I have fallen utterly & completely in love with Christ
My heart swells with the anticipation of each new kiss
Like a teenaged girl,
my nose is wide open and everything smells like HolySpirit
I find myself drifting into Daydreams
about how we can take our relationship to the next level
I gaze blissfully at “Footsteps in the Sand” posters and giggle
It’s just like my Lord to post a Classified Ad for the world to see…

“He likes; Long walks on the beach
&occasionally walking on water”

I’m hearing old R&B Hits in new ways looking for any excuse to have his name on my lips
Oh, it tastes so sweet
Singing off key remixednlovednsongs to my King

“He got me Feenin….Feeeeenin
for the next time I’ll stand in his grace

Bowing low at the alter
Arms raised to the sky
- Hold me
- Hug me
Cover me in you
Yearning for the touch of the master
Nobody does me like you

Your touch is so gentle,
Yet it rocks me so deep
I can’t help but call out your name:
Jesus! Jesus! Jesus!

[pause]

He got INto me.

My skin radiates an evervesint peaceful glow of splendor marking your Holy touch
Folks are saying, “There’s something about her,” I just can’t…
explain the change but I know you got INto me & I permeate you

I told all my homegirls ’bout the new man in my life
How we reconnected and ever since everything’s been right
Jazzy’s got her groove back
I didn’t give him my baggage, I allowed him in & he took it
He purged hurts
He cleansed dirt
He pulled me out of me and into him as we merged into one
He entrusted me with his love and adoration
He went before me to prepare a place for me before his Father, our Father, my Father
He made me his bride

And I.
And I.
And I am completely and utterly in love with Christ.

You’re mistaken; Perhaps you
Confused me with him over there
Or she standing near
- We have the same name,
- but our walk ain’t the same

I assure you.
The Devil is a lie!
But, I …
No.

I’m.
Not-the-one-your’re- looking-for.

Time-traveler:
Visit the past
Read through my jacket
Check my bedpost for tallies
Snoop Around
Private Eye
Ask people, they knew me.
I partied, I drank, I said
let their be WHIN’ing if there’s no Rum & Coke
But it’s deeper.

I was teased & rejected
Deemed flawed to the standards of those of standard issue
I. Was.
Unable to match my “me-ness” to their “expected-ness”
Falling short of a goal I never knew I had
I.Was.
Functioning in the realm of: “You tell me who I be”
So I can morph and take on that burden
That title
That personhood
Identity

Of … The kid with the annoying voice so I’m self-conscious
Of … The kid with the crooked jaw so I’m never filmed
Of … The kid who acts white – so I get gully!
Of … The kid who has health issues others can’t see so I deem myself a liar
Of … The kid who is molested and simply wants their power back
Of …

The kid.
Who looks at a baby picture and longs to reset
To be born-again
Made pure-again
Receive life for the first time, through the lungs
{inhale}
Lady. You’ve got the wrong person.

It’s not me.

But after me there were men.

Jaz-Men

Yet,

I am still woman
woman
woman
woman
woman
wo-MAN

I have historically been charicterized as
woe to the Man
fathomed
as a threat to the Kingdom
Eve

so I am silenced.

I am woman hear me MOAN.
…but only if youre lucky.

Underestimate the power
entrusted within me
by the creator that be
the greatest

he (or maybe she)
gave me
twin ova-ries
to develop mini life spirits inside my —

Gut.

I am woman hear me Moan.
&
you
will NOT silence me
purely because I am she
I will speak. Loud
& Audibly

before I was human
before I was american
before I was black
before the doctor slapped my butt to make me cry
I was a woman
& this is my plight

Woe! To the man
who silenced the voice
The woman, she speaks.
in whispers
in silence

I will speak, she says.
& not just when spoken to

I am
not your punching bag
I am
more than your sex toy
I am
the smartest in the room
& I’m sick of dumbing myself down.

I have a voice.

Before I was born I was a woman
& you judged me

Weak.Inferior. Subsurvient. Emotional.
Weak.Inferior. Subsurvient. Emotional.
Weak.Inferior. Subsurvient. Emotional.
Weak.Inferior. Subsurvient. Emotional.

Wise.

I am
the smartest in the room
& I’m sick of dumbing myself down.

Even through emaculent conception
The Creator used me
My,
twin ovaries
Now,
you choose to misuse me?

Woe! To the man
who brings hurt upon God’s kingdom

I am no Vic-Tim

Not by him
Not by he

I am she

before I was spirit
before I was egg
before I was fetus I
I was named
queen.

by him.

Allah.

I got that feeling that
I’m being watched
daps or sullied soul claps
(all the same)
feel the cool breeze from my wing flaps

I’m Flyyyyyy

her royal Flyyness to be exact.

and I vowed never to perform another negative piece
because all the worlds a stage and I’m just another speck on it
that’s gone viral
I’ve been N’spyred
Received a vision
accepted the torch
now I’m going to RUN FOREST! RUN!
until I can’t run no more.
spreading positive vibes and smiles
until my heart don’t beat no more
silence Me
and my actions will STILL speak louder than words

I will blaze a trail
Lift as I climb
You ain’t never met a visionary with faith and determination
as cold as mine!

positivity .

This brief act creates a moment of fragility where the subject unkowingly enters the fight of their life with an invisible object that simply will not go away. The web aims directly for the face. Despite years of graceful flailing, the silky strands of doom seem to temporarily cut off air restriction as they wrap around your nose and lips.

No one can help you.

As onlookers watch empathetically (with stifled giggles) all you can say is, “Watch out, there’s a spider’s web,” as you pretend to pick remnants of it off your arms. However we both know, you destroyed it.

The WEB Effect:

Once an individual becomes aware of the world within the world, it is akin to a veil being lifted from their eyes which cannot be glued back on.

I have just summarized the philosophy of The Veil in “The Soul of Black Folk” by great thinker (philosopher) W.E.B DuBois.

Let’s revisit our individual with the Spider’s Web attack!
After enough attacks this person may begin to change their outlook, and start to see the not so hidden world of spiders. This world is perfectly visible, and coincides with ours. It’s up to him/her what is done with the new sensory information.

They may:
a) Knock all webs down
b) Walk around them
c) Become spiderman

The point is: Once the veil is off, no matter the subject, you cannot put it back on. Many don’t know they are wearing a veil while others are too intimidated to live in the new world they see after it’s been removed.

Which are you?

Needing to
Do
Updates
Every
Fifteen
or you’ll get the *hits pipe…long draw*
Wheeeeeeew!

Twitter shivers

See you’ll do anything to feel relevant
And
You have to click refresh every:
9
No
No
7…-5
Seconds
Or you just (exhale)

Fall on the ground

And when you hear your phone go
BEEP!
You rush
No you run.
Hun.
You ain’t even gotta do that because it never leaves your left hand
Like an i-v needle
and
there you are

See youve got to have the best app
that
Can update
Twitter
and
Facebook
and
Foursquare
and
Shit, I don’t even know the rest.
All at once so everyone know where you be
Like we even give a got damn
Fuck
Because in your mind you a…

Ce-leb-ra-TEA!

And when we see you in public
You
Think you really relevant
Because you live in this cloud
This invisible bubble in the sky
And to you,
That’s life.

But again:
You a social medi junkie.

And for you,
You drippin swagoo
And somehow the @ sign serves as a
Shoe print
For proof
That your followers
They really follow behind you

WHEW!
I think I just slipped
Better mop it up… (with an unfollow)

But I think they’re just bots

Did you just
count your
Follower
to
Following ratio?
You did.

I think (4x)
I thought
I went to an event
And I saw you standing there
Social media needle cocked

And while I was enjoying life
You
Weren’t even cognizant
No
You WERE really aware but not truly present
Your mind was in the clouds
THE cloud.
The stratosphere

And you better beware
Because it can get
POPPED!!
At any moment
And you’ll come crashing to reality
With..
a..
thump..

See you a social media junkiEE
And
One day you’re not gonna be able to get that hit
Because your phone is gonna die
And your computer might crash
And
Well…..
You can’t borrow mine

alllow me to expell some myths for you
expand your mind
for a second or two

stop allowing people to tell you that
THEY have to break you down
to
build you back up.
who are these people
and
why do you have to be broken down

I believe
you should never allow anyone to
break – you -down
and
with – what
and what are they putting in you
and why
and
how exactly do they intend to build you

do THEY know how to build a strong black woman
who’se to say they are even built at all
or
you aren’t built higher

who – are – They

again
I came here to dispel a few myths

there is no recipe
no instruction book
no manual
but I can give you a few tips

some ingredients

you need a few mentors:
not 1, not 2, not 3
but 4 at least
in all the areas you forsee
you want to be

you need to
humble yourself and find humility
and that
may take a few years but
you need to…
listen (x5)
to the voices of the past
and echo their footsteps

because the blueprints of your life have already been written
before you
so stop copy-cat-TING

if there was no need for you
then God wouldn’t have created you
Because you already have a unique purpose
so baby girl
just keep your blinders on
and run your own race

and there will be imitators
and there will be challengers
and there will be people spy-ting you
and there will be people coming against you
and there will be plotters
and deceivers
and liars
and people will hurt your feelings
and people will knock you down

and you will get knocked to the ground
but you just have to keep your blinders on
and run your own race
and seek your own goals
and your own milestones
and baby girl
take time to
pat yourself on the back.

because it’s your own life

and remember
only you can build you

with God’s help.

but there will be people around you.

who will help you
who will build you
who will give you the tools you need to

help you
and either you’re going to take them
or
you’re not

and if you don’t
you’ll stay unfinished longer

and that’s on you.

because the only one who can build you,
is you.
and it’s your life’s journey

you just gotta be ready

see you gotta protect your mind too
because
your mind is sacred
and that’s your safe place
that’s where everything begins
the place where all actions start
is
your mind

and
you have to see it before you can achieve it
and
you have to believe it before you can see it
and
you have to visualize it before you can believe it

…someone has to plant the seed
who’se it gonna be…

surround yourself (2x)
and
protect your circle
keep your circle tight

and I’ll be the first to say that you only have 2-3 friends
that don’t mean that everyone is out to get you
it just means
you have
2 to 3 FRIENDS

youre not finished yet.

the sooner you recognize
that, your constantly in the oven baking and
you’re building is never all the way complete and
you’re actually a

Temple and
self-esteem is different than self-worth and
different lessons such as these

you’ll find yourself entering into
states of self reflection
where you
begin to review the game tapes of your life

when
and
only
when
you can find peace within the storm to stop and think
you’re on the right path

Baby Girl,
I can’t tell you How To Build a Strong Black Woman

I can dispel some myths
and some rumors
I can pass on some tips I’ve learned along the way

I can stand before you in my transparency
so you can see my dings and cuts
unfinished raw edges.

Although I’m unfinished just like you
I can tell I’m sturdy as hell
and no one
upon
no one
is going to knock me
all the way down

Dedicated To: The Sisters of Ujima at Univerisity of Central Missouri

It has occurred to me that I have gotten lazy with my pie in the sky I deem www.jaztaylor.com – I no longer give you nuggets of information. All you have been receiving is poetry poetry POETRY! I apologize…

So here’s a quick rant followed by some helpful info:

Pirated music hit the scene on a large scale around the year 2000 (based on personal memories). Thanks to various unnamed websites, users no longer go searching for individual songs and end up with broken links. [they] now have the ability to download complete albums with the click of one button. God Bless Technology

In the age of “Racks on Racks” while “Going Hammer” I wonder if anyone out there is geeky enough to have the desire to load their tablet/smartphone with eBooks obtained free of charge.

A … Geeky Pirate.

Slap yourself silly if you are more interested in free music than a simpler way to read (No lugging books around & No pesky book light). I would cry tears of joy if I heard people excited about what new books they copped vs. a new album/bootleg DVD.

I don’t believe in bitching unless you have a solution, so… here are resources on receiving free eBooks!

Your Local Library - Check online, Many rent eBooks & Audiobooks

Barnes & Noble/Nook/Amazon/Google Books - Free eBooks are posted, it simply takes sifting to find good ones! Often the free ones are classic novels, however I often find great business & self-help books. In college I found some books for [philosophy] class using these resources.

4shared.com - You have to love free file sharing, ARGH!!! *adjusts pirate hat*

1. Click: Books
2. In search box Type: “The”
3. Drop down box, Type of File: pdf
4. Click: Search

You don’t have to go through step 3, however downloading pdf versions ensure the file will work across 99.9% of the platforms you will be loading it on to. Additionally, they have the chapter sections you like & if you feel like converting them to ePub or another format, you can!

Happy Reading!

Esquire & Jaz Taylor Present:

“The Evolution of Jaz: A Literary Experience”

Sunday, August 21st

at

Poetic Notes

Qudos Cigar Bar & Lounge

1116 Grand Blvd

Show Starts at 8:30pm/$5.00 Cover