseverance. Now only did Intro allow me to help convey to people who I am and where I came from, but this is a slam poem that I used to help give other addicts hope - even if that only meant 3 minutes of escape during a hard time. Hope you enjoy!
At age 30, when I got clean (for the last time), I had used drugs, mostly opiates like heroin, percocet and oxycontin, for more than half my life. That was always a scary thing for me to even say - it felt strange rolling off my tongue. Today, that's not the case. Today, it's the most surreal dream I ever had. Today, I'm still an addict, just one that didn't use. I hope this poem hits people in a good spot. It's hard to come from nothing to something, but many have done it. Either this resonates with identification, or its inspiration; either way, I hope you enjoy. |
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I’m new to this scene,
So for those who don’t know me
I wrote this as an introduction to myself...…
See I walk around life,
With this shtick...
I got this
Big
Jewish...
(pointing to crotch...)
Nose…
But that doesn't diminish the stories I impose.
Sure I’m
Kinda nerdy
Came from suburbia,
But my experiences,
Are petals to a flourishing rose.
And just like you
Sometimes I wanna explode,
Like yooooo
Motherfucker,
Who do you think you are?
Cuz you seem to think you know me,
You seem to believe you understand me,
And yet
You’re suspect to my plot,
Cuz see
Me,
I’m the nice guy,
The calm guy,
The not quite cocky enough to be king of the prom guy,
I don’t like to ruin anyone’s day,
I won’t come and
Rain fuck on your parade,
Spit hieroglyphics
Or play charades,
And though I used to hide in disguise,
I no longer masquerade....…
See I’ve learned that looks,
Can be deceiving,
And I don’t judge books,
By their cover,
So don’t act surprised when I tell you
I used to shoot heroin,
And steal from my mother,
See when you look beneath my surface
There’s a whole new realm to discover
So welcome to the unveiling,
It took guts to lift the cover...…
Cuz me,
I thrived and survived
In the dark shadows
Of dingy alleys
Where the odor of sweat and trash
Lingered on my clothes,
Yet ultimately I survived
And blossomed,
To writing this modern day prose,
To disclose
To you
My fears,
Cuz horror is weakened when exposed...…
I’d like to leave a
Fossilized footprint
In your heart,
A memoir
For your self reflection,
See I’m only here by way of second chance,
I had to reach a
Spiritual resurrection,
Make some revelational connections,
So
Let your pain, and your sorrow,
Be the needle and thread
That sew your mouth closed,
And just sit back and listen,
Cuz this is my life, exposed.…
On my brightest days,
The sun was colder than an assassin’s heart,
And my filthy ways,
Were dirtier than quiet racism
Swept under the rug,
I was the
Writer director and star
Of a nightmare,
The fighter protector and scar
Of a blank stare,
And maybe at one point
I’d melt from your scorched glare,
But now,
If good feelings were currency,
I’d be a multi-millionaire,
Sharing
Secrets
With those lonely and sad,
Those,
Trapped in the well
That
Bad
Place,
Don’t dwell on mistakes,
We all partake
In making
Bad decisions,
Cuz our vision,
Our inner intuition,
Gets clouded by peer and public opinion,
So listen,
This is our world,
God’s gift that we all gotta live in...…
I’m still struggling,
Striving,
Hungry to feed on knowledge,
And though I was addicted to dope,
I went back to college,
My mind a sacred playground,
I won’t let hatred demolish.
Now heroin,
Has been replaced by heroines
Like
Cleopatra,
And Egypt’s female pharaohs,
My narrow train of thought
Has expanded like the Mongolian empire,
The desire
To inquire
Acquire
And get higher
In a society that requires
Aptness,
Burns like fire.
See I have become the Lugal of my dreams,
Resourceful by all means,
High without morphine,
A samurai
Led by shogun,
Liberated from quarantine.
I’m the fruit of a monsoon,
Equipped to unleash these secrets
Deeper
Than king Tut’s tomb,
So yield to what you assume,
It might be a product of being
Self consumed,
Unacceptably ruined,
And do not presume,
I’m engulfed in a society
Engulfed in hair grease,
I’m enveloped in the true pain
Of loved ones deceased,
Their salvation released, like,
Finally,
My own inner beasts,
And with that,
It’s nice to meet you
I say shalom,
That means
Peace...
So for those who don’t know me
I wrote this as an introduction to myself...…
See I walk around life,
With this shtick...
I got this
Big
Jewish...
(pointing to crotch...)
Nose…
But that doesn't diminish the stories I impose.
Sure I’m
Kinda nerdy
Came from suburbia,
But my experiences,
Are petals to a flourishing rose.
And just like you
Sometimes I wanna explode,
Like yooooo
Motherfucker,
Who do you think you are?
Cuz you seem to think you know me,
You seem to believe you understand me,
And yet
You’re suspect to my plot,
Cuz see
Me,
I’m the nice guy,
The calm guy,
The not quite cocky enough to be king of the prom guy,
I don’t like to ruin anyone’s day,
I won’t come and
Rain fuck on your parade,
Spit hieroglyphics
Or play charades,
And though I used to hide in disguise,
I no longer masquerade....…
See I’ve learned that looks,
Can be deceiving,
And I don’t judge books,
By their cover,
So don’t act surprised when I tell you
I used to shoot heroin,
And steal from my mother,
See when you look beneath my surface
There’s a whole new realm to discover
So welcome to the unveiling,
It took guts to lift the cover...…
Cuz me,
I thrived and survived
In the dark shadows
Of dingy alleys
Where the odor of sweat and trash
Lingered on my clothes,
Yet ultimately I survived
And blossomed,
To writing this modern day prose,
To disclose
To you
My fears,
Cuz horror is weakened when exposed...…
I’d like to leave a
Fossilized footprint
In your heart,
A memoir
For your self reflection,
See I’m only here by way of second chance,
I had to reach a
Spiritual resurrection,
Make some revelational connections,
So
Let your pain, and your sorrow,
Be the needle and thread
That sew your mouth closed,
And just sit back and listen,
Cuz this is my life, exposed.…
On my brightest days,
The sun was colder than an assassin’s heart,
And my filthy ways,
Were dirtier than quiet racism
Swept under the rug,
I was the
Writer director and star
Of a nightmare,
The fighter protector and scar
Of a blank stare,
And maybe at one point
I’d melt from your scorched glare,
But now,
If good feelings were currency,
I’d be a multi-millionaire,
Sharing
Secrets
With those lonely and sad,
Those,
Trapped in the well
That
Bad
Place,
Don’t dwell on mistakes,
We all partake
In making
Bad decisions,
Cuz our vision,
Our inner intuition,
Gets clouded by peer and public opinion,
So listen,
This is our world,
God’s gift that we all gotta live in...…
I’m still struggling,
Striving,
Hungry to feed on knowledge,
And though I was addicted to dope,
I went back to college,
My mind a sacred playground,
I won’t let hatred demolish.
Now heroin,
Has been replaced by heroines
Like
Cleopatra,
And Egypt’s female pharaohs,
My narrow train of thought
Has expanded like the Mongolian empire,
The desire
To inquire
Acquire
And get higher
In a society that requires
Aptness,
Burns like fire.
See I have become the Lugal of my dreams,
Resourceful by all means,
High without morphine,
A samurai
Led by shogun,
Liberated from quarantine.
I’m the fruit of a monsoon,
Equipped to unleash these secrets
Deeper
Than king Tut’s tomb,
So yield to what you assume,
It might be a product of being
Self consumed,
Unacceptably ruined,
And do not presume,
I’m engulfed in a society
Engulfed in hair grease,
I’m enveloped in the true pain
Of loved ones deceased,
Their salvation released, like,
Finally,
My own inner beasts,
And with that,
It’s nice to meet you
I say shalom,
That means
Peace...