POETS PLACE
FEBRUARY EDITION 2022
Gung Hay Fat Choy everyone! ‘Gung hay fat choy is how Cantonese speakers wish you a happy new year—literally "wishing you great happiness and prosperity." The two-week celebration includes family and friends, feasting and fireworks, parties and parades. For more than 3,000 years, Chinese New Year was just what it sounds like—the beginning of a new year in the Chinese calendar’. And, how are we all doing in this new year? Are we moving forward towards a more prosperous and happier way of thinking about our options? Have you created or thought about creating your 1, 2, or 5 year vision board? What’s that you say? Psychology Today states that “a vision board is usually a collage of images that represent goals and dreams. It can include cut-out pictures from magazines and words that help inspire you to manifest your dreams and get where you want to go”. Where do we want to go? Do we really know these days? With all the inconsistencies in our current state of affairs, the lockdowns, the fears of disease and illness, the right wingers of doom and deception, how can we really plan for a future? By practicing Mindfulness we can achieve our goals and bring peace to our hearts. “Mindfulness is the practice of purposely bringing one's attention in the present moment without evaluation, a skill one develops through meditation or other training. Mindfulness derives from sati, a significant element of Buddhist traditions, and is based on Zen, Vipassanā, and Tibetan meditation techniques. Though definitions and techniques of mindfulness are wide-ranging. Buddhist traditions explain what constitutes mindfulness such as how past, present and future moments arise and cease as momentary sense impressions and mental phenomena”. Wikipedia. So what are you we waiting for??!!! Let’s start practicing how to stay in the moment. Find your inner Chi (energy) and breathe! Let’s GO!!!!
This month we host an array of poets with profound words and wisdom. Powerful, awe inspiring.
Enjoy!!!
Love Linda :0)
The Lefts Mental Death
By Linda Kaye
It happened just yesterday
it's happening now
witnessing destruction of the human connection
the permission to sacrifice our respect across
the world scape horror scape landscape of hate
opening up Satan's den releasing armies of untamed racists
unleashed sociopathic misfits
now joyously accepted and lauded as good right fearless might
The left's mental death hiding between the sheets gutless bystanders
it's a mistrial anyone can shame
who's to blame?
Shadow & Reflection
By Theodore A. Hoppe
Sitting at the river's edge
looking at the reflections on the water as the summer passes.
The realization of how this reflection
is a part of the everything,
part of the sunlight,
part of the river,
part of the plants and trees.
It is always present in the space that exists
between where these things meet.
What we perceive in any moment is only a part of the whole,
a part of what we call 'real.'
Or how "in the sunbeam 90,000,000 miles long"
there is also a part that is the shadow.
Theodore A. Hoppe enjoys life in Vermont beside a temperamental brook but has managed to spend a considerable amount of time in Los Angeles in the last ten years. When he is not sculpting the landscape one might find him practicing the piano, making art, or writing an occasional poem.
Gravitas and Frontal Lobe
By: IE Carlo
13 March 2021
Seriousness and importance of manner, causing feelings of respect and trust in others
So in essence one must have gravitas in life
It defines one and gives order to life and success
Gravitas is the x-factor that makes the difference in all things personal: the weightier something is, the denser it is, the stronger the gravity...it’s an attractive force!
Some have it down to a science, think Martin Luther King
The frontal lobes: are important for voluntary movement, expressive language and for managing higher level executive functions. Executive functions refer to a collection of cognitive skills including the capacity to plan, organize, initiate, self-monitor and control one's responses in order to achieve a goal
These are rules that must be cultivated and achieved for survival in a world full of the unexpected by choice or circumstances. Sounds like a character in a movie script.
Abstract thinking is a major part of this function such as Theory of Mind and empathy, including moral cognition and behavior; the mind, self, and society are fundamentally intertwined (Mead, 1934).
Its meaning can not be understated. The range of its meaning is vast, but not complicated: Seriousness and importance of manner, causing feelings of respect and trust in others. Solemnity, dignity, importance, and having depth in personality.
Aristotle in a discourse (I imagine) said: humans are political animals.
I am personally aware of the responsibility I’ve achieved giving me gravitas. Understanding the system I live under as a Latino- Hispanic. I will now coin the word, Latino-Hispanic as a moniker of inclusion. Latino-Hispanic of the Americas; “LaHis” of the Americas. It has a good sound to it!
To all those with gravitas of mind I salute you...paz sin fin
Ismael (East) Carlo, poet, actor begins on the streets of East Harlem, el barrio whose monica of “East” happened due to others not being able to pronounce the name, Is-Ma-El…
East, considers himself more a storyteller than a poet, although at times he gets lucky and poetry emerges from his stories...
For more about East, visit IMDB. Paz en Vida
IS THIS WORSE THAN DRUNK DIALING?
10-1-2020
3:23 a.m.
By Mary Cheung
3:23 a.m. and my resolve is weak.
Is this worse than drunk dialing?
I want to text you and engage.
Our witty and at times confusing conversations.
Text is the forum,
The stage we had set.
For our banters,
work related and witty remarks.
Sometimes I didn't get your brand of humor.
But engaging you in person was harder.
I got distracted by your magnetism,
looks and charm.
It was a train that never went to the destination that I wanted,
And carrying on was just hopeless. Bittersweet and futile.
So I had to give you up,
like a bad habit.
And now as sleep eludes me;
I reach out with longing to connect with you again.
Cuz I wonder how you are,
and where you’ve been.
And how you could've let me go without even delving in.
I was tormented by not knowing what our future could've been.
And the wanting,
for something to happen that would never come to be.
Strung out on you until I finally kicked it.
Accepted it was not meant to be.
All these months....
I was finally able to set free.
Disengage you from my life,
Cut you from my psyche.
But here I am and everything looks difference to me
At 3:23 a.m. you see.
Blinded by my wants and desires.
Logic and reasoning has been tossed aside,
kicked to the curb!
I find myself reaching for my phone...
to do what?
All I know is that I just want to reach out and touch you,
In the only way I know how.
Indecision leads to doubt,
doubt turns to confusion as to what I would even say.
I consider the words to write.
Then erase them in my mind.
I consider if it would be weird asking how you are and just saying "Hi".
I consider the time of day.
And thank goodness,
3:23 am just doesn't seem like a rational time to text you without seeming like a psycho.
I silently thank the early morning for saving me from making an ass of myself…….
Mary Cheung- she is an innovative Artist and Costume Designer. Her works contain a strong sense of story as well as a highly sensuous style. She mostly works in paint or photography and sometimes making art that is wearable and innovative. She states “I am usually more of a Visual style Artists and have only recently been open to sharing literally art/poems, often paired with visual art of my creation, birthing a new form of spoken word art as another form of expression”.
Oda a Bell
By G. Billie Quijano
There is a mystery in the nucleus of a cell
In 1952, there was born a genius, Bell
She invited me to join the "Sisters of the Yam"
"Ain't I a woman", well si, I am
"All about Love", I am the divine design
I am an accidental bruja, there are eternal signs
My "Wounds of Passion" may subside
But they refuse to hide
"Killing Rage", keeps turning the page
There's life to re-arrange
Feminist palabras cause cosmic wavelength
We are unified in our strength
My poetry a vibration
Your wisdom touched a nation
"When Angels Speak of Love"
They sing your praises from above
Your brilliance fuels the sun
Because of you we all rise
Bell you "Rock My Soul"
I honor the journey of becoming whole
When it is all said and done
"We Real Cool"
Gracias for my initiation into your school
"I will not have my life narrowed down. I will not bow down to somebody else's whim or to someone else's ignorance"-Bell Hooks
G.Billie Quijano-Poeta, artista, instigator of beauty. Hija de East Los. Global citizen
"DEMO-CRAZY IN THE USA”
By Unitsi Ai, aka Austin Musick
What's the point? I thought.
What I write or wrote, years ago as I sit there thinking that life's a joke
And maybe it's better I die before going broke or worse
that glacier slides into the sea causing the tsunami that may just be
that final end, when the earth decides its us humans
turn to play the role of the dinosaurs.
As we ignore the fact that another election has come and gone
But nothings really changed except the faces in the charade of today's show
titled "Wag the Dog."
I've grown so tired of having to pick the lesser of two evils
When neither party truly has a plan in place for amends to make up
to men, women, and children that this so-called "free land" was built on the backs of.
"We gotta fight for our right..."
Two Parties both playing with our minds
Everything hashtagged and subsidized with their personal propaganda.
Meanwhile, step right up, line up here for the new Meta Verse my ignorant dears
We are here to interrupt this program to corrupt you with the newest distraction
of a new world attraction where you can level up via airwaves of satellite
All while Big Brother Corp calculates another way to infiltrate our subconscious minds
and score with each "please pause for advertising" ah but, wait!
There's still more!
Because while we're sure to be swooning in this pixel perfected lure of the new paradise
No one will remember to wonder "What's going on?" out there in the REAL outside
as we're too busy buying more, and more from the store of the fabricated reality of a society
that is based on nothing but take and no longer giving.
Unitsi Ai, aka Austin Musick, is a singer/songwriter, poet, writer, and actor living in the Los Angeles area with her daughter, two dogs, two cats and rabbit. She hosts a monthly show at Artbar/LA called "Chords and Comedy." She is represented by Artists Media Group. You can find her music and show schedules on her website at www.unitsiai.com
With love and gratitude,
Austin Musick
aka Unitsi Ai
Two Faces Has She
By Ronald G. Carrillo
America you’re like Bill Cosby
Black, successful, greedy, seedy
Rich having reached the dream then went off the rails
One face given to the people
Then another private darker mask
Crossing that respectable line into lawlessness
Fame then playing a terrible game with other people’s lives
Thinking you were above the law
Thinking your star status garnered you more
Felt you could take sexual advantage of the women around you
Others may have looked the other way
You were not swayed but morally corrupt
Ethically bankrupt and unclean
Your wealth bought you a slap on the wrist
For you were of that American elite so you thought
Rhymes with dump and so unsuitable to grace D. C
Your white micro-aggression is misplaced
With so many of your followers also suffering from white fragility
Subtle racism and rebel rousing in the Capitol
To overthrow Lady Liberty and democracy
Instead of building a wall why did you not repair
The country’s crumbling infrastructure so desperately needed
America you’re leaning way too right
Doubting your own democracy
Being so insulated and paranoid to keep your power white
Not red, white and blue and one nation under God
Is our constitution static or does it have some flexibility
To allow its governing principles application in current times
You do not fool at least half your people
And the other half are not ready for a change of the guard
Not trusting your own melting pot myth
A country built on the backs of immigrants
Seeking its bounty and liberty to breathe free
The Joneses are now trying to keep up with the Garcias
The Millers still resisting to be neighbors with the Williamses
Ito, Wong and Kim recognize him as authentically American
But the same compatriotism is not returned in kind
Especially in times of finger pointing and blame
Scapegoating immigrant Americans is easy pickings
The American pecking order is still white at the top
America but you can also be like Maya Angelou
Articulate, vastly creative & wholly American
Rising above her impoverished circumstances
Embracing the American dream like a butterfly
Able to reinvent herself and become an activist
She was seeking solutions and poetic harmony
Calling forth our best selves to leave the darkness of fear
To stand upon the rocks of America without shame
No blame all of us equal in life’s game of fools
Showing our true faces to God and country
Her voice alone echoed the strains of wisdom
She harvested from the labors and triumphs
Of being a black American woman who dug deep
And found in the red, white and blue soil of her spirit
Why so many come to the American shore
But let there be more light shining forth from Liberty
The Lady in the harbor has two faces
Beckoning those tempest-tost refugees to her shore
Those homeless huddled masses answering her call to the golden door
Her maternal welcoming arms lighting their way
But her silent lips what do they really speak
Come work for me and actualize my manifest destiny
Or build a new American life and be free
Is she saying the dream is real or build me cities of steel
This colossus Mother is she a nurturer or a slave mistress
America your allure cannot be denied
Martin saw it, felt it and lived it until it killed him
He dreamed for us not to be judged by the color of our skin
The red, white and blue secured unalienable rights for all
He dreamed that one day in this great country that judgement
Would solely be metered out by the content of our character
Martin spearheaded the actualization of the dream through peace
Many others of like mind followed and dreamed along with him
He stepped up like a Moses for his people
And challenged Pharaoh parting great divides
But he was never able to enter the Promised Land himself
Nor see the realization of the whole nation rise up
And put life to its creed of equality for ALL men and women
Martin died an American martyr
Not an American fully actualized citizen
What eventually was a huge humanitarian win came at a great cost
Our nation still swims in the tide of discrimination and divide
Nonetheless the dream remains like a chrysalis
Waiting to unfold its wings and be fully realized
Ronald G. Carrillo is a native Lincoln Hts Angelino, living in Eagle Rock and a retired LAUSD educator and influencer. He writes of his passion and rebirth into the golden age of living. He has been writing since high school and was initially influenced from the songwriters, Keith Reid, Joni Mitchell, Laura Nyro, Neil Young.
Thanks for joining us! We will continue to host writers and poets of all genres.
Hang in there y’all!!!
Love, Linda Kaye
Please submit your written work to:lindakayepoetry@icloud.com and include a short bio.
Linda Kaye writes poetry, curates poetry, produces spoken word and art events and produces a poetry column POETS PLACE for the online publication LAARTNEWS throughout the Los Angeles area.
Linda’s poetry events have included several summer poetry salons, and shows at the Align Gallery, 50/50 Gallery, Gold Haus Gallery, Ave 50 Gallery and Rock Rose Gallery in Highland Park .The Manifesto Café in Hermon, Pilates and Arts studio in Echo Park, and Native Boutique and Zweet Café in Eagle Rock. And at the Neutra Institute Gallery and Museum in Silverlake. Her first short documentary film “BORDER POETS” was a socially and politically inspired event with poets and musicians filmed at the border wall near Tecate, Mexico on the Jacumba, Ca. side of the US. The film co-produced by MUD productions is available for viewing on her website and on youtube. https://youtu.be/5Te4-dlhxco
Her most recent project a rap music video in collaboration with Mary Cheung, “ERACE-ISM” can also be seen on youtube. https://youtu.be/NfrbveNUBgg
Linda Kaye is a native Angelino who grew up in the San Fernando Valley. She claims to be both a first-generation Valley Girl, and The Original Hipster. Educated at Antioch University and Cal State Long Beach in psychology and social work. Linda, now retired was working for the last seven years as a psychotherapist and licensed clinical supervisor for an out patient mental health clinic. She was a licensed medical social worker for 30+ years working on the front line of healthcare, a private consultant for Physicians Aid Association and for skilled nursing facilities throughout California and Arizona. She was also an adjunct assistant professor at the USC Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work. Oh yeah.
Twitter/Instagram: lindakayepoetry