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girl diffused Oct 2017
my mother told me
you christen a home
in her island-country
you take a chicken
behead it with a sharpened knife
slit it cleanly across the neck

let blood splatter untainted
earth and burn incense
let the burning bush
stink and permeate the freshly
erected walls, seep into the wood
seep into the tiling

purify it
make it your own home
somehow
somehow
i think that's beautiful
In Jamaica, there is an uncommon spiritual practice known as "obeah." In other Afro-Caribbean islands and in Louisiana, in the states, it is referred to as "voodoo." The mysticism and pantheon of gods of old permeate the historical fabric of this ancient and frowned-upon tradition.

The methodical slaughter of a chicken and the splattering of blood on the earth is believed by some to help bless the land that the home would be built upon. The belief was that the blood would purify the soil...make it sanctified. Additionally, it was also believed that in order to purify the home one would need to burn incense. My mother, when she was recalling this tale to me of the people who still do it, mentioned that she had thought of burning incense in our as-of-yet unfinished home.  No incense was burnt. No chickens were slaughtered. It is honestly done with reverence and although the slaughtering is seen as cruel by some or would be seen that way, for an ancient custom that is still respected, one of the few still practiced by some on the islands, it is seen as...a good option. Just a little backstory on the poem's origins.

Also the purification could also denote purifying one's body. As I was writing this, I thought of how we practice certain rituals to do this. We "burn out" certain toxins and cleanse our blood of impurities. We drink detoxifying drinks, hydrate ourselves with water,  go one diets, and refrain from eating certain carbs and sugars. Some of us treat our body as a home to be cleansed. Some of us do not.

I think the juxtaposition of the image of blood, earth, the death of an animal...its sacrifice for the sake of blessing a land, a home, a family in relation to one's body is interesting. My hope is that I married the two concepts together in a way that is understandable to you and that you may find a piece of my culture to be interesting. If you don't, at least you learned something new. :D

xoxo
Benji James Jun 2017
Oh bathing in the water
Cleansing my skin
Trying to wash away
All of my sins
Trying to bring
The best I have back out
Time to burn this heart to the core
I've got love want to release it all

Got a little feeling
Got a little spark
Yeah this fire
I want to light it up
Needed that feeling
To take hold
Needed this feeling
So I can bring it all

Purify me
Wash all this negativity
Away from me
I wanna feel that light
Shining brightly
Purify me
I wanna feel that
Warmth inside me
Purify me
Purify me

Time to shake
My world up
Time to change
This whole landscape
Positivity gotta let it
Shine in, shine so brightly
Come on these demons
They've taken enough from me
Time to believe
We can do better things
No more drowning
I need to breathe freely
From the mountain top
This time, I'll take the time
To enjoy the view
I'm changing me
Are you gonna change you, ooh

Got a little feeling
Got a little spark
Yeah this fire
I want to light it up
Needed that feeling
To take hold
Needed this feeling
So I can bring it all

Purify me
Wash all this negativity
Away from me
I wanna feel that light
Shining brightly
Purify me
I wanna feel that
Warmth inside me
Purify me
Purify me

Kicking these demons
Back to the kerb
Wash them away
back to the sea
I won't disappear
Got a smile on my face
Clearing up my soul
All this darkness inside
Can fill up with light
Let the sun shine
Heat this cold heart up
It's time to make a pact
Yeah time to restart

Got a little feeling
Got a little spark
Yeah this fire
I want to light it up
Needed that feeling
To take hold
Needed this feeling
So I can bring it all

Purify me
Wash all this negativity
Away from me
I wanna feel that light
Shining brightly
Purify me
I wanna feel that
Warmth inside me
Purify me
Purify me

Rewriting this story
From the start
It all begins here
Past memories
Only hanging on to the good
Letting go of the bad
Learnt from mistakes
That made me angry or sad
Time to let go, time to look forward
Leave all those mistakes
That I've made
Cleanse it away
Yeah cleanse it away

Got a little feeling
Got a little spark
Yeah this fire
I want to light it up
Needed that feeling
To take hold
Needed this feeling
So I can bring it all

Purify me
Wash all this negativity
Away from me
I wanna feel that light
Shining brightly
Purify me
I wanna feel that
Warmth inside me
Purify me
Purify me

©2017 Written By Benji James
Matei Codrescu Feb 2017
Pitch black, no sounds
Feel the shaking of the ground,
My mind, it feeds,
On the silence that it needs.

Looking back, no reward,
Only walking, I stay aboard
For the present, I shall cherish,
With the handles, of its doors, I shall perish.

My mouth, rarely talks,
And mistakenly, spits rocks.
My ears, decide on their own,
And my demons, in them, they moan.

My heart, longs for you,
They look for the future that I sew.
They ache, with such pain,
Only you could leave such a stain.

A door, just opened,
The darkness, being faltered,
I am illuminated, by a figure
Blinded, by her flicker,
I stand up, and walk through the ice
We embrace, and step into paradise.
I'm feeling hungry, so I breathe in deep.
I dont want to eat
I want my body to be pure.
I'm feeling hungry, how much can I endure.

Hungry in my stomach in my heart and in my head.
Hungry and I am also feeling close to dead

But alive is what I want and what i wish for is pure

I am hungry but i know, that is just a lure.

I want my body clean my body strong my body whole.

I am hungry .....  but it is a hunger from the soul.
Lukoje Aug 2015
I don't see the problem,
My body is my own,
If I need to let out the pressure,
I'll slice down to the bone.

A friend used to hurt,
Broken mind made body the same,
Emotions controlled her,
No one is to blame.

When I split my skin,
I ensure it's only me that I harm,
Collected mind united in pain,
Then I can feel calm.

My veins run with fire,
Cut them open to let out the heat,
My veins pulse with fire,
I'll burn until I'm beat.

Itching, ******, melting flesh,
With shining silver I hold my breath,
Loose, tepid, paper skin,
Sharp steel with edge razor thin,
Rubber grip in steady hand,
Why is this wrong,
I don't understand.

Pain that is sharp and mean,
So pure and clean,
Purifying fire in aching veins,
I'm lucid because of my pains.

Burning, scorching, pulsing flames,
For my pain there is someone to blame,
Sticky, ruby, viscous blood,
Not that I must, just should,
Calm mind in broken meat,
I won't stop this,
I'll burn until I'm beat.

— The End —