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Behind my eyes

just beyond the pupils

is a city so dense that smiles lose their sincerity

and languages stop making sense

(a language with one speaker is worthless)

Nobody looks alike

But I can't remember a single face.

They raise their spoons to the fire escape

because no one has been fed or cared for

and this is the first time I've stepped outside

in years.

-

rhythms - twos intertwined with threes.
the legs.
their faces
                expressions of challenging conceit.

again!
a second, split.
an image from Memory.

relentless as a seashore
yet not as simple
not nearly as clear
as the duality of sand and sea.

like rain
rather than fog.

Friendly People & Chimney Choir / Cape Cod

Hootenastic harmony extravaganza with Chimney Choir and Friendly People at the Lilypad in Cambridge (12/5) and a weekend runaway in Cape Cod (10/6-10/8).

Fatoumata Diawara (Oct. 2, 2012)

I had the pleasure of seeing Fatoumata Diawara of Mali (via Paris) perform at Johnny D's in Somerville. She and her multi-national band cut through the stuffiness of the venue in just a few songs, turning the crowd of quietly eating "world music" aficionados into a free-for-all dance party. Her  uplifting but profound melodies, her smile, her infectious on-stage energy and the genuineness of her pleas for world peace could make the most bitter of enemies lay down their arms. I left dizzy, inspired and with my senses on a rollercoaster I wish wouldn't end. Hopefully these snaps do some justice to the music, spirit and energy of the night (along with the dopeness of Maggie's dance-moves when she was dragged onstage).

A rap

quit being like a bird regurgitating

make like an echo and reverberate in

the best of times i'm a diamond in the sky

in the worst no better than a Coke can

Too Many

Too many dreams will keep you wide awake, but numb. There's a dam stopping the riverrun and I don't know whether or which way the current pushes and pulls. A musician sometimes. A writer who doesn't write. A drifter with cares. A lover who drifts. A thinker who's lost. A pretender and real. I am good at pretending. I am pretending to understand reality.

We learn to walk before we know where.

We learn to talk before we can sing.

We learn to love before we know pain.

We learn to forget like we learn to ignore.

It's a citywide blackout, but at least I can see the stars.

Distant, scattered doubt to remind us who we are.