It is Written

I had a thought this morning concerning the written word as I was riding the train to work. Writing is divine. Did you hear me? I said, writing is divine. Those words rolled over and over in my head as the train moved from station to station. My thoughts were centered on the creator and it was revealed to me that writing is one of the many gifts that God gives us.

I know...duh! :)

However, the epiphany is that writing, in the spiritual realm, is divine. This is especially true when one takes a look at the holy scriptures (Torah, Bible, Koran, etc...). The words in these books were written by people who saw a divine purpose to spread the "word" of God. They were ordained to write the word. That's it! It's the "word" that is so divine. The written and the spoken word.

I really like what the Rev., William A. Jones, Jr. said about the written word. In his book, God In The Ghetto he wrote: "...My God's writing all the time. But there are times when God writes in big, bold characters with powerful punctuation marks. " Reverend Jones then poses the question, "...can we read it?" In short, I look at writing as an imitation of the divine. In writing we are attempting to stimulate, inspire, or excite with the creative formation of words. Ontologically, It explores the very basis of human existence because it was, at one time, one of our limited forms of communication.

Anyway, it's just a thought.

Past Poetry: The Truth

The Truth
By: Stephen Bess
1991

As I sat staring at the white, glowing picture of Jesus
someone spoke to my heart and whispered,

"Don't worship the picture...whorship me."

It's The Weekend Baby!

I'm going to hang out a little bit after work this evening. I want to meet my cousin G. Bess at Busboys on 14th street in DC if he's available. By the way, It's as if Busboys and Poets was specifically designed for Stephen Bess in mind. I am sure that there are many that feel the same. I might roll solo. Otherwise, I am just going to relax this weekend. Oh, I almost forgot...we were invited to dinner Saturday. That should be nice. Anyway, have a great weekend everyone and try to get into a little bit of trouble...just don't hurt nobody...peace~

Too Bad For Barry: The Cocaine Chronicles

Marion Barry has always been under the microscope of the media long before his
exposé in January of 1990 when he was caught on camera smoking crack cocaine. In recent news, the 69 year old former mayor tested positive for cocaine once again. His response to all of the accusations and media hype was, "write what you want to write." The Washington Post and other newspapers did just that. They reported the information that they received from anonymous sources.
Something positive about Marion Barry before the "pipe":
The Barry that I remember as a teenager was a champion of the poor. The one program that I remember most was the Youth Summer Job program that he established for teenagers in the inner-city. That Summer Job Program kept a lot of teens off the streets and a little change in our pockets. In March of 2005 the DC Council voted to substantially increase the number of youth jobs by 2006. Marion Barry is currently serving on the Council for Ward 8 in D.C. The Youth Summer Job program hasn't been seriously looked upon in 15 years.

Take care Mr. Barry.
Sources: msnbc.msn.com and The Washington Post

MLK & Ture

Peace to Stokley Carmichael (Kwame Ture) for backing the King and trying to keep peace on the streets of DC during the 1968 riots that killed 12 and burned over 1000 buildings.

The New South

I remember getting fountain cherry cokes from Clark's Pharmacy on Saturday mornings on Main Street in Williamston. I think you can still get them there (cherry or vanilla). It was what we did on Saturday mornings in that sleepy town nestled on the Roanoke river. Williamston, North Carolina was a perfectly quiet and segregated town when I was a teenager in the early 1980's. The Jim Crow signs were down by then, but the sentiment still lingered. There were still at least two segregated lunch counters and other places that were "understood" as off limits. The town has changed some since then. The lunch counters and other establishments are now all fully integrated.

Is it safe now? Well, It is no longer the safe haven from the city that my parents knew when they sent me there at the age of 12. It's still safer than a larger city, but it has lost its "innocence." Dope and cocaine can now be found within it's crevices and street corners. As a matter of fact, there are parts of town that have become so urban that they have changed the name of the street. For instance, Sycamore Street has now become Martin Luther King, Jr. Drive. Unfortunately, that's usually a clear indication that the Ghetto has arrived.

Martin Luther King, Jr., God bless your soul

Busy Bess

The J O B got a brotha on lock! I haven't been able to write like I've wanted for the last week or so. My down time is on the way though. I have so much to say in 2006. Peace and stay up.