Verse and Style: December 2008

Foreword my upcoming publication: Written Against Cultural Stagnation By: Anthony Pearson

Written against Cultural Stagnation is based on the idea that the world around us is growing and changing right before our eyes. It’s the idea that we have an obligation to our ourselves and our families to grow and change with the times. This is the idea that we are at a point in American history by “accident”. This is a time where we all must take responsibility for our actions, whether right or wrong. This is the idea that to be human is to err, while recognizing that all errors have lessons to provide. It’s the idea that a positive train of thought will be the driving force of a nation headed in a new direction. This is an idea written specifically at the same time universally. This is a short journey through the thought process of a young Black male from Irvington, NJ. The objective is to express my thoughts on a range of topics, which I feel are relevant to our everyday lives in society, through poetry and prose. Written Against Cultural Stagnation is my release. This is my first published collection and in many ways it has come at a perfect time for me personally. We have been thrust into a time where many aspects of society which were deemed as “taboo” have been at the forefront of this country’s conversation. Whether we like it or not, we are forced into forming a round table of thoughts and feelings regarding some of the most critical issues involving not only us but the US as a whole. I am a true believer in things happening for reasons. So with that being said, welcome to Written Against Cultural Stagnation. Proving evolution is constant.

Saturday, December 6, 2008

It's On Me

Struggling while reaping no progress
Is stagnation at its best
A fighter’s reward is not found in victory
When winning is not an end result
The victory comes within the fight
As character is strengthened and dedication is unwavered
Life
Constantly searching for the unseen
With the belief one day something will be revealed
The truth is hiding behind Plymouth rocks
That symbolically block mentalities from seeing the light
Constantly giving your all when all you seek is a shot
To change the past
By pressing forward through daily battles that have blazed paths
And laid foundations undeniable and unshaken
Dying to live a life of simplicity and certainty
While living imperfectly in an imperfect world
Where society lies through history
Making untrained eyes blurred

Brick City Blues by: A. Pearson

In a city where negativity brews
the energies of frustration and desperation fuse
creating a loss for words, so much for the good news
ironically, I’ve seen Blood members singing the blues
In a city where time changes by the hour
one minute it’s calm, the next second tears shower
creating puddles of pain, the pavement receives flowers
while candles illuminate a situation that towers
Over a city where at anytime attitudes can ooze
into the cracks of rationality, when that happens we all lose
It’s created a monster, the cauldron pot stews
a mixture wicked in its intention, which path will we choose
In a city which is ours, holding historical power
though over the decades we became sour
where tasteless acts of rage devours
mind frames of young brains, change is about us.

*from Written Against Cultural Stagnation