This is just a space where I will share some of my thoughts and post some announcements. If you stumble upon here and find something interesting and enlightening please feel free to comment...
You are invited to join the Men's Department of City of Refuge UCC San Francisco for breakfast. Come fellowship with us and help lay the foundation for our discussion group. The discussion group will take place on Sunday mornings every other month and will be an opportunity for us to share with each other outside of Sunday afternoon service.
Breakfast will be held in the
Flunder Center
1025 Howard Street
San Francisco, Ca 94103
(Entrance on Harriet)
11:00am (Sunday Afternoon Services Begin At 1:00PM)
City of Refuge United Church of Christ is a ministry of restoration. We are intentionally radically inclusive, welcoming all persons regardless of race, color, ancestry, age, gender, affectional orientation, and those who are specially abled. We celebrate the Creator's diversity!
We will also be taking orders for Easter Lillies. The potted lily plants will line the stage during Sunday afternoon service. Plants can be dedicated in the honor of a loved one that has passed on. After services the plant belongs to you and can be taken home. Cost is $18.00 all proceeds benefit City of Refuge programs.
If I start crying I might remember the many who have been killed and since there has been no justice, I am not at peace....
There is no reason for him to be dead other than a twist of fate that placed him in the same time and space as someone with twisted thinking at the other end of a weapon, and I'm not exactly sure why a volunteer neighborhood watch person needs to carry a gun....
I’ve wept for mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers that have felt the sting of loss in this situation
I’ve wept for lives that are left in the limbo of what could have been, what should have been
I’ve wept because people want to trivialize, or politicize these deaths for their own purpose like when an occupier said they were protesting the Oakland Police Department for the killing of Oscar Grant when it’s a fact, common knowledge, and if you are unsure a quick & easy google search that he was killed by the bullet from the gun of a BART Police Officer, and while it shouldn’t matter who committed the injustice, please do not use the situation to promote your own agenda
I have no tears for Trayvon Martin
If I start crying, I may never stop
I might weep for senseless killings everywhere
Gated communities in Florida
BART Platforms
On African soil
Afghan villages
Iraqi oil fields
High school campuses
I may even cry for the homicidal tone of politics by people who want to regulate what is considered moral
I’ve become de-sensitized to our reality centric view of life, because if I care I will cry, and if I cry I may become angry, and if I become angry I may become afraid, and if I’m afraid I may continually think, this may be the last time I see my nephew, the kid in my building, or one of the young men at my church, and it was because he went to get some candy, I heard George Zimmerman's brother said that he's suffering from PTSD, I'd have more compassion if six weeks later Trayvon wasn't suffereing from D E A D
I have no tears for Trayvon Martin
If I start crying, I may never stop
I should not have to fear for their lives, or mine for that matter because for all intents and purposes I can be profiled, and so can my brother with a kufi, and my sister in a hijab
I’m a believer that life is eternal, that love never dies, that we are spirits housed in physical form
So I am releasing Trayvon’s name into the Universe in the hopes it will become an echo reverberating through time and space
I'm always trying to remember the first time I became aware of the Alvin Ailey Dance Company. I'm sure it was on PBS in the, "Dance In America" series but I don't know exactly when. I've always been a fan of dance whether social or professional all my life. One of my family stories is they would put me on a table when I was very young so I could dance. There's just something about it that takes me to another place. I've spoken and written liberally about how seeing The Ailey Company was a conduit for my personal liberation. Most notably in the essay, "Let The Healing Begin" which is included in the anthology, "Mighty Real: An Anthology of African American Same Gender Loving Writing."
Under the direction of Robert Battle, the 3rd Artistic Director in 50 years (following Alvin Ailey & Judith Jamison) the company seems to have gotten a new polish. Everything seems sharper and fresher. It's wonderful to see.
Last night's program included, "Arden Court" choreographed by Paul Taylor and first performed in 1981. Mr. Battle said he included it just because he liked the dance and I totally agree. It was beautiful in every way and the dancers commanded the stage from the first moment the curtain went up.
The second dance of the night, "Takademe" was choreographed by Mr. Battle in an apartment in Queens. The staging confirms that the space was small but it does not take away from the power of this dance. Blending sharp & sinewy movements, comedy, and adept performance it is a short enjoyable piece that has quickly become a new favorite for me. The music is from an Indian Kathak dance and performed by vocalist Sheila Chandra. The music seems to flow through the dancer moving him around as if they have melded into one force.
"The Hunt" also by Robert Battle I saw for the first time last year and HAD to see it again. I am not sure how to describe but I just know it touches me in a place so innate. It's beautiful and primal all at the same time. The power and intensity of this dance is amazing. I would love to have a dvd copy of the full dance so I could dissect it. I'm not even totally sure what it's about, I just know it gives me goosebumps!!!
Of course no Ailey performance is complete without the classic, "Revelations" a dance that has celebrated more than 50 years in existence. Again as always it did not disappoint. I think one of the things that keeps it fresh is that there are different dancers at each performance so it never gets old. No one is saving anything because they have to perform this dance night after night. They have space in between to rejuvenate. It can't be easy to perform something so identified with the company and not have people have preconceived ideas. Last night the dancers danced through each movement and savored each moment as if the entire audience was seeing it for the first time...
I enjoyed the performance so much. I am contemplating getting tickets for balcony seats before the company leave this weekend. You can't see the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater too many times. See them is a place of healing for me...
Occasionally I come up with a line for a poem that I think it's fierce but nothing comes after it. What I've been doing is sharing the line with other poets either in person, on twitter, and this time on facebook. I asked some brothers in a poetry group on facebook to add a line to create a thread poem. What you read here is the result. The first line is mine and each succeeding line is by a different contributor. I read this piece at an Open Mic called, "Culture Fuck" and it went over really well. I've titled the piece, "He...."
He felt like well worn jeans with frayed edges at the hem
His beautiful hands like warm words from a friend
His needs was tucked in his pocket when morning's thoughts floated by, about nine, maybe ten
Looked like guys in cobalt trunks muscling
Intertwined in each other's arms like David and his sling
He walked softly on the balls of his feet, making the earth sing
The vapor of his breath wafted like a cloud on the crisp cold air...
The faint scent of pomegranate lingered in his hair
And he smelt of rain, and of leaves, and of sweat, and of snow
Contributors:
Roger Williams
David Patton
Nigel Barto
Wallace Bass Boyd
Brandon Wallace
Ronnie Davis
Charles Gervin
Jair, The Literary Masturbator
Argentine Tango Classes Given By Renowned International Tango Teacher, Sabine Rohde
Saturday March 17th, 2012
3:00pm-4:30pm New-Beginner 5:00pm-6:30pm Beginner/Intermediate
Sunday March 18th, 2012 4:00pm-6:00pm All Levels (New-Beginner 1, Beginner/Intermediate)
Cost: Sliding Scale $5.00-$15.00 per class or $5.00-$20.00 for both days
(No One Turned Away For Lack Of Funds)
Classes are open to all who respect same-sex dancing. Participants will be asked to change partners frequently. Thus, participants may find themselves with a same or opposite gender partner. Everyone will lead and follow.
City Of Refuge 1025 Howard Street San Francisco, Ca 94103
Act fast this offer is only good until this Wednesday March 7, 2012 11:59pm Pacific Time. Receive 20% off the regular price of my book, "Touch...Poems & Other Writings of Love, Erotica, & Sensuality"
This discount is only available when you order directly from www.lulu.com It is not available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or other sites where you will find the book.
You can get the discount on any items on the lulu site including the anthology, "Mighty Real: An Anthology of African American Same Gender Loving Writing" that contains my essay, "Let The Healing Begin"
Be sure to use the coupon code: SPACIOUS305 at check out to apply the discount.
In rural Kenya girls have little power. They are not supposed to make eye contact or talk in front of men. However, in honor of International Women's Day girls took to the streets to prove they should be seen and heard in public. WISER supports empowering girls to make a change in the world.
