Imprints

Imprints

As the sea gently erases the imprints in the sand, what is left? What is left are those gentle kindnesses that we grace each particle of this universe with. Be it a smile, a kindly word or simple pleasantries; it won't be forgotten! Each encounter leaves its imprints. In our journey through life we are constantly leaving imprints on each being we come in contact with. When the terrestrial journey comes to an end our hope is for the celestial journey. Our encounters will play themselves forward and it'll be monumental for us or utterly disastrous. No one knows one's end and can not take the liberty of presuming to know their station with Him. Him has informed us through His divine messages that every soul is sacred, every breath is precious, every moment is beautiful and every reflection is a direction towards heavenly aims. Indeed our time on earth will slowly come to an end, therefore let us leave beautiful imprints in the sand.

The Return of Ibn Blacktuta

The Return of Ibn Blacktuta

Since November of 2004, I've travelled to 6 countries most of them repeat visits. But prior journeys have taken me to faraway destinations therefore let us begin where it all started. Cruised over to Canada thinking to dive from the top of Niagara Falls. In Jolly Ole England I didn't meet Big Ben nor did I have tea with the Queen but had a chance to see The Beatles. Then off to Arabia, to the Holy City of Mecca to follow in the footsteps of Abraham, Moses, Jesus and Muhammad and other noble men and women. Off to Egypt to see if I could Dance Like An Egyptian. More or less I did the camel walk like James into the Pyramids. Morocco is and was more than Casablanca with Bogart. Didn't find Rocky or Bullwinkle either. Walking through the blackstreets of southern Spain until I found myself in the magnificient Alhambra only to find it was no longer my home, someone had bought it. Jetting off to Korea to wander through The Secret Gardens with Quincy Jones whilst face-to-face with North Korean soliders in the DMZ. Dancing in Australia with The Three Sisters in The Blue Mountain to the rhythm of kangaroos and koala bears singing "Who Can It Be Now?" Stopping off in Japan just long enough to say hi, bye and see you next time. Stopped off in Germany to say hello to Falco and sing "Rock me Amadeus." Off to The Netherlands only to find Jay Z teaching them bout Roc-A-Fella in Amsterdam. Found John Lennon and Sean Connery in Gibraltar and wannabe Bobby Fischers. Stopped in the U.A.E. so you'd know me. It was so much bling bling that 50 lost his Cents and Destiny had a Child. There was Venus and Serena but I was more interested in hanging out with Elvis and singing "Viva Las Vegas" whilst wearing the most hideous rhinestones in a one-piece white tight-fitting bellbottomed outfit. Out in Oman looking for Sinbad and chasing Muskrats in Muscat. Well, I'm black home just in time for BET's Comic View.

Manifestation

Manifestation

Days come and go with little thought of the miracles that we witness everyday. These phenonemon impact our psyche on many levels but for those who follow the subtle and not so subtle realities they instill us with the gift of life and the passion is evident on our countenance like the brilliance of the moon on the horizon.

Manifestation

Divine Manifestations,

Reflected Light.

When darkness spreads,

The moon illuminates.

Signs within signs,

Casting indeliable marks on the sea.

The marine life feeling its presence,

Permeating the depths of the ocean.

The earth consuming its moisture through refracted light,

Giving life to all around her.

Manifestations manifested,

In opposites and similarities.

An Ode to Yesterday

An Ode to Yesterday

The ancients have given us so much to reflect upon. Whether it was their beautiful architectural structural, their opulent places of worship, their elaborate gardens or their killing fields, their barbaric atrocities or their inhumane humanness they left lessons for us to build on. We reflect on yesterday in order to make sense of the present and chart a way for the future. Yesterday, we immortalize, the present we condemn and the future we relinquish due to the fact that we've allowed ourselves to live in an illusory past. Yesterday brings forth a beautiful song deep with love and conviction. It sings its song waiting for us to harmonize with her and carry her song to future generations who will add their own nuances to a beautiful tune that she calls The Present.

Hey! Lil Fella

Hey! Lil Fella

Lil Fella, it's your beautiful smile and your hope for tomorrow that obliges me to give my all to make sure your tomorrow is better than today. To make sure that your future is brighter than mine. I pray that I will never let you down or have you wondering what did I do with my time on Earth. I love you Lil Fella for all the good things you inspire in me, how your smile often propels me to make the impossible possible. Without you Lil Fella and the other Lil Fella's and Fella-ettes, this world would cease to exist in any meaningful way. Because in you God has placed a light that has burned out in most of us. You still believe and because of that I still achieve. Lil Fella, thanks for lighting my heart and giving direction to my life .

From St. Clair to Sur

From St. Clair to Sur

Look yall, I made it out of da ghetto. At least that's what some would like us to believe. Ghetto is a Yiddish word and was in reference to where Jews were forced to live. Therefore, how can we ever be ghetto as we're not Jewish and don't speak Yiddish though we might speak gibberish. Words convey meaning and each name carries with it some of its attribute. Therefore, take to good names. At the same time we must also create a good atmosphere. Somehow we have forgotten this and have attached monikers that are poisonous to the soul, destructive to the mind and deadly to the body. We didn't create these appellations for ourselves but somehow we've come to take them as terms of endearment. We must remember as one of my dear friends who's like a brother often commented, "We were never meant to get off the plantation alive." We've survived and now we must share this story with the universe. Each step I take is as if I'm taking a step with Harriet Tubman. It's as if I'm following a Sojourner for Truth.

Ways of Ascent

Ways of Ascent

The Staircase to Heaven has always preoccupied humankind. The ancients and modernists ask, "Is it deeds or belief that gets one to Paradise?" It is neither, it is the sheer mercy of God that does. What is belief without action? What is a good deed without sincerity? Surely God decided to communicate with humankind and left an immutable book which is called the Koran as His last message. If you open this book to Chapter 70 you can read "The Ways of Ascent." If you seek to see the Face of God then read Chapter 19 entitled "Mary" in the Koran. Life is short but Paradise and Hell are eternal. Therefore you owe it to yourself to know the Ways to Ascent. Each step draws us nearer to our reckoning, which can not be put off. Take one step to God and He will come to you with speed and watch yourself ascend.

Pre-Lexus Coupe

Pre-Lexus Coupe

Camels are fascinating creatures. They're beautiful, elegant, funny and surprisingly huge. Camels have been used for transportation long before the introduction of a Lexus Coupe. If you give a camel proper rest, food and water it will go farther and last longer than a Lexus Coupe and be better for the environment. In ancient times camels were used to transport spices, frankencinse, myrrh and other important goods. People eat camel's meat, drink its milk, use it for shade and use it's wool and hide. Camels to the Bedouwins are known as "God's Gift" partly due to its many benefits; one of which is its enduring patience. Wonder if you can get all of this from a Lexus Coupe?

Midnight at the Oasis

Midnight at the Oasis

Motoring offroad in Oman with Muhammad in a Toyota Landcruiser passing by splendid seashores, wonderful waterfalls, vacant valleys, magnificent mountains, cascading cliffs, and luscious lagoons we found ourselves in The Wahiba Sands. It was around the time of sunset so I ran up a dune which had to be about 50 feet or more trying to see the sun set. Once reaching the top I realized that the sun had disappeared behind other dunes which were much higher and farther away. Being in the desert you realize many things about the allure of it. The beautiful ripples, the subtle shades, and the gentle softness of its texture. There is a solitude that calls the soul to feel harmony, the heart to feel each moment softly resonate deeply within its innermost sanctuary and the mind to feel the quietude that gives the mind pure serenity. Feel the slight breeze around Midnight at the Oasis as it lightly covers you and then transports you to the dunes where you watch the horizons and feel the Divine Presence. At this moment you leave the terrestrial for the celestials.

Return of the Jedi

Return of the Jedi

This was an astonishing return to the ancient city of Cairo. The land that felt the beautiful presence of luminaries such as the blessed prophets, Moses and Joseph. There is no prophet mentioned more in the Koran than Moses and no story more beautiful than that of Joseph's. To be able to have been here with my mother and step-father was fascinating and utterly astonishing. Being in Egypt wasn't a part of their itinerary but it was a part of God's itinerary. To see the beaming smiles on their faces and the light in their hearts was almost more than anything one could ask for. It was their dream to come to Egypt and ride camels, see the sphinx and come face-to-face with the pyramids. But it is my dream that they be blessed to come to the House of God in Mecca and perform the pilgrimage with me, insha Allah (God willing). To follow in the illustrious footsteps of all the noble prophets from Adam to Noah to Abraham to Moses to David to Jesus and to Muhammad who answered the noble call to the House of God and said, "Here I am O God! Here I am!" These are Jedi visions.

Reconnection

Reconnection

I remember my first trip outside of Ohio was to Niagara Falls, Canada and that was via bus with my family. My stepfather took my brother and I to Atlanta, Georgia and it was the first time that we'd been on a plane. I'll never forget it because we met the Los Angeles Dodgers and a rookie pitcher named Steve Howe, who was so kind to my brother and I. It was also memorable because we stayed at the Hyatt Regency. We also stayed at the Hilton, where the Dodgers were staying. Furthermore it was memorable because my brother and I walked home from Fulton County Stadium in order to save our vacation money but unbeknownst to us the Atlanta child murders were taking place then. The Atlanta child murders were the murders of young black males. No one approached us or bothered us, the times we walked black from the baseball games. I'm moving black in time reflecting, reconnecting and resurrecting memories and days gone by. I felt that my parents and I had somehow reconnected on a level that we had never experienced. It's not only lovers who grow apart, but families do too. I believe this visit brought us all closer together. Even though, my other siblings weren't with us physically, it is my wholehearted belief, that the bedrock of the family, my stepfather and mother inspired in them a feeling and need for reconnection. Our memories can be resevoirs and can unlock the vaults that hold all the treasures to reconnect.

For 2pac

For 2pac

You look at the blackground of this photo and you think it's New York. Babyboy, it's Dubai. New York ain't the only one that glitters and has skyscrapers, picketpockets and panhandlers. It ain't me against the world. It's me against the slinking whisperer who whispers into my ear and heart trying to distort my soul. My mom told me early on and I ain't never forgotten it, "Choose your friends wisely." What is a friend? Well, one aspect of a friend is someone who will tell you something you want to hear and something you don't want to hear. A friend looks out for your best interest. Sometimes he does it gently and other times harshly, depending on what he feel is needed. 2pac is still loved be it in Cali, Cleveland, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Japan, Australia, France, Spain, Korea, Russia, Sweden, Oman etc. Wherever I go and when I meet the youth, I ask them, "Do you like Pac?" They all reply in whatever accent, "We love Pac!" Pac, it was never you against the world. Yes, the world is pregnant with hate and blame is its afterbirth. But you were a bright son. You were a courageous voice. You were our conscience and lack of manhood. You spoke and sometimes we were repelled by you. We didn't try to understand you, we simply branded you a mixed up soul. But what did we do to help you because you didn't have to bear it all. We didn't listen to your cries. You and Biggie battling over what? One man taking shots at another, for what? For who? Masculinity needs identity in order to have empathy. We, who call ourselves men looked from a distance and didn't show you how to go the distance. If we would've listened to you, maybe we could've intervened but I guess Biggie summed it all up, "Give me one more chance."

(Next time you see a soul who looks confused grab a hold of him and this is how we can give 2pac or Biggie one more chance)

Light of My Life

Light of My Life

What can a person say about their mother? Would any words suffice. The Prophet was asked who is to be given preference? He responded by saying, "The mother." He was then asked who after her? And he responded, "The mother." The questioner then asked him who after that? And he responded for the third time, "The mother." And the questioner said whom after that? And he responded, "The father." What can be of greater testimony to the position of the woman in the universe?

Light of My Life

Dear Momma, what can't I say about you?
I can say it's your smile, it's your words,
it's your embrace, it's your soft gentle face.
It's your love that keeps me going.
I've seen you from the inside out,
So I definitely know what I'm talking about.
I've seen the good times and the bad.
Seen you happy and seen you sad.
Made me tear up to see you this way,
But through it all you've remained graceful to this day.
I don't usually rhyme when I do poetry,
But when I think of you it just flows through me.
I can talk about you until ain't no more words left,
And I can still keep talking even if I'm out of breath.
I've been freestyling cause the style is free,
But ain't nothing that can separate you from me.
I'll hold you, deep in my arms,
Used to tell the girls no need for alarm.
Cause she's my momma and my honey
And she's the one that makes my world sunny.
Sometimes I've even had to tell my wife,
Precious girl, I love you but she's the light of my Life.
I see God shining down on you.

Gratitude

Gratitude

The manner of the prophets is the realm of gratitude. It's a thankfulness for the gift of life. It's a path without ulterior motives. It's a way of piercing insight, deep reflection and continuous contemplation. We're so preoccupied with what we think we need when He is The Best of Providers, The Most Generous and The One who Sustains and Nourishes. We should turn to Him with praise and thankfulness out of humility, this is gratitude.