The space between.

A time to sell yourself.

A time for passing.

Sometimes I touch the right.

Too much, the wrong.

Resplendent deterioration
we live by.

With casuistic slogans
and closing doors.

D'you know disembarkment
leads to land sickness?

It does.

And who can then make
heads or tails out of
the qualms of tolerance
and his cousin, ignorance?

Simple interests
Complex values
Evaluating
Desired profits
Loss of interests
Principal principles lost

I peel sweet potatoes.
My phone pings.
I check it.
Messages of pride flood my eyes.
I feel loved.
I put it down.


I peel the sweet potatoes.  
My dogs sniff my legs.


I am distracted, searching and anxious.
I feel loved.


I peel a previously peeled potato.


I stop.
I lecture myself.
"I focused and worked hard.
That’s all I did."


I focus on my potatoes.
The work gets done.
I feel proud.
I feel loved.

A Woman I Know...
Keeps Talking As Though...

The Way People Live...
Is Going Through A... " SHIFT "...

SHIFTING This And... SHIFTING That...
Sometimes What She Says Just Sounds Like CRAP... !!!
But In Truth These Days She May Be Talking FACT... !?!

So DON'T Get TRAPPED Or WORSE... TIE UP... !!!
Cos' LOTS of Stuff That Currently Runs
Provides PROOF That Maps...
A Way To ZION... WITHOUT Snoop Lion... !!!!!

That's QUITE A SHIFT He's NOW Down With... !!!
Down With RASTA'... So NOT Gun Clappers... ?!?

Sometimes These Rappers Just Make Me Laugh... !!!
From Being A **** To... Smoking Drugs... !!!

They SHIFT So MUCH That It's Hard To Know...
Who's REALLY TOUGH From Who's... ALL SHOW... !!!!!

There Are A FEW... " Pros' "...
That's Right... Record Company **'s... !!!!

But Some Are LARGE And HIT REAL HARD... !!!
When It Comes To THOSE Tools That Producers Use... !!!

But What About SHIFTS In How We Live... ?
And... What We BELIEVE... ?!?

Adam And Eve...
Is Now... " Adam and Steve "... !?!

Smoking ****... Well NOW It Seems...
That MORE Do This Than MOST Believe... !!!

From THOSE Who Direct For Hollywood Screens...
To THOSE On Set With A SHEEN Thats CLEAN... !!!

THAT Verse Refers To... TOP ACTORS...
Who SHIFT Like Rappers When Their World... SHATTERS... !!!!!!

Just Look At Whitney... Or... Look At Britney...

SHIFTS That MOVE Their Fanbase... QUICKLY...
When Things IN VIEW Prove They're Quite SICKLY... !!!!!

So.....
What About SHIFTS For The... " Average Joe "... ???

Some Enlist... SHIFTS That LIFT... !!!
While Others DON'T And End Up BROKE... !!!!!

BROKE In Ways I CAN'T Explain... ?!?
Because MY Shifts MOVE ME From... PAIN... !!!

Because I Enlist... TAKING The STRAIN... !!!

Until It LIFTS And Fades Awaaaaaaaayyyyyyyyyyyy............. ...........

See My Friend Is Speaking of DEEPER Shifts...
Like... SHIFTS In POWER... !!!

SHIFTS That SHOWER And Make Some.... " cower "...
Because TRUTH Will OUT In The End.... DON'T Doubt.... !!!!!

YUP From The Mouths And From The SOUNDS...
of ALL That HOUNDS And Then SURROUNDS... !!!

It's Happening NOW... !!!
Political CLOWNS... Getting FOUND OUT...

Religious Grounds That AREN'T So Sound... !!!!!

LYING Women... CHEATING Men...
Relationships Founded On PURE Pretence... !?!
In The END... WON'T Stand The Test...

When It Comes To STRESS And They Have To CONFESS...
That LOVE Was EXPRESSED... Under DURESS... !!!!!

It's Sad To think...
That ALL These Shifts Come Back To THIS...

A LACK of TRUTH And HONESTY...
And NOT Facing... REALITY...

In Times Like THESE It May Be TRUE...

There's A Shift Going On For ME And YOU...
But Like Marvs' Song... " What Ya Gonna Do ? "....

Cos' These Words AREN'T Nonsense... !!!

... " Change is Constant ! "...

So I'll Leave You With... THIS...

When It Comes To How You LIVE...
And How It IS You Think...

If Society KEEPS Moving As IT NOW IS...
Are You EQUIPPED To Cope With The Things That Give...
Or... Will You RESIST The Things That...

.............. " Shift ".............

I'm sorry but I'm
Thankful all the same
I wanted and yet
You weren't above
The values that I hold dear
And as these values
Continue to slip away
Along with
Everything else
I do not regret
The choices I've made

I am not a creature who regrets
And yet I know when that day comes
I will

My mind’s like rock but lava,
Ice but calving,
A mountain in avalanche,
Dreaming of insomnia,
A lion being hunted,
A man in the news.
Quickly removed from vital values,
No longer known for strongest qualities.
Easily swayed by a metaphorical gust of wind.
Reduced but mistaken by foundational niceties.

So What's IMPORTANT To You ... ?!?
  
Well For Me ... ?
My HEALTH For One ... !!!
And Food For Two ...  
And Number Three's  
  
.... MY POETRY .... !!!!!
  
I Hear You Ask ....
  
"But V, what about your family ?"
  
Well Now My Mum Rests Peacefully ...
  
My Family ...
Mean ... "little to me" ... !!!
  
Because My Fam' CLEARLY Believe That Cash Money ...
Means MORE Than Facing TRAGEDIES ... !?!
  
That Sometimes HIT Young Families ...  
  
Cashing Cheques And Having *** ...
Are How They've Been ...
  
That's Why They Mean ...
...... "little to me" ....... !!!
  
DON'T ... "pity me" ... !!!!!
Because I DON'T NEED Your ... " Sympathy " ... !!!!!  
  
When ... Most Believe ...
That Life Is ALL About MONEY ... ?!!!?
  
GREED DOES NOT Fulfil Your Needs ...  
And WON'T Save You From EVIL Deeds ... !!!!!!
  
Those Who ENVY May Just FEED ...
By Taking ALL YOUR LUXURIES ... !!!!!
  
MTV Breeds ... JEALOUSY ... !!!!!
  
"I want what the rich have got !" ...
  
Well DON'T Be Shocked If You Are ... " OWNED " ...
And HAVE TO DO What You Are ... TOLD ... !!!!!
To HOLD ONTO THAT ... " *** of Gold "
  
That's The Way The Business Goes ... !!!
  
You May Not Like ... THAT Kind of Life ... ?!?  
  
EVERYONE ......
CAN'T Win ... TOP PRIZE ... !!!!!
  
Why Place IMPORTANCE On Such Highs ... !?!
  
They're Not As Great As Some May Say ... !!!
That's Why They NEED HARD DRUGS MOST Days ... !!!!!
  
Their Life Becomes A ... " Purple Haze " ...  
  
Hendrix Died Because of Drugs He Was Supplied ...
Admired By Most From Coast to Coast ....  
But Then Was LOST To Drugs Like ... " Coc' " .... !!!
  
Just Like ... " Rick James " ... !!!
Another Man Who Lived A Life ...
of ... " GLITZ And FAME " ... !!!
  
But Clearly Took ...
TOO MUCH ******* ... !!!!!!
  
I Place ... Importance ...
On Gaining Knowledge ...
  
... " Knowledge Is POWER " ... !!!
And Makes Fools ... "cower" ... !!!
  
Knowledge of THEM ...
DEFINES ... " PRETENSE " ... !!!  
  
You're Better of ...
DISMISSING Fools From Your ....................... Presence ................ !!!
  
So What In TRUTH ...  
Is IMPORTANT To ... " YOU " ... ?!?
  
Well Nowadays We're Given Clues ...  
From Things We SEE In News Reviews ...
  
The ... " Ones and Twos " ...
For Those Who Walk In ... " HIP HOP Shoes " ...
  
TORTURE It Seems ...  
For ... Government Crews ... !!?!!
  
Because The IN THING Now ...
Is NOT TO LOSE To TERRORIST Groups ... !!!!!
  
Which ....  
Simply Leads To ... MORE Issues ...  
Leading To ... Use of Tissues ... !!!
  
What Has Happened To ... VALUES ... !?!
  
IMPORTANT Things ... !!!
And That's The TRUTH ... !!!!!
  
... " VALUED " ....  
Can Be Defined ....
As Something That Is ... IMPORTANT ...  
  
But Values Now ...
Are CLEARLY ... " dormant " ...
  
Racists Now ...  
Will ... SCREAM And SHOUT ...
  
"GET THE BLACKS And MUSLIMS OUT !!! " ...
  
We're CLEARLY ON A ... " Roundabout " ... !!!!!
  
It's Funny How Blacks Are STILL Put Down ... !!!
  
Actually ... It's NOT ... !!!!!!!
WE Joke So Much ... About Our Lot ...  
  
What Kind of Values Have We Got ... ?!?!?  
  
LYNCH Is STILL Providing ... " KNOTS " ... !!!!!
  
For UNCLE TOMS To Sit And Plot ...  
With Governments Who WILL NOT Stop ... !!!
  
Until Black People Pay the ... COST ...
Like James Brown Said ... " To Be The Boss " ... !!!  
  
The Boss of What ... !?!?!
  
OUR LUST For ... " Wealth " ...
May See Us .... " ROT " ... !?!  
  
What's IMPORTANT To Me ...
Is ... " Knowledge of SELF " ... !!!!!
  
Then Passing On........
The Things I've Seen And YES ... Been Through ...  
BEFORE Our Youth ... CAN'T FIND The Truth ............... !!!!!!!!
  
The TRUTH About ...  
How We Were LYNCHED ... !!!!!
And Made To ... " WINCE " ... !!!!!!
  
And Constantly TOLD ...
  
"DON'T TRY TO THINK !!!!!" ...
  
Play Sport And SING ... !!!
Or Rap About Your ... " Drug Dealing " ... !!!!!!
  
That's Why SO MANY FEEL The STING ... !!!!!!!
Confinement In ... RACIST PRISONS ... !!!!!
  
Where Many Now Just ...  
... HANG Themselves ... !!!!!
  
Cards Like THESE Have LONG BEEN Dealt ...
By Men Like LYNCH Whose Story Has A ... " Racist Smell " ... !!!
  
Things Like THIS ...
Are IMPORTANT To Me ... !!!!!
  
NOT Cash Money Or Terrorist Speech ... !!!  
While Government Men Simply Retreat ...  
To Values Like Their ... " Private Beach " ... !!!!!
  
Surely Folks You Must Agree ... ?!?
  
What's IMPORTANT To THEM ...
Is DIFFERENT TO What's IMPORTANT To YOU ... !!!
And CLEARLY What's ... IMPORTANT To ME ... !!!!!!!!!!!!
  
These Things FUEL My Attitude ...  
Because of IGNORANCE ... Most Choose ... ?!?  
  
I Place ... VALUE ... !!!
On Things That SHOULD Be ...  
Taught In .... " Schools " .... !!!
  
My Views Are STAUNCH ... !!!
And NOT ... " Dormant " ... !!!!
  
Because Truth Be Told ...
  
They Are ...
  
... " IMPORTANT " ... !!!