Art and Poetry by Reggie West

Dear Mainstream America
Live from Prison
By Reggie West

Lately, I have been hearing a great deal of discussion in the media concerning the increase in arrests for juvenile violence.

I felt compelled to share some insight which I believe will broaden your perception, hence allowing you to interpret the simple answers to the complex questions that society continues to ask in bewilderment, regarding the violence and defiance of authority in today’s youth.

Mainstream America seems to have a fascination with death and complexity, so they tend to glorify the catastrophic events of suffering and demise, then form statistical studies which only further complicate matters by summoning up mathematical terms that have absolutely nothing to do with a solution to this dilemma, that has certainly become an epidemic. Now that the inevitable is occurring, society is asking why and putting the blame on everything and anything, other than themselves.

Blame is the plategy for the shallow and feeble minded who are afraid accepting the truth of failure.

You see it is “us” whom have failed our youth.

I won’t insinuate that I’ve got it all figured out, but I will speak from the convictions of my own personal experiences. The answer to society’s questions is not as perplexing as others would like it to be. In fact, it is quite simple.

I find it appalling that there is never any mention of society being at fault for teaching our children what they know today. Rather than using the same ridiculous excuses of the violence depicted in video games, movies and music, enticing the negative behavior of our youth, what we really need to do is take a good look at ourselves. Chances are we may notice changes we need to make in order to contribute a positive role for our youth to admire, hence manifesting a desire to follow.

The cohesion of America’s fabric is so entwined with hypocrisy and immorality, that they’ve created a show call “scandal” which glorifies the events that those who are involved should be ashamed of. Yet, we blame our youth when they display a disregard for authority.

When politicians in the President’s administration lie, cheat, steal and slander each other, they justify their unethical behavior with chicly presented rhetoric, conspiring in cover-ups and formulating distractions which conveniently draw attention from their scandal. What are our youth being taught? When law enforcement use lethal force as their means of protecting and serving the community, when members of the clergy use their holier than thou image to gain trust, then prey on those who are vulnerable, when teachers at schools violate the law and officials on Capitol Hill constantly contradict themselves by breaking their own laws – what kind of example is being set for our children? Ponder that for a moment.

It does not take a criminal justice professor, nor the National Research Council to tell us what the future has in store for our children, when our example is what teaches them.

Children will do what they see done, as opposed what we tell them to. When those who administer authority are seen as being hypocrites, it’s evident that a child will develop a lack of respect for authority. When you consistently display actions that demonstrate the rules you say do not apply to you, or that you do not stand for what you say you do, what messages are you sending to your children? Let that resonate for a moment.

In today’s society, bad behavior is rewarded and praised, yet having strong moral character seems to be scrutinized and slandered. So, it’s apparent how a child can construe the wrong message. Having principles and moral convictions is a reward in itself. However, a child cannot possibly understand this concept without having first experienced life and reaching a point of maturation.

It is crucially necessary that society comes together and takes responsibility for sending the wrong message to our children. Only then can we honestly assess the damage caused by our own doing, so that we can rebuild and establish a strong, supportive environment with deeply rooted social and cultural beliefs that will set a positive example which our kids can be proud to be a part of.

There is an old cliché that conveys “If you don’t stand for something, you’ll fall for anything.” It’s time that we reassessed that and take it a step further by actually providing our children with something righteous to stand for, rather than just giving lip service that amounts to nothing of actual substance, unless it’s backed by actual proven data.

We have created a culture within today’s society which promotes violence, rewards wrongdoing, makes excuses, tells lies, manipulates truth and glamorizes scandal. How can we change that?

It’s time for us as parents, teachers and leaders to put our best foot forward and serve as more positive and productive role models so that we can start making a difference by teaching our children by way of examples “we” are proud of. It’s the concepts we teach, the principles we practice, the dignity we display and the integrity we support that will build our children’s strengths in character. So, yes, and I’m indicating that the solution to this epidemic starts within ourselves.

We have to be willing to quit making excuses and relying on statistics to tell us what we already know, yet are afraid to admit, because the reality is that our children are not to blame. We are!
 
A Letter to a Struggling Youth:
Live from Prison
By Reggie West

Let me start by saying … I understand your situation. I’ve dedicated practically my entire life to gangs and incarceration and years of letting my family down, leaving the burden on them, wondering how long would I be alive. I can’t recall a time I made my mother proud or have been a big brother, and the basis of my rehabilitation is to do that, along with bettering myself.

I’ve proved myself for years to belong to a gang, a circle, a hood, only in the end to be turned on, only to see my family and friends’ life a short life, leaving their kids behind with no one to guide them, to walk in our struggling paths.

I remember when I had to do everything to earn what is known to many who live the so-called street lifestyle (stripes) and it really earnt me nothing, no matter what gang we claim, which neighborhood or street signs, because they don’t belong to us. They are areas where our parents intended to raise us, provide for us, and we repay them by promoting senseless violence streets and gang colors, by turning to drugs to have a good time, unaware of the health damage it does.

All of this led us to juvenile facilities, boot camps and to adult prisons. Trust me … it becomes an ongoing circle of life. The more I kept getting incarcerated, building my criminal record, I was losing more of my freedom and ruining my chances of getting a job and building a successful career. As time passes on, you forget that you’re getting older, and your chances are getting smaller. The longer you are locked up, the more you begin realizing everything and everyone is fading. You become out of sight, out of mind. It’s not a good feeling to accept that you no longer have people to turn to. A lot of kids, like I once did, turned to the streets, the gangs, for that love and attention that we weren’t feeling at home. But that decision was a big mistake. I left my mother struggling and having to deal with the fact of wondering if I’d die on the streets. It’s been my biggest regret.

As kids, we may be too young to make positive decisions because we’re so misled by negative influences. We turn to other people besides our parents, and we look up to the people that eventually lead us to make poor choices. Often, we may go through life without any positive role models. That makes it that much more difficult to change direction in life, but it’s never too late. Since the age of 12, I’ve been involved in negativity and I’m barely learning to change. But it took having to come to prison to realize change was necessary. I’ve acknowledged things I’ve gotten away with and I’m thankful to remind myself that life isn’t everything, especially my freedom to be better for myself.

Don’t dig a hole for yourself that becomes too deep to climb out of. Accept the help around you to lead you in the right direction. It shows that somebody is taking the time out of their lives to help with change, instead of going with the rest of the world, betting on you to fail. I’ve been there. I’m still there. I was sentenced to life without the possibility of parole, which means I may never go home again. So, I will tell you to take advantage of the chance you have to change your life. I only wish I could get it all back.

All you’re going to get … feel, is deserted, abandoned, trying to reach out to your loved ones. It’s a useless effort. They may be there in the beginning, but eventually they move on. While you can, prevent all this by giving yourself the opportunity to enjoy life and become somebody. Now is the time to change. I wish I could have. Nineteen, going on twenty years of my life I will never get back, but it’s the rest of my life that I know I can honestly make a difference.

May you all who read this share it and take heed and make those necessary steps in making that change in your life. Take care, stay safe and always look to create.
 
Our black boys are being left behind
What are we going to do?
by Reggie West

If you think I am going to bash the education, then do not read this. Education is an investment, and our black boys are struggling because we do not invest our time and money in saving our young black men.

Back in slavery days, our people were carried into America on a boat, chained at the legs, shackled at the wrist and neck, beaten and lynched for reading.

Today, government is willing to pay billions of dollars to lock up young black men. They are carried on a bus, chained at the legs and shackled at the wrist, yet given a choice to read and choose not to. Is there a parallel between illiteracy and incarceration?

Parents or guardians, we are our children’s first teacher, but yet we rely on strangers to give our children everything they need. Parents also believe the school system fails our children when we ourselves are not involved in our own son’s educational wellbeing.

Do you know your son’s teachers? Do you know when your son took his last test? Do you know your son’s strengths and weaknesses to his teacher, or do you know? Is your son’s classroom set up to meet his needs? When was the last time you visited your son’s school without a phone call from his teacher?

Mothers and fathers, we need to be our son’s first REAL teacher. Fathers, grandparents, black men in the community are to be the first to teach our sons, our black young men. A hustle is NOT the drugs, guns and girls but a lifestyle that can cause a lifetime of pain.

It is now time to empower our black men. We are depriving our sons of their freedom by not exposing them to their own resources within the community and what it has to offer such as museums, public libraries, beaches, parks, zoos and community involvement. However, they be exposed to expensive tennis shoes, BET, hip hop, Atlanta, etc. We have a lot to offer and invest into our black boys because they need an education to compete in the global community.

It is critical for our parents to be involved with their sons’ education. Know their teachers’ expectations and expose them to more than just their own neighborhood. Rather, the whole community. Boys have a lot of energy, and that energy needs to be invested into more than watching TV, playing basketball, football and playing video games. Expose your sons to everything your community has to offer. Our sons will do better when they know there is more to choose from.

The most significant start is to enroll your son in a well-designed preschool program, not a low-quality preschool. Research has shown there are benefits to early education for emotional as well as cognitive development for young children.

GET INVOLVED!

Contact your local children’s commission, school and church to find out about reading and quality preschool programs.

In the area of working with parents, I suggest the responsibility of parents educating themselves. You can start by reading the following books written by Dr Jawanza Kunjufu – Keeping Black Boys out of Special Education and Critical Issues in Educating African American Youth.
 
Freedom in Forgiveness
by Reggie West

Our toughest battle in life involves our feelings and reactions. We’re all in a prison. Reality sets in. We feel alone. We feel helpless. We feel hopeless.

What are we to do now? How can we have hope in a hopeless place?

Some of us allow bitterness, resentment, feelings of abandonment, embarrassment, failure, shame or anger to rule over our minds, causing our hearts to be filled with many forms of toxins.

This fundamentally dictates our behavior. Our spirits are slowly injected with toxins and over time as we let certain negative emotions fester, they will erupt. What we allow inside must eventually come out, right?

Quick, short tempers, irritability, mood swings, anti-social behavior, loss of appetite, weight loss or gain, hair loss, unexplained pains and aches in the body, depression, inertia, the inability to forgive, the holding of grudges – sound familiar?

Our emotional instability, mental distress, spiritual darkness and physical wellbeing all have an effect on all the other emotions over time.

We need to forgive ourselves, forgive others and ask others for forgiveness. These are steps towards healing and finding peace.

Negativity is venom to our spirit. Hatred poisons the soul. We must free our bodies from these ailments.

For example, if we were to get shot by a gun, we wouldn’t just put a Band Aid on it, not see a doctor or get professional medical treatment, would we? No!

We would immediately seek accurate and adequate medical assistance.

If we were to try to heal that gunshot wound on our own, we’d probably make matters worse, causing infection, gangrene or worse.

So must we also seek the proper aid for healing methods to free ourselves and heal from emotional and spiritual disorder and infirmity. We must find positive channels to release those suppressed emotions. That is the key!

Exercising, listening to music, going outside to walk, getting fresh air or talking to a friend, meditating, practicing yoga, doing puzzles, drawing, writing, dancing, cooking, doing arts and crafts, reading or doing whatever hobby of choice you enjoy. Utilize it to its fullest advantage to keep you on level ground.

How can we grow in a place where there is no room to grow? It’s in your willpower!

Growth is progress, regardless of the pace! We can also help out our fellow peers by making someone smile by simply telling them to “have a good day”, which can make a tremendous difference in a person’s day.

We’re all in prison. Whether it be physically, mentally, emotionally or spiritually. A lost soul cannot be found or set free unless it is willing to give up the past, let go of its bondages and relieve itself of the unnecessary weight it is carrying that hinders progress.

Are you free?
 
Women
by Reggie West

After a while, you learn the subtle difference between holding a hand and chaining a soul and you learn that love doesn’t mean leaning and company doesn’t always mean security.

And you begin to learn that kisses aren’t contracts and presents aren’t promises and you begin to accept your defeats with your head up and your eyes ahead, with grace of a woman not the grief of a child and you learn to build all your roads on today because tomorrow around is too certain for plans and futures have a way of falling down in mid-flight.

After a while, you learn that even sunshine burns if you get too much, so you plant your own garden and decorate your own soul instead of waiting for someone to bring you flowers.

And you learn that you really can endure, you really are strong, you really do have worth and you learn and you learn with every goodbye, you learn.
 
The Rose and her lonely garden
by Reggie West

What is the worth of a rose, stranded in a deserted garden?

A rose undressed of its lovely crimson-colored petals … skimpy and desolate as a fox under a full incandescent moon.

The rose a “Prisoner of Loyalty”, committed to oversee the valley of her quintessence, the valley of her paramour.

Through the bitter, the cold, the storm … The rose shines upon her garden overshadowing the woes that transgress against their committal of “us and not you or I”.

To share its last titillating aura of her cherishment … To stand being the shadow at sunset until the sun has gone down.

Holding her place with him until death comes and does them apart.

The rose is as virtuous to its garden as its soil is to its rose.

The worth of her cornerstone!
 
Tribute to Women
by Reggie West

A woman is the most beautiful of all creation, God bequeaths in his highest inspiration.

She is fragile, delicate as the soft petal of a flower … She’s the discreet fragrance of an enchanting aroma.

A woman is tender, sweet and full of splendor … Her allurements, her figure, are like a consuming flame.

Her gifts are emanations of beauty and blessing … deserving love, respect and understanding.

Because of a woman … we live adorned with fantasy … It is not right to judge her without justice or reason.

Some may be bad, but it isn’t the fault of the giver … Perhaps they are only victims without love.

Who more than a woman knows what is pain …? Who can define with certainty what is wrong?

Ask a mother what she feels in her heart when her womb bursts as under with the fruit of love.

A woman is the reason for a man’s triumphant struggle … his desire pure attention.

A sister, wife or daughter needs to be loved with devotion.

A woman will always be worthy of admiration … She is one of the most precious prizes a man can win.

Because of a woman … I become a dream filled lover, friend and devoted partner.

Because of a woman … I live and die to love her fervently.
 
To a Friend
by Reggie West

It is hard to express true feelings in this house of concrete, steel and pain, where mistrust, jealousy and suspicion reign.

But what I feel for you in my heart rises above all that tries to stifle it and shines like a brilliant ray of sunshine that lights up the darkness and envelopes us, awakening new and surprising depths of caring … What we two friends continue sharing.

And although we may have a short time together, it is not the quantity but the quality of what will like us forever.

We the People
By Reggie West

The other side of America …

The 70 million plus, with criminal records.
We exist in multitudes …
We lead many lives …
We are 16, 20, 57, 65 years old …
We are not criminals.

We are survivors, scholars, artists and poets.
The leaders you need.
Your father’s, mother’s, daughter’s sons.

We are human beings.
We deserve a chance to prove our worth.
We work, volunteer, mentor and use our knowledge, experience and skills to give back to the community …
I want a beautiful future. Are you part of it?

You and I shared a smile once in a line at a grocery store, the bank, the church pew.

Let’s talk close …
If I was your child, would you treat me differently?

I am not a slave to my past. I refuse to be intimidated by your misperceptions.
I will not subject myself to fear nor anxiety.
But walk boldly … I will prosper … Let me be free.

Believe in me and I will be the best parent I never had … I will mobilize communities.
I will be a catalyst for change … I will make history … I will achieve all of my goals … I will be a role model for the youth.

We’ve done our time. Let us become who we want to be.
It’s not black and white … Some of us come home to housing. Some of us were homeless.
Some of us spend months trying to get an approved home plan … While wasting away in halfway houses … Some of us struggled finding positive support from family and friends … While others came home to mentors, wives, husbands and so many open arms.

I want you to remember that we need to change peoples’ environments if we want to change their future.

We are so much more than our past and that people need community … not condemnation, and that the world is wrong about us.
That we’ve come so far already … We are learning to forgive ourselves and so should you.

We can make a difference in the lives of others.
But we need a chance to prove our worth.

That we are powerful!!

This is Not My Destiny
By Reggie West

Pitch blackness …

In the center a twinkling dot, growing bigger, or coming closer;
flickering wilder now;
a flame.
Yes … a crackling campfire.

Glowing ashes rising up, swirling like fireflies,
flying higher everywhere into the blackness,
becoming countless twinkling stars.

I’m under a starlit sky.
Sitting Indian style by a campfire.

The silhouettes of endless pine trees surround me.
I hear sound.
Crickets, frogs, owls, wind, whispering tree leaves, howling wolves, my heartbeat … pounding.
And a familiar voice.
“Reggie, in five words, say something about your situation.”

I spin around, turning my head in every direction, scanning the landscape.
But my view is besieged by monstrous con walls and towers all around me.

I swivel back around … on my metal desk stool, to face the campfire … that is now my desk lamp.
The stars are gone.
The sounds are that of jingling.
Not like bells, but more like … keys … and footsteps.

“Say something about your sentence to life without parole in five words.”
“Five words?”
“Yes, five words.”

Jingling keys and footsteps getting louder.
A full moon appears, unusually and disturbingly bright, blinding me.

But hold up … that ain’t no moon … It streaks away as suddenly as it intruded.
The afterglow fades with the jingling keys and footsteps.

“Your sentence in five words”, the voice persisted.
“Okay, that’s easy”, I said.
“This … is … not … my … destiny.”

A Message To All Black Parents
By Reggie West

Educate our children … Mothers and fathers.

On special days (and not so special days) buy your child a book instead of candy or toys. When birthdays come around, introduce your children to the beauty of words. Limit television and social media. To do less, speaks of death in its most lasting form – the slow but efficient erosion of the mind.

A mindless people is a people that joins rather than initiates, obeys rather than questions, follows rather than leads, begs rather than takes.

To allow this state of affairs to continue is, indeed, a serious and profound comment on the state of our literacy. Let’s move the brothers off the corners, put them back into serious learning situations and introduce them to new definitions.

A good place to begin is with a re-evaluation of what it means to be a black man in this world. Therefore … a working definition of black manhood is needed:

Black Brothers … put your people first. A quiet strength. The positioning of oneself so that observation comes before reaction, where emotion is not seen as a weakness. Love for self, family, children and extensions of self, is beyond the verbal.

Making your life accessible to children in meaningful ways. Be able to recognize the war we are in and doing anything to take care of family, so long as it doesn’t harm or negatively affect other black people.

Be willing to share resources to the maximum. Be willing to struggle unrelentingly against the evils of this world, especially evils that directly threaten the development of our people.

Seek and be that which is just, good and correct. Properly positioning oneself in the context of our people. Be a listener, a student, a historian, seeking hidden truths. Be the one who develops leadership qualities and demands the same qualities of those who have been chosen to lead. See material rewards as means towards an end and not an end in themselves. Clean mentally, spiritually and physically. Be the protector of black weak. Be the one who respects elders, practical idealist, questioner of the universe and spiritually in tune with the best of the universe. Be honest and trusting. Your word is your connector.

Be a direction giver, husband. Be sensitive to black women’s needs and inspirations, realizing that it is not necessary for them to completely absorb themselves into us, but that nothing separates the communication between us. Be a seeker of truth, a worker of the first order, teacher. Be an example of what it is to be a fighter, a builder, with vision. Connects land to liberation. Be a student of peace and war. Be a statesman and warrior. Be one who is able to provide as well as receive. Be culturally sound, creative. Be a motivator and stimulator of others.

Be a lover of life and all that is beautiful. Be one who is constantly growing and who learns from mistakes. Be a challenger of the known and the unknown. Be the first to admit that he does not know as he seeks to find out. Be able to solicit the best out of self and others. Be soft, strong, not afraid to take the lead. Be a creative father, organized and organizer. Be a brother to brothers. Be a brother to sisters. Be understanding, patient. Be a winner. Always be a maintainer of the ‘I can, I must, I will’ attitude towards black struggle and life. Be a builder of the necessary. Always and always be in a process of growth and without a doubt, believer that our values and traditions are not negotiable.

Stay Strong
By Reggie West

Within every difficulty, there is inherent good.

If you can stay strong, you should … stay strong when unexpected problems come your way.

You can bear them another day …
No matter how tough they seem to be.
You must face facts realistically …
When fear, nervousness and anxiety rise up inside of you.

You’re through if you don’t know what to do …
Because worrying is a state of fear.
Keep faith near …
Through deep breathing exercises, meditation and sincere prayer.
You’ll always be able to do things that are beyond compare …
Because a strong person has a fully developed mind,
that’s in harmony with time.

They are filled with optimism.
Do not see difficulties in every situation and believe that good in life outweighs cynicisms

With inner strength.
You begin to look like you’re God-sent
But practice is the key.
When you begin to be.
You’ll see … Stay strong.

Why I Write By Reggie West

Writing allows me to express myself, share my perspective and use my voice.

I use writing as a positive outlet to counter negativity and refocus my thoughts, especially during trying times.

It helps me to vent, providing relief from stressful situations.

Writing also helps me to assess and reflect on subject matters with patience, because I am my own worst critic!

But through writing, I can be thoughtful and take my time to create the message I want to share with others who are interested in reading it.

I sincerely encourage all to utilize the power of the pen to create a vivid expression that only your mind can create. Free your mind and let it grow by creating words that can only be put on paper.
 
Just Imagine By Reggie West

Imagine a world where time stands still,
where nothing you do is of your own free will.
Stripped of your freedom, your hope, your pride,
surrounded by strangers with no place to hide.

Imagine a place where you’re told what to wear,
a place where no one is allowed to grow hair.
Where you’re told each day not to talk,
or where you can and cannot walk.
A world where you sleep, surrounded by hate.
Where all you can do is just sit and wait.

Imagine a world where you have no choice.
Where you can’t even think because of the noise.
A world where you work but get no pay.
Where you’re made to feel worthless each and every day.
A world where days crawl like a snail.
Where all you have hope for is a piece of mail.
A world where you have to eat real quick.
Does that sound like a world that would make you sick?

Imagine a world surrounded by wire.
Able to walk from this place, free is your greatest desire.
A world like this is hard to conceive, yet here I am and cannot leave.

Just imagine …
 
Lost Reality

One day, as I awoke out of my sleep, life didn’t make much sense.
The sky was blue, the sun was out, but the air I breathed felt dense.
Fear of death was no long longer in my presence.
Me in the heavens was a distance away.

Not a care in the world, I felt like the world was mine.
My mind was blank.
But the more I thought, it felt like the more I sank.
Deeper in something inside.

So, I closed my eyes to cry. I tried.
But not a single drop of water was shed.

I was alive, but was I dead?
As I asked myself, it echoed in my head.
Maybe my mind was lost instead.
 
Trapped in a Cage

Every day it eats away,
I feel it though I dare not say.

Inside me a burning fire,
fueled by my vengeful desire.

This fire, it burns my soul away,
more and more each passing day.

My heart, mind and soul consumed,
by the flames of wrath and doom.

The blaze burns me and knocks me down,
pinning my true self to the ground.

My true self tries to fight,
but is blinded by the fire’s light.

This fire inside is my rage,
I tried to lock it in a cage.

But one day it stole the key.
Now I’m in the cage where it locked me.
 
Losing It

Momma always told me that someday in due time,
All the things I was doing would make me lose my mind.

Well … I think that time has come,
Things have gotten really strange.

I don’t feel the way I used to.
Everything is starting to change.

I don’t sleep good these days.
My memories are almost gone.

Darkness brings me peace of mind.
And I’m starting to enjoy being alone.

Silence is now a welcome sound.
And laughter has almost died.

No tears ran down my face, the last time I cried.
My soft heart has hardened from years in this desolate place.

Maybe if I lose my mind,
These terrible memories will be erased.
And my past will be forgotten.
The future will stay the same.

It won’t matter as much to me.
If I end up going insane.
 
Broken Boy

As a broken boy, I go through life with only myself to please.
I wake each morning just to see how lonely my life is because the world has turned a blind eye to me.

Wishing every day for the friendship I crave.
But always getting pushed away by those I meet.

Never feeling loved, never feeling brave.
I let the loneliness inside me become defeat.

Life is passing me by, never giving me the chance to redeem.
Because the world only cares to see the path of a broken boy.

The world is stuck in my yesterday.
Never looking to see my tomorrow.

Always those around me seem coy to show their feelings of sorrow for a boy who may never have their tomorrow.
Greed fills their eyes.

Forgetting those in need.
And refusing to hear a broken boy’s cries.

Too caught up in pride and embarrassed to do me a good deed.
For fear of retribution and criticism from the rest of the world.
 
Mask

If you peeled off this mask years ago, I had no identity.
Attempting to uncover who I was like Jason Bourne on The Bourne Supremacy.
Crawling through life as insignificant as a sinnipee.

A statue with no voice.
An ornament or center piece.
Ignorance exceeding intellect an enemy.
A nemesis of who I was envies at this moment.

Peel off this mask,
don’t judge this book by its cover.
Intellect and enlightenment corroding ignorance.
As you will soon discover.

Saw through my skull, dissect my cerebrum.
Remove my cerebral cortex.
And watch how my mind speaks up.

Thoughts and images propelling faster than a drag racing Nissan.
My soul no longer the fruit that my demons feast on.

My controversial soul now seeks freedom.
Learning the teachings of Yahweh ben Yahweh.
Farrakhan and Prophet Muhammad.

Finally comprehending commonsense is genuine uncommonly.
ProINTELco, controlling radio waves.
Not allowing the uplifting words of poets like Common.
Success seeming to lie in devotion to the illuminati, for selling your existing to the masonic.

Elevating past carnal desires.
My mind and soul platonic.

Now that you have glimpsed into my mind, you realized I have excelled past this plateau at a speed faster than sonic.

Consuming ambrosia from the Gods
Feeding off the divinity which is both enticing and hypnotic.
 
Divine Love of Self

Why do we idolize individuals with tainted and torn hearts?
Transforming it from worldly flesh into a supreme being.

Subconsciously converting it into a deity in our minds’ optical.
Subdued by unhealthy emotions.
Praising a Peasant, who is absent of immorality and full of immoralities.
Thus, giving a fraudulent love devotion.

Visions clouded.
The stress post traumatic, infatuated with a feeling that’s just for the moment.
Partaking in simplicities, in love with a medal that’s gold coated.

A straining foundation built on rubble.
Liquifying your emotions, secluded in disastrous bubble.

I say take a stand.
Don’t fall victim to that oppressive slumber.
Remove that decaying grime because your mind and soul plumber.

Uplift yourself from the ashes.
Abolish those impurities.
Find divine love.

Don’t allow those toxic radiations to take you under.
Self-knowledge is the key.

Understanding that loving yourself entirely is the true essence of happiness.
Knowing you are your ONE TRUE LOVER!!!
 
Do You Really Matter?!?

“If we could read the secret history of those we would love to punish, we would find in each life enough grief and suffering to make us stop wishing anything more on them.”

Where does one stand in the grand scheme of the prison industrial complex?

In context, some guess a place to hold some, mold some, in this space of correction where the corrected, formerly rejected, return to a society a changed figure.

Is it possible to excel beyond the confines we too often find ourselves in?
Can we rise above the stuff we may have fallen prey to through situational conditioning, while resembling everything the news views as distorted thinking, while inking just another name across the headlines, our people fear to see?

Can society see me … embrace me for a chance possibility while being a model inmate on one hand, yet a man they can’t stand because here I am in the midst of this, never ending always changing stream of internal rules, that are not laws, that hold as much weight as public policy?

Some democracy in society where hypocrisy propels only expectations of a prison call for those who dare not conform to the norm of some assimilation.

Whatever happened to the constitution?
Just another illusion creating more confusion toward black masculinity or the culture interpretations thereof.

Because how many more tears and years must we take on to awake on some other side of thinking negativity within this society. When my own actions, created distractions, too ashamed to face in the reality of being too weak to see that man, I never quite learned to be?

The “hardened criminal” tag now placed upon me, and some say, “I will never be free”, but freedom comes for some in this time behind the bars of scars, discarded by precision decisions and elections of corrections to be the best today that I have always been able to be, no matter who now may disagree.

As I see the possibility to believe beyond the yesterday that had me bound down to the underground of self-doubt without a hope of anything other than failure.

But how do you hold onto the hope that as you do the right thing, everything will work out well when dauntingly the past in hauntingly held on the precipice of suspicion, when decisions are made because you are held in the midst of everyone else?

There is a wealth of good within the system.
Should the system take time to define the elements of its own biased mentality? Blacked transparency, negligent accountability.

Making their inadequacy my responsibility that creates so much disparity within the confines called their home of CARE, CUSTODY and CONTROL.

Another soul yearns to be regarded as more than just some inmate with distaste in the dictates of the past …

I am a black man.
We are men.
A man that matters.
We are men that matter.

Can We? By Reggie West

How is today different than the yesterday we seldom remember or choose to be encouraged by?

Why are we not able to walk together and embrace our brother in the strength meant to last past the freedom marches that started even before I was born, as a generation scorns at the manners displayed, the unity they stayed, but not for the lives they have paid?

Did not their lives matter yesterday, the same as the “Black Lives Matter” heard today, as changes were made so we may live free, now?

Must we forget the atrocities we’ve seen on mass media that mean to demean in the self-same Black History, yet come together as if anew whence social media reveals similar images that time before drew loud crowds around for even their children should see, could see, as another black man beaten so miserably, hanging free from a tree?

The actions in our own communities, creating names that change to numbers under the gable of a Judge and then blame a system for the work we as men have not done. When by our own accord is made, sending our own to the grave as when our forefather’s history came from nothing to something, gathering everything they had in the hope of a tomorrow they have yet to see.

Why must we quit the back history of Black History?
Disregarding the tenacity and ability to succeed against far greater odds than we create today?

Those who (still) become doctors, lawyers, inventors and artists, navigating through a time the same decision existed. Yet today we have a problem because “they” are not taking care of me.

They owe me as if I deserve more than I hold myself accountable, forgetting to ask how can I honor their yesterday by living today in harmony with the history that tried for me, died for me, and the grandmothers, mothers, who have cried for me?

May we rise past the last number of years and hear the songs that made us as people able and capable to overcome what was done, even through the tomorrow we may not see, and be today the kings and queens, princes and princesses we were before time became defined by shackles and chains that remain… in our DNA.
The Girl of my Dreams

The girl of my dreams, immaculate, personal, what alleviates my mind to stage divinity.
She will amplify my strength and fortify my weakness.

Her beauty unfathomable, her lips as enticing as cherries on an ice cream sundae.
Her voluptuous curves that of a woman who spends countless hours at a state-of-the-art gym.

Mind as intriguing as a scholar or his story with any number of PhDs or degrees.
I intimate encounters, cherish for I enjoy tracing my tongue over every previous physique.

But this isn’t based on sexual exploration.
The basis behind this poem is mental stimulation.

For the girl of my dreams will captivate my heart through intellectual prosperity and empowering conversation.
Her every word choreographed, excelling in every category of womanhood by my most modestly observation.

Her love profound, obliterating my defenses like a contagious chemical radiation.
Her very being defining love.

If this is a dream, don’t awaken me because she is my Alpha and my Omega.
 
Why?

Why must it take so much death to correct this wrong?

So many black lives snuffed out like candles, deprived air and left alone in darkness, no longer relevant to time.
Remembered only when it happens again, which is always, so they will never be forgotten, only removed by the racial hate that burned down upon them like the scorching sun.

What do you see that causes you to feel you must destroy me?
Is it the hue that covers my skin?
Is it something inside my existence that offends you?

Maybe if you talk to me as one human to another, we can fix it before it’s too late.
We have to do something; the killing cannot continue.

Look what’s happening throughout the world.
I know you hear the people shouting.
“No justice, no peace!”
See every race and religion marching in the streets.

Did you hear the young white girl give that amazing speech?
With her fist raised high she screamed “BLACK LIVES MATTER!”
Such powerful words to come from a child, barely a student now forced to teach.

You’ve made the whole world weep.
Death be the catalyst for peace, or maybe more violence each time we meet.
The kind that left Heather Heyer dying in the street.

It took 8 minutes and 46 seconds for George Floyd to die.
As he called for his mother, I thought of my own and cried.

Systemic racism influenced each time you raise your confederate flag.
Honoring those who fought to defeat what has come to be America, with their ideology that taught so much hate.
Now, the long overdue have arrived.

The Gen-Z that see beyond my “nappy” hair and big brown eyes are telling you to take your knee off our neck and stop causing black people to die.
 
The Philosophy of Soulfulness

Deep rooted by the experiences of oppression.
Surviving and flourishing, cultivating the skills of compassion.

Acknowledging hope, faith and joy that comes along with the given of expression.
A beauty found anywhere, even in the most negative of circumstances.
Born from toughness of hard times and tragedies.
Refusing to bend in the direction don’t feel right because it will deny the existence of a cultural style of integrity.

We’ve been living a full and satisfying life of giving and sharing.
Soulfulness is our passion and power, our innermost feelings.
Just watch and follow our divine mission.

How we are self-transforming and energizing our highest vision of what’s to become.
We ain’t guiding missiles and army guns like the rich man of old, who killing souls.

Our mission is to build quality and dimension, without killing. Just love for each other, you are my brother, mother, father, sister and children. Just pay attention and listen.

Strive Toward Success

When you feel fragile and weak, falling down to your knees.
Where you can’t seem to rise up and grasp onto your dreams.
Remember… you are almighty and are meant to succeed.

Manifest all of your quest.
If it’s a thought in your mind, you may concede.
You’re an inspiration to us all.
But in yourself, you must believe.

You were never meant to follow.
Your purpose has always been to lead.

So rise up young brother or sister.
Brush your shoulders off.
Strive towards success in obtaining your dreams.
 
Young and Dumb

Young, dumb and ignorant, spreading a love that had limitations.
Yet her love overpowering, holding me in a chokehold, causing asphyxiation.

Lost in ignorance, overwhelmed with no sense of direction.
My only concern being greed and where to lay the next womb.
In which I could embed my erection.

My vision fogged, clouding my view.
Only focused on self, not seeing the saint hidden in you.

My eyes now observant, no longer a fool.
My mind now exposed, realizing how did I allow myself to lose.

Finally focusing on the entirety of the schematics.
Realizing your honor and loyalty where what captivated my heart and made you so attractive.

Your love was unfathomable and for me would have bent over backwards.
As if you were made of elastic.

A supreme being, the solution to my divine mathematics.
 
Valiantly Rise

She fights valiantly, giving her very essence as men take uncontrollably.
Fighting your demons losing the battle hopelessly, shielding you from your monsters while they feast on her soul openly.

Her love being the true victim and to her it’s her only choice.
Her very being deteriorating, yet still standing tall in her poise.

Her love silencing your demons while these demons feast and silence her voice.
Her light starting to dim, so rise my brother before darkness consumes her and you lose her in this ploy.

Time to dive in this warzone and fight for her soul.
This is the battle in which you were deployed.

Visualize and realize there is a life beyond this battlefield in which you may rejoice.
The fruits of life are beyond this abyss with a true Queen by your side, you will enjoy.
Just remember my brother, whether you win or lose… The reality is that it’s always your choice.
 
Love ‘N’ Music

Love, an emotion expressed by artists through melodies such as Teddy Pendergrass, Aretha Franklin, Brian McKnight and the legendary Whitney Houston.

Articulating words travelling through sound in harmonic tone, creating music.
Love as tender as it may, seen in a toxic individual, may become abusive.

Possessiveness holding the soul hostage, driving a saint to radical conclusions.
The reality of love being nurture and security while abuse is a part of the illusion.

So, if you’re lost in translation, listen to the big homie Luther, “Don’t want to be a fool”.
Expressing love ain’t a one way street.

Fall in love with a King who’ll worship a Queen.
Whose mindset isn’t infantile and foolish.

Love not easily understood, as complex as the Cube Rubiks.
 
I’m My Ancestors Re-Imagined

As I walked the roads, bayous on one side, old plantations on the other.
Chemical plants, spewing poisons in the air and waters.
Killing everything walking, crawling and flying.

I can feel the energy of my ancestors traveling through my feet and pulling the passion of my heart.
As I marched with my head up, machete in hand.
It was freedom I see, or death let it be.

I see visions of my ancestors dead, heads chopped off.
Spikes on the roads to stop my travel.
I’m ready for freedom.

Body ached, hungry and tired.
I’m ready for revolution or death.

I’m feeling like chopping off heads, especially when I see the houses of evil.
Where my ancestors were tortured, enslaved and beaten.

But I’m a weary soul, so now they’re scared and treat me like royalty.
I am my ancestors re-imagined and the freedom they died for. I treasure and say… Never Again!
 
Out my Window

As I stare out my window, I find myself in a pensive and reflective mood.

I see razor wire, as well as concerting fencing.

I see the prison yard, the grass, the gun tower.
And far off in the distance, I see trees.

I also see a flagpole, it is the “Stars and Stripes”.
Then it hit me… This flag does not represent freedom to me. It represents oppression, abuse, social control.
And it represents the hateful legacy of slavery.

Tell me about it!
 
Enemy of the State

I’m considered an “enemy of the State” because I refuse to participate.
So, they incarcerate, trying to manipulate and mandate my mind state.

Solitary confined my mind, refined.
But not reformed nor refrained.

I’ve maintained an intellect apart.
With the intent to never relent.

Staying relentless, showing no repentance.
Insistent that I’ll be able to live life in the true sense of liberty, unequivocally.

Allow me to enlighten.
I don’t mean to frighten.
Only to heighten your ability to see clearly.

I only hope you hear me.
Society projected.
Whole communities neglected, infected, mistreated, abused and used.
Left confused.
I’m not amused.
Nothing more to lose.

So, I spread the news of revolt.
A jolt to the very foundation of this hypocritical nation they’re enslaving.
Their invention of detention.
Another form of oppression.

Take a lesson.
Start asking questions.

Check my aggression, due to their arresting.
Instead of stressing, I’m pressing forward on and beyond the class war straight to the core of this division.
Life in prison.
A manifestation.
The incarceration of a whole nation.

They got us all under surveillance and if we show resistance, we’re silenced with violence repressed.
It’s stressed that we fall in line and be brainwashed one at a time.

The status quo has to go.
A new format needs to be executed because in order for us to exist, we must resist, ready and equipped.

They got this country voting on shows and topics that are superficial.
But where’s our initial on something politically official?!

Their superimposition is apparent and transparent with no comment.
Committed to categorizing, the use of hypnotizing, with lies, refusing to hear our cries.

Time to rise everyone.
Please stand and demand.
Allow us all to expel, propel and procure a promising future that will nurture and educate, instead of violate.

The vice that will annihilate our rights without question should be cropped and stopped!

Thank you so very much, Enemy of the State.
 
Tribe of the Lost Boys

I grew up amongst the tribe of fatherless sons.
We are the true boys that you would call lost ones.

Finding thugs, killers and dope dealers as role models for our future.
Our mothers strove from eight to five, trying to keep hope alive.

That our rebellion was just a phase.
One to pass in the coming of days.
But oh, how we were lost in our ways.

See, we longed for more than a mother’s love.
We looked tirelessly for a masculine image to clone.
Told to be the “man of the home”.
But lost upon us, like gold’s shine covered in dust.

Was that the meaning of being a “man”?
Our fathers were like gardeners who planted a seed as it were and never came back to nurture.

Letting it spring up amongst weeds and insects on its innocence feeds.
It’s not only that we have been forgotten.
We have been forsaken by supposed men of which were the next of kin.

So, I call out you cowardice swine.
Who left behind in your wake.
Hearts and lives you thought not twice to break.

How do you answer for your crimes?
Does the anguish caused by you play upon your conscious mind?

For those of us who did not succumb to all that we had to overcome and even those still lost.
May our tribe die with us for a future without fatherless sons is a must!
 
New Age Slave

Let’s take an introspective look of the new Jim Crow.
Where America’s overpopulated prisons continue to grow.

Where unjustified sentences lead to the poor being persecuted.
Incarceration, parole and probation replaces whips, chains and nooses.

No more slave boat cruises.
Prison blocks packed with men shackled up by the deuces.
The truth is… we’re still being plotted against.

Don’t be fooled.
The plantations still exist.
It’s been modernized.
In the form of a prison yard with barbwire fences.

Slave masters renamed as superintendents.
Working like mules for nineteen cents.

America’s most precious commodity.
No longer sold on auction blocks.
Today’s slave is sold in the court rooms.
Thrown in prison as livestock.
The correction of slavery, past and present is no different.

Today’s slavery is disguised as prison.
Replaced lynching with lethal injection.
And you have slavery resurrected.

A Message to the Community: A Letter from Prison
By: Reggie West
I offer my condolences to the families who have lost loved ones and become victims to the violence.
I offer my apologies for having been derelict in my duty and responsibility as a man. In not being the guardian, educator, and leader my community needed, in order to be vital and life affirming.
I want to inform you that it is my goal to counteract the insanity of the destructive mindset. I do not embrace those who prey upon any people, but particularly my people.
I want my voice to be heard….Let the violence, drug dealing, physical and spiritual abuse of the communities stop.
As a man, I want it to be known that I have come to value and recognize that the children need and deserve a safe and secure environment in which to grow and develop. Be educated, have access to equal opportunities to excel and become who the Creator intended them to be.
I ask that everyone reading or hearing this look at a child, whether at home, school, at play, in church, or mosque and consider these words
I am the African Child
The whole world awaits my coming, all the earth watched with interest, to see what I shall become. Civilization hangs in the balance for what I am, the world of tomorrow will be.
I Am the African Child
You have brought me into this, about which I know nothing.
You hold in your hand my destiny.
You determine whether I shall succeed or fail.
Give me….I beg you….a world where I can walk tall and proud.
Train me, as is your duty unto me, to love myself, and my people, and to build and maintain a great nation. It is I who proclaim.
I Am the African Child
The whole world awaits my coming
I shall not delay it
For I too have a dream

Beliefs Betrayal
By: Reggie West

We are a people experiencing a crisis
Once joined by love, justice, peace, and a longing to live life.
Now we are interested in getting ahead
Ahead of each other through material gain.
Greed fills our hearts.
We are blinded by the trapping of success,
Which manifest through tyranny addiction.
Listen….watch the picture….seductive forces of mentality.
Got us on the path of corruption.
Self-betrayal, hardened hearts, and cowardness
What happened to the pride in recognizing our value of inner life, of enjoyment?
Even in the struggles of oppression and exploitation.
We done tossed our beliefs aside.
We no longer believe in the moral and ethical stance of ours.
Open your eyes….change the world view.
Our values lie in the compassion, sharing, and justice for me and you.

The Philosophy of Soulfulness
By: Reggie West

Deep rooted by the experiences of oppression
Surviving and flourishing, cultivating the skills of compassion
Acknowledging hope, faith, and joy that comes along with the given of expression
A beauty found anywhere, even in the most negative circumstances
Born from toughness of hard times and tragedies
Refusing to bend in the direction, it don’t feel right
Because it denies the existence of a cultural style of integrity
We been living a full and satisfying life of giving and sharing
Soulfulness is our passion and power, our inner-most feelings
Just watch and follow our divine mission
How we self-transforming and energizing our highest vision of what’s to become
We ain’t guiding missiles and army guns, like the rich man of old, who killing souls
Our mission is to build quality and dimension among each other, cause you are my sister and brother

The Power in Love and Women
By: Reggie West

The deepest hurt is the hurt inflicted by a lover
To remain lovers is hard work, it is not natural
Everything grows old, the key to beautiful
Tomorrow is involved in a love ship that ages gracefully
We are bound to make mistakes in our loveship
The key is to learn from them
If women do not love, there is no love
As the women go, so go the people,
stopping the women stop the future
If women do not love, strength disconnects families sicken, growth is questionable
And there are a few reasons to conquer ideas of foes
If women love, so come flowers from sun
Rainbows at dusk
As women connect, the earth expands, minds open, and our Yesas become natural as we seek
Quality in the searching
Quality in the responses
Quality in the giving and loving
Quality in the receiving
Beginning anew…..fresh

When Life Isn’t Easy, May You Remember This….
By: Reggie West
May you know in your heart that I am always thinking of you
May you always have rainbows that rain
May you celebrate the wonderful things about you
And when tomorrow comes
May you do it all over for me again
May you remember how full of smiles you have been
May you believe that what you search for you will find
May you find time to smell the flowers and to share the beauty of you with others
May you envision today as a gift, and tomorrow as another
May you add a meaningful page to your diary each new day
And may you make “living happily ever after” something that will come true
And may you always keep planting the seeds of your dreams
Because if you keep believing in them, they’ll keep growing and growing
Into a beautiful blossom for you
May you always, always, and always remember this poem, because its written just for you!

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Reggie West