2BFREE

Culture, life, the arts, and love. It's more than a trend, it's a lifestyle.

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Photoshoot paying tribute to the 90s w photographer Martin Eng

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i breathe in broken men in the stillness of redemption the perfume of unjaded love is sweet and i am left with tired hands as i pull hope for you calluses attack my flesh and what was once beautiful now laughs with reservation i have become society’s example of the failures to freedom for the spirit of the child is feared we run endless on playgrounds past curfew for seconds disintegrate when those very few dance in immortality the only prison walls they could inflict was the instability of unresolved pain masked in a perfect smile i gave my life force to you among many; until i had none and now sundays repeat throughout the week i share tea with the demons that plague me and drown in velvet rivers to escape the moon writing harmonies in gluttony’s sake with the sun exposing my wounds insolation memorizes the blueprint of my walls while opportunity takes the next freight train away the ground feels good on the soles of my feet but to get as far into the air that holds no boundaries i retreat into safety where i am not seen the irony; for everything i sought was to be understood even when uncertainty came knocking i just want to be without effort i want to be safe and in my safety i want peace i pray for the light to break through the tomb and resurrect into the incarnation of my spirit that was prophesied on the night of the North Star that i shed layers of ego’s quench for gratification and return to the glorious self of my own conviction that i am all i was created to be a child of God walking with hope rooted in faith i am love(d) no fulfillment of voids nor escaping the pain i am here i am present and will dance on the playground again without ever thinking of time and smile at you with no reservation these tired hands are healed. JSR

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The Saving Grace of Music

Music finds me. It’s as if the world knows and feels everything I do and so, brings an encounter, person, or situation that feed me with new songs. And they become my saving grace--helping me work through, heal and process, and learn and grow. Music is Life, and without it--we are numb. 

Here are the songs that my heart called for, and is my life vest as I swim and find my way to back to shore. 

Nina Simone’s “I Shall Be Released” - https://youtu.be/iHWOrquJ3Ak :

They say everything can be replaced They say every distance is not near So I remember every face Of every man who put me here

I see the light come shining From the west down to the east Any day now, any day now I shall be released

Michael Kiwanuka’s “Cold Little Hear” -  https://youtu.be/X7VL9DuubtE :

Did you ever want it? Did you want it bad? It tears me apart Did you ever fight it? All of the pain, so much power Running through my veins Bleeding My cold little heart I can't stand myself

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Part of a 7-day writing assignment for my mentee, Khalid, and I. We each chose various topics to write a poem and/or essay for this week. This poem is from the theme: "Love & Loss." My mentee, who I met in a program I taught at Juvenile Hall is now locked up at SF County at the tender age of 18yo. Prayers and love to all our Black and Brown Queens & Kings held down and their families, who are right there with them lifting them in faith and hope.

[Street mural by artist, Joe Lurato]

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Mural in Baltimore by the great Ernest Shaw. To me, the true essence of art is disintegrating the senses to raise consciousness as forms of resistance to reclaim power rooted in love. Imagine when kids pass this and ask who these people are. This opens that narrative, which shows the power of the arts--igniting agency and action to break down walls and thrive in resiliency.

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you make a dance of darkness look beautiful at night i chase your shadows just as much as i crave your light

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(via https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dnwg9P0NWoE)

Do yo’Self a favor, beautiful people--and check this radiant Artist-Queen, Mereba’s consciously sensible and provoking song, “Bet.” <3

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i watch horizons sitting on the scales of justice alone and ponder mornings with you fantasizing nights wishing upon shooting stars that you would wrap me how can something so innocent and pure be tainted yet systems of concrete madness galvanize the beauty of our struggle and so we wait for heaven’s gates to open to drown in the majesty of true love’s fountain the pain of not loving you has turned you into my favorite hello and hardest goodbye JSR

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“i don’t wanna lose myself loving you.”

 is something we encounter when we submit to love. the sweet, yet petrifying vulnerability that comes with surrendering yourself to another. for when your guard is down, your heart is open. thus—the odds of pain and disappointment, and sometimes breakup are inevitable. so why risk it? you risk it because the joy of ever freely loving someone and being loved in return is like a drug that gives you the sweet sensation of heaven on earth. it’s delicious and intoxicating and ethereal.

 the question remains—when is love no longer love?

how do we know that what we are giving of ourselves is actually killing our “self” in return? how does the bridge of compromise falter into a deathly cracked road? where the cost of each layer meant we forfeit a passion that brings joy to the epitome of our core. blindly falling into an abyss of painful ecstasy to the moment we stumble upon a mirror, but no longer recognize who we are.

“i don’t wanna lose myself loving you” – a line from a contemporary, yet vintage R&B song i've been absorbing called, “Luving U” by artist 6LACK. It had me thinking about love and loss, feeling wanted and obligated, the pleasure of each exhale and the heaviness of every heart ache. when is love truth or fear?

when/if ever that question surfaces—remember to look at the mirror... so you  don't lose sight of you along the journey.

6LACK, pronounced as “Black,” is an up and coming artist born in Baltimore, but got his bearings in ATL when he moved there as a child—a place he refers to as the “Mecca” of the world. During an interview with Fader, 6LACK touches on the name of his album, “Free 6LACK” (released Nov 2016) and the monochromatic style he embodies—representing a transition of surrender into complete freedom—this is what he wants his music to elicit from all who encounter it—to break the chains of confinement and soar into liberated peace and fulfillment. Check him out—an artist worth knowing.

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her heart turned the water in his glass  into ice it’s funny how  a kiss from  Judas stains through white cotton sheets resentment bleeds and hopes and dreams are enslaved  behind prison walls of regret 

she walks in the  shadow of apathy  numb to butterflies  restlessness  drowns her she hides poison in cups of innocence for agony quenches her yet in the aftermath she remains empty  for to love  is to lose another the whips of betrayal  dig deep lost in an oblivion her soul wanders wearing the armor of betrayal she remains alone.

 JSR

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A wise man once told me that in North Africa, they have a saying, “Del beh del rah dareh,” which means, “Your lover is the one whose work speaks more than your work–but to your journey.”

May we fly courageously to the depths of the sea, soar into the unknown space of vulnerability to receive and give real love. A love that transforms you to reach endlessly for hope, a love that makes a dance of fury look beautiful in the light, a love that reminds you of purpose–that you are more than what meets the eye.

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“Imperial Dreams” - the name itself captivates you, and is what drew me in my search of the next flick to absorb on Netflix. It centers on the life of 21yo Bambi (played by John Boyega), a rose born outta concrete, with roots so deep--he was bound to make the earth shake--just so he could flourish. Bambi returns home from jail, reunites with his son and through the power of his pen--is determined to leave the streets behind and tell his story to preserve the future of his son while lifting the shadow of others. Yet anything of substance comes with a fight, and we see him battling opposition of the temptress’ plight to “steal, kill, and destroy.” Will he falter or will he rise? Be another statistic or kill the course of demise? Catch it on Netflix to find out. [Directed by Malik Booth]

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Sunday is my favorite day of the week. It’s a time where I unwind, decompress, reflect, and give thanks to another week of life. When evening sets, I’m accompanied by Oldies set by a mood and setting that fuel poetry. Sundays... 

Enjoy this gem: “We Have Love” by the Arrows~

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a poem for my Creator

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i turn pages and see no end of a gypsy's stare emptiness another soul fills the space my father forgot to the hunger a 10 year old faces when she tastes abandonment lingers on souls she is quiet like a thief escapes like a magician opens floodgates to quench drought yet all the while she remains thirsty.

JSR

Photo credit: Phoebe Rudomino

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Femininity :: The gift to spark and carry life, to give birth to life, to nurture and heal life. No wonder they fear our power. Hold onto your core, Queens, you were created to disrupt paths that blaze trails to set Souls free. - JSR

Credit: Artist Shepard Fairey’s artwork for the 2017  Women’s March 

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This poem was inspired by one of my students when I taught an expressive arts/poetry class at Juvenile Hall’s maximum security working with the young Kings, 16-18yo. This young King’s heart is gold and despite the neglect and abandonment he’s endured growing up—I saw a fire in him that’s prevalent in the style of his art. He’s an illustrator, graffitist, and up and coming muralist, and I believe with everything in me that he will tell his story through colors, shapes, and mathematical equations encrypted in landscapes that have been and will be blessed by his power. And in his resiliency—he will lift others to fight in courage and strength.