POETRY AND MUSIC NIGHT

This will be an on-going, interactive and artistic blog post. It will feature the poetry, music and anything creative that arises out of our monthly Poetry and Music Night, hosted by PK Coffee and Love University. Please share any artistic expression in the comment box below and let’s keep this blog alive. Here are some of the poetry and music that was shared during our first event on Tuesday, May 17, 2022.

Alone Together, Imprisoned and Free

by: Leo Hylton

We are imprisoned and free, she and I

confined to an existence separate, apart

looked upon as little more—or little less

than scavengers of garbage, stealers of

french fries, sandwiches, joy, and life

Yet, when she twirls midair, sun at her back

when my mind creates a world, a life at peace

you cannot tell us we are not free.  It is you,

you, who are in prison.

You, who hears our unanswered cries

our screams for love, food, and compassion

You, who scorns our existence, who closes

eyes, ears, hearts, and minds to our pleas:

See us!  Hear us!  Acknowledge our beauty!  Our worth!

So, here I sit, surrounded by concrete and steel, there

she flies, bathed in sunlight, caressed by clouds

Both imprisoned and free

Both longing for more

Both alone together.

**This poem is my moment sitting outside on the “Rec Deck” (the approx. 20’x22’ concrete-enclosed space attached to the back of my living unit where we can exercise, play basketball or handball, sit, or walk.  ¾ of the ‘ceiling’ is comprised of chain-link fence, so we can see the sky beyond it.)

As they are the most commonly sighted animal here, I have spent much time over the past few years contemplating the similarities and differences between the lives of prisoners and seagulls.  Today was no different.  Although there were many seagulls outside my vision, there was only one that flew by overhead to say “hello”.  It was she who inspired this poem. - LEO

I DOVE INTO THE OCEAN

by Julia Whitaker

I dove into the ocean

And turned into a cloud

I floated on emotions

And moved with the sounds

They echoed all around

Moving with the crowd

They grew too loud

I needed to come down

I needed to... rain...

rain.. rain.. rain... rain..

down on us

We’re made of the same

Formations that change

In these evolutionary games

Games games games

Who’s being played?

The clouds become the rain

The rain becomes the blood

In our veins

Rain rain rain rain

ALL IS ILLUMINATED

By Garin Samuelsen

all is illuminated

i let it all go

i groove

without friction

ablaze with light

fluid and free

dancing in 

the delicacies 

of this moment

i groove

with this wholeness

full of everything and nothing

and dive 

into its sublime wilderness

i groove 

within the melodies

of translucent currents

meandering    

as  open horizons

of days and nights

revolve into each other

into me

and here i am

I groove

as the burning embers

of the milky way’s 

shimmering river of diamonds

glow elegantly 

spilling gently into me 

 

i groove

with revolving planets

buoyant 

in the sun’s sea of gravity

 

i groove

with the jeweled earth

with its spinning and spinning

seasonal tides

i groove 

with the fluidity of 

the wild’s artistry

and landscapes 

of sublime tapestries

 

i groove

with ancient forests 

aged with 

mists of time

gowning landscapes 

in rhythmic circles

painting mandalas

with their 

autumn pallets 

i groove

with serpentine streams

cascading 

down swollen mountains

carving through

arching valleys

making their ways back

into their ocean womb

i groove

into powers of mist

and its rush 

of rain, ice and snow

 

i groove

into the quilt 

of desert colors

and melt 

into the 

harsh complexity

of its unforgiving beauty

 

i groove

into the 

wonders of 

vast grasslands

Filled with 

the grace 

of wildflowers

and flow 

into the poems 

that slip upon 

the curved edges 

and long 

emerald contours

that whirl and wave 

with the wandering winds

I groove

within 

the mirrored strands 

penetrating tentacles

of roots and  branches

of flora and fauna

of fungi and bacteria

of energy undivided

and share and release

myself with all 

i groove 

into the ecology of

geometry and artistry

the spires of architecture 

splitting the sky

the throngs 

and eloquence of people

i groove 

as i walk 

through mazes 

woven

through invisible cities 

and gardens 

of forsaken paths

i drink in dark caverns

mulling over

leaves of grass

and count to 12 

and dine in stillness

i groove 

within cathedrals 

filled with

symphonies of joy

and the intensity 

of a requiem

i take a walk 

down a bridge

on Brandenburg and 59th street

while thinking 

of three questions

until i arrive 

at golden gate park

 

i sit 

while  lazy clouds parade

around a deep blue sky

i notice rabbits 

of watership down

while silenced voices circle in dialogue

and great prophets argue in righteous ignidations

i pass through 

days and nights

other lifetimes 

where oceanic mythologies

mingle with the present

where jazz 

and blues pulsate

with the 

lingering fullness 

of compassion

curls through 

these winding streets

as i wander

i catch eyes 

with my heart of gold

and listen to 

three little birds 

weave the here and now

i carry 

on the primordial beats 

of uncle john’s band and

take a ride 

along thunder road

as i walk

the rain pours down

and i find shelter 

in the folk songs

that flow 

through this land

i observe people 

crying out

rising to the surface 

of a silent spring

a call 

to let freedom ring

so i continue

 to play and

let it all go

i groove 

into the 

wildness of it all

as a living testament

of the 

universal tapestry


i groove 

into the 

moment of death

the endings and unknowns

watching the phoenix 

burning out 

into ashes

i groove

as the phoenix awakens 

into the 

moment of conception

the birth of a moment

the birth of life

circling over and over again

i groove 

mellow and free

whether playing 

in the drama of

this society

or serene and present

in the cosmic bath

i can’t help

but flow 

in this joy

i stop and gaze 

breathing in 

the wonders

that weave 

and flow 

through this

utter stillness

in this flow

i see there lies 

nothing but now

and as i 

continue to dance 

grooving with 

both old and young

rich and poor

plant and animal

i lift my voice 

join with theirs

 

here the answer 

blows in the wind

blowing always 

within myself

and i see

 that even 

in all 

these things

in the expressions 

and ideas

assumptions and beliefs

is emptiness

 

I see

that the 

flow moves

under it

through it

with it

along it

beyond it

 

for nothing 

can ever 

contain it

and i find that

here it all lies

within the open horizons

of myself

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