Photo Credit: Vera Kratochvil
Sleepless nights, stuck between inadequacy and power beyond measure
The dream is within grasp, but life turns up the pressure
Talent takes you to a point, make your work ethic the aggressor
Your ego is the only obstacle between you and your treasure
Not just 15 minutes on the stage, make your dance last forever…
Every writing journey I’ve ever embarked on has started the exact same way. The voyage always starts with an empty space: between the margins of notebook paper, facing a blank white computer screen with a blinking cursor, or even beneath the glow of a smartphone. Now I’m always equipped with my thoughts and feelings, but that empty space is my fiercest weapon. That empty space is an outward reflection of some emptiness within myself or the world. There’s some story that has yet to be told, some voice muffled by the thunder of the herd, or a feeling so complicated that it can only be unpacked and understood if I allow my words to flow. With every Letter, comes discovery; some truth previously unnoticed presents itself to me. With every Word, I learn how their assortment creates a unique thought. With every Sentence, thoughts arrange themselves into ideas. With every Paragraph, ideas stir emotion from within and give birth to passion and conviction. Every time I pick up a pen, the blank space provides me the opportunity to learn something about myself, something about the world, something about the universe. I urge you to find your empty space, your canvas, film reel, command prompt, etc. and embark on a journey of self discovery.
Photo Credit: CC0 Community
Independence is defined as the time when a country or region gains political freedoms from outside control.
There are over 140 countries that celebrate some type of “Independence Day “. Think about how staggering those numbers are. There are over 140 countries that have been subject to the rules, laws, values, cultures, and dominion of other countries. That’s more than 70% of the world! 30 of the 140+ countries have gained sovereignty within the last 30 years, so this can’t be dismissed as an outdated practice.
The damages done by this practice of imperial colonialism are epidemic. Natural Resources have been found, extracted, and depleted. People have been abused, enslaved, and murdered. Minds have been taken, altered, and conditioned. Identities have been lost.
Why is Africa the most poverty stricken continent and also home to the world’s largest diamond mine and second largest gold producer? Why are the most desirable Caribbean tourist destinations home to impoverished natives? Why do people in Hong Kong drive on the left side of the road and people in China drive on the right? Why is skin bleaching a $10 billion industry? How come neither my father nor I know my paternal great grandfather? How can states named Texas, Arizona, New Mexico, and California keep their Mexican names and create policy to keep Mexicans out?
Wealth… stolen
Beauty… disregarded, stolen
Culture… appropriated, disregarded, stolen
Heritage… eradicated, appropriated, disregarded, stolen
Will we ever rediscover how beautiful and magnificent we are?
That’s true independence
Blame the shooter, not the gun…
I’m diametrically opposed to the circulation of the AR-15. It is an assault weapon meant to annihilate its target. It is a weapon of war and should not be accessible to the general public. At the same time, I can understand the sentiment that says that the person pulling the trigger is always to blame when tragedy strikes. No one clamors for butter knives and machetes when someone falls victim to a stabbing. It takes a particularly disturbed individual to repeatedly tear through human flesh. The individual is to blame, not the gun.
Can we extend the same level of compassion to people that we have for guns?
By the same logic,
Blame the terrorists, and not the Muslims? No… Muslim travel ban
Blame the criminals, and not undocumented immigrants? No… Immigrant sweeps, Wall, Repeal DACA
Photo Credit: Axelle B
Blame the shooter, not the gun…
I’m diametrically opposed to the circulation of the AR-15. It is an assault weapon meant to annihilate its target. It is a weapon of war and should not be accessible to the general public. At the same time, I can understand the sentiment that says that the person pulling the trigger is always to blame when tragedy strikes. No one clamors for butter knives and machetes when someone falls victim to a stabbing. It takes a particularly disturbed individual to repeatedly tear through human flesh. The individual is to blame, not the gun.
Can we extend the same level of compassion to people that we have for guns?
By the same logic,
Blame the terrorists, and not the Muslims? No… Muslim travel ban
Blame the criminals, and not undocumented immigrants? No… Immigrant sweeps, Wall, Repeal DACA
Photo Credit: Jean Beaufort
Monday
Tragedy
Wednesday
Thoughts
Friday
Saturday
Prayers
(Repeat)
Photo Credit: Vera Kratochvil
I lie between your legs, my head on your chest and know we are one
This instant, a moment that could last forever
Time could stand still and I wouldn’t miss a beat
I feel the softness and warmth of your skin, so smooth and gentle to the touch, ageless, flawless
I breathe in the sweet scent that perfumes your body, I breathe, we breathe, as one
My heart beating to the tempo of yours is the metronome to our timeless love song
At this point in time I know my purpose
I have found the cause to my effect
The reason for my time in this world
That reason is you
You are my purpose
I have found the fountain of youth
The way to achieve agelessness
Discovered the meaning of forever
Can make the Earth stop spinning
Have the ability to make the river’s current halt
Stop a shooting star in its tracks
I know now how to make time stand still
I accomplish this insurmountable task by loving you
Photo Credit: Larisa Koshkina
If you don’t hear from me, don’t worry; soon you’ll hear about me!
-Ricardo
Photo Credit: Axelle B
Inspired by: Dylan Thomas’ “Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night”
Love go not gentle into that good night,
Embers should burn and surge against the dying flame;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
We accept after the climax that the dark is right,
Because stoking the fire causes it to burn out faster;
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Vision is clearer when the blaze is glowing bright,
We see each other, free of masks, cloaks, and veils;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
Wild Love, consuming everything in sight,
Learns too late of its own incendiary destructive nature;
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Fading Love, suffocated from ash and soot, once burned white,
Words like unconditional and forever become transient;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
And you, my Love, exhausted from the fight,
Erupt now with your lethal shrapnel, once more, before
We go gentle into that good night.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
Cold
The Self is Conscious, but the Conscience is sleep
Cold
The World’s Children weep, but Ears hear no peep
Cold
The Commercial Gluttony, while half go Hungry
Cold
The pursuit of Wealth, the denial of Self
Cold
Sooner hurt one’s Brother, then Help one another
Cold
Deaf to the Screams, that won’t make it Upstream
Cold
Will Talk for Applause, but won’t Speak for a Cause
Cold
Me, Me, Me, Me, but never Her, Him, or We
Cold
Talk more than we listen, take a second, envision
A child’s voice muted, her innocence taken
The world doesn’t act, so her life is forsaken
She was kidnapped and raped, still your mouth remains taped
Discarded like trash, no broadcast whiplash
A few cry for justice, but no one discusses
The truth that’s untold, the lie that’s been sold
As these terrors unfold, we begin to discover, our souls are empty and
Cold
You Can Sleep When You're Dead 