IN ESSENCE

One Muffled strain in the Silent South, 

a jarring chord and a vague and 

uncomprehended cadenza has been and still is the Negro.  

And of that muffled chord, the one mute 

and voiceless note has been 

the sadly expectant Black Woman...

The "other side" has not been represented by one who "lives there." 

And not many can more sensibly realize 

and more accurately tell the weight and 

the fret of the "long dull pain" than the open-eyed but 

hitherto voiceless Black Woman of America.  

As our Caucasian barristers are not to blame 

if they cannot quite put themselves in the dark man's place, 

neither should the dark man be wholly expected fully 

 and adequately to reproduce the exact 

Voice of the Black Woman.

Anna Julie Cooper,
A VOICE from the SOUTH (1892)

HuGHeS HYPE - FREEDOM's PLOW

Freedom's Plow

When a man starts out with nothing,
When a man starts out with his hands
Empty, but clean,
When a man starts to build a world,
He starts first with himself
And the faith that is in his heart-
The strength there,
The will there to build.

First in the heart is the dream-
Then the mind starts seeking a way.
His eyes look out on the world,
On the great wooded world,
On the rich soil of the world,
On the rivers of the world.

The eyes see there materials for building,
See the difficulties, too, and the obstacles.
The mind seeks a way to overcome these obstacles.
The hand seeks tools to cut the wood,
To till the soil, and harness the power of the waters.
Then the hand seeks other hands to help,
A community of hands to help-
Thus the dream becomes not one man’s dream alone,
But a community dream.
Not my dream alone, but our dream.
Not my world alone,
But your world and my world,
Belonging to all the hands who build.

A long time ago, but not too long ago,
Ships came from across the sea
Bringing the Pilgrims and prayer-makers,
Adventurers and booty seekers,
Free men and indentured servants,
Slave men and slave masters, all new-
To a new world, America!

With billowing sails the galleons came
Bringing men and dreams, women and dreams.
In little bands together,
Heart reaching out to heart,
Hand reaching out to hand,
They began to build our land.
Some were free hands
Seeking a greater freedom,
Some were indentured hands
Hoping to find their freedom,
Some were slave hands
Guarding in their hearts the seed of freedom,
But the word was there always:
Freedom.

Down into the earth went the plow
In the free hands and the slave hands,
In indentured hands and adventurous hands,
Turning the rich soil went the plow in many hands
That planted and harvested the food that fed
And the cotton that clothed America.
Clang against the trees went the ax into many hands
That hewed and shaped the rooftops of America.
Splash into the rivers and the seas went the boat-hulls
That moved and transported America.
Crack went the whips that drove the horses
Across the plains of America.
Free hands and slave hands,
Indentured hands, adventurous hands,
White hands and black hands
Held the plow handles,
Ax handles, hammer handles,
Launched the boats and whipped the horses
That fed and housed and moved America.
Thus together through labor,
All these hands made America.

Labor! Out of labor came villages
And the towns that grew cities.
Labor! Out of labor came the rowboats
And the sailboats and the steamboats,
Came the wagons, and the coaches,
Covered wagons, stage coaches,
Out of labor came the factories,
Came the foundries, came the railroads.
Came the marts and markets, shops and stores,
Came the mighty products moulded, manufactured,
Sold in shops, piled in warehouses,
Shipped the wide world over:
Out of labor-white hands and black hands-
Came the dream, the strength, the will,
And the way to build America.
Now it is Me here, and You there.
Now it’s Manhattan, Chicago,
Seattle, New Orleans,
Boston and El Paso-
Now it’s the U.S.A.

A long time ago, but not too long ago, a man said:
ALL MEN ARE CREATED EQUAL--
ENDOWED BY THEIR CREATOR
WITH CERTAIN UNALIENABLE RIGHTS--
AMONG THESE LIFE, LIBERTY
AND THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS.
His name was Jefferson. There were slaves then,
But in their hearts the slaves believed him, too,
And silently too for granted
That what he said was also meant for them.
It was a long time ago,
But not so long ago at that, Lincoln said:
NO MAN IS GOOD ENOUGH
TO GOVERN ANOTHER MAN
WITHOUT THAT OTHER’S CONSENT.
There were slaves then, too,
But in their hearts the slaves knew
What he said must be meant for every human being-
Else it had no meaning for anyone.
Then a man said:
BETTER TO DIE FREE
THAN TO LIVE SLAVES
He was a colored man who had been a slave
But had run away to freedom.
And the slaves knew
What Frederick Douglass said was true.

With John Brown at Harper’s Ferry, Negroes died.
John Brown was hung.
Before the Civil War, days were dark,
And nobody knew for sure
When freedom would triumph
"Or if it would," thought some.
But others new it had to triumph.
In those dark days of slavery,
Guarding in their hearts the seed of freedom,
The slaves made up a song:
Keep Your Hand On The Plow! Hold On!
That song meant just what it said: Hold On!
Freedom will come!
Keep Your Hand On The Plow! Hold On!
Out of war it came, bloody and terrible!
But it came!
Some there were, as always,
Who doubted that the war would end right,
That the slaves would be free,
Or that the union would stand,
But now we know how it all came out.
Out of the darkest days for people and a nation,
We know now how it came out.
There was light when the battle clouds rolled away.
There was a great wooded land,
And men united as a nation.

America is a dream.
The poet says it was promises.
The people say it is promises-that will come true.
The people do not always say things out loud,
Nor write them down on paper.
The people often hold
Great thoughts in their deepest hearts
And sometimes only blunderingly express them,
Haltingly and stumblingly say them,
And faultily put them into practice.
The people do not always understand each other.
But there is, somewhere there,
Always the trying to understand,
And the trying to say,
"You are a man. Together we are building our land."

America!
Land created in common,
Dream nourished in common,
Keep your hand on the plow! Hold on!
If the house is not yet finished,
Don’t be discouraged, builder!
If the fight is not yet won,
Don’t be weary, soldier!
The plan and the pattern is here,
Woven from the beginning
Into the warp and woof of America:
ALL MEN ARE CREATED EQUAL.
NO MAN IS GOOD ENOUGH
TO GOVERN ANOTHER MAN
WITHOUT HIS CONSENT.
BETTER DIE FREE,
THAN TO LIVE SLAVES.
Who said those things? Americans!
Who owns those words? America!
Who is America? You, me!
We are America!
To the enemy who would conquer us from without,
We say, NO!
To the enemy who would divide
And conquer us from within,

We say, NO!


FREEDOM!
BROTHERHOOD!
DEMOCRACY!
To all the enemies of these great words:
We say, NO!

A long time ago,
An enslaved people heading toward freedom
Made up a song:
Keep Your Hand On The Plow! Hold On!
The plow plowed a new furrow
Across the field of history.
Into that furrow the freedom seed was dropped.
From that seed a tree grew, is growing, will ever grow.
That tree is for everybody,
For all America, for all the world.
May its branches spread and shelter grow
Until all races and all peoples know its shade. 

KEEP YOUR HAND ON THE PLOW! 

HOLD ON!

Langston Hughes

NOW...you knew Better

No one ever likes to hear that. 

Those were the words that kept reverberating through my head this evening as my Brother-from-Anotha' KING, regaled me with the tales of his last OLD Lover...and the Phone Apps.  As he pulled futher on the newly wrapped blunt, the whole sordid tale of their past year flowed out.  If you think I can't hold water, Anton is POROUS!!! LoL

That said,  with every detail, it was clear to me that my initial reservations about Levi's age were warranted...just not in the way I expected.  I am certain, as I heard in his resolve this morning...as Levi whimpered and begged in the background for "his things"...was resolve.  At some point YOU DO GET TIRED of being unappreciated and taken advantage of ...MisUnderstood and often Mistreated because of that.

Anton...KING, has the kind of heart that is open because he knows how to LOVE, just may not be the strongest judge of character, which is where he...we can get caught.  It is safe to say that the time has come to an end...for games. Basically, King is caught-up in some classic FAG SHIT...ATL FAG SHIT to boot!  He needs to get out of there...move on.  I am pushing for the West Coast and am confident that his energy will be better served with a bit more room to breath.

That said, we are both experience situations that...slap us with the reality of living as we do now.  Rather...keep on growing and knowing, because we do...KNOW!

Time to take it down, but TIME IS NOW.  That is clear.  From every indication we are set to Thelma and Louse it across country...with every intention to set-up home on the Left Coast in the coming year.

Bonne Chance mon Frere.  I am now clearing the crazy for crystallizing my plan.

Wow...THIS is Happening - Growth, shedding, evolution, Our respect truths and realities unearthing themselves to us.  Funny thing we realized, while KING was telling me about his Dreams/Visions - We knew all along, at least we could have...had we just paid attention.

B-R-E-A-T-H-E

I have to do JUST that so many times...as of late...determined to find the beauty in these twists and turns.  As for KING.  He is resiliant and shall persevere.  Like him, LIFE is calling on me to be REAL about my REALITY.

I am listening. 

 I AM READY.

and so is he.

Merci Beaucoup

Je vais Fatigue

I am waaaaay too tired to be as introspective as I desire, however I would be remiss if I didn't record the...feeling of the day - EASE.

It is my first Sunday, after a FULL week - complete with international friends' Fashion presentations, dinners out with self and buddies, as well as new-roomie adjustment stuff!!!
All in all...I am spent.  Never mind the cold, drip showers, the insomnia and anxiety around every day that I am working in an office again.  I am at a loss for just where I stand on the idea of "Making This...IT Happen," while intriguing...that is a part of my past.  I could not simply assist, but feel certain that the only suitable position of for me would some sort of editor-at-large.

Too Tired to TRULY think about that!!!

What I can say is...I have got to find a way to get some rest while I'm here...finish my work and move on.

 Bonne Nuit.

En Plus Demain Soir...D'accord!?!

CRISP in

Casely-Hayford

[http://www.casely-hayford.com/]

Re DRESSING

 Day to Evening 

BOATENG

[ http://www.ozwaldboateng.co.uk/]

A Man-CHILD ain't Safe in a City FULL of Men's!!!

Ah yes the kids are bopping  along...dancing down and up...up and down the street...in heat...to the tune of an almost ANNUAL outbreak of some NEW strain of some OLD Condition/DISEASE, each MORE DEADLY than the last.

According to my physician there is a new strain of Meningitis going around the Gay/SGL Community...spread via hookups borne from on-line sex sites and/or the current wave of phone (iPhone/Android) apps availability for hook-ups.  He sat, sad-faced and red...running down a laundry list of "source-sites" - Adam 4 Adam, Manhunt, BBRT, GayRomeo to GRINDR and the like...JACK'd...;-).  Needless to say my smile only broadened as his list lengthened.  Just this morning I sat trying to look at a profile on one of those sites, only to find my account FREE and restricted....on some things.  Just this morning I sat looking at this screen thinking how much time I'd wasted on it...supposedly preparing my next steps.

The TIME IS NOW and I continue to try to wrap my mind around the messages being placed in my path as I excavated each twist and turn...or I can act on them.  I am astounded at the clarity with which the messages now come.  There is a very clear message being communicated.   In this case, this clarity brings about analysis and resolution.  The resolution has very much to do with just how I will be ...just what my BODY will be doing and just how I want to be portrayed going into the and through the circumstance.

One never knows just who he is going to encounter...and how!!!  I continue 2 marvel at the progression that I am able to make...despite not being able...to be the OLD ME.  It is cool.  SCARED STRAIGHT has a completely new meaning.  lol

Ahhh...the harsh reality of living in the city.  I am celibate by choice and kept there By the Current State of Affairs...playing out within my community.

It is most certainly a scary space to be in.  GUIDE MY FEET...Please!

To the brothers...PLEASE BE CAREFUL.

A Man-CHILD ain't Safe in a City FULL of Men's!!!

I walk this city now, purely as an anthropologist - quietly observing and absorbing the goings and cummings of my designated group of study.  I feel a sizable disconnect now...in this space known as NYC.  This ALIEN Plan...BUBBLE I inhabit has gone from Place of RestnPlay...to Petri Dish.  This mix of bodies, scents, funk, attitude, angst, emotion, actions, tension, exploration, explanation and resolution finds me an active observer, where before I was an active participant.  In the interest of my own personal safety and help, INactivity works.  I do not have to fear, as long as I do NOT act.  [ This is just how a number of my friends negotiated the period I liked to call my Formative Years.  I used to laugh at that fear.  I used to mock there want for assuming that they could be "safe" and extend their sexual and social life by being wary.  If IT is going to get you THEN IT is going to GET YOU!  Until then, enjoy.]

I am not certain that determining at 41 to alter one's activity works but there is a certain part of me wants to see, feel, hear, smell, live, LOVE, Learn and SEX ...San Fran!!!  Until then, I am content to carry-on in the current state with NYC.  I am not certain that I can improve upon in this city while I am here...in terms of my community.  However, I do know that I can use those tools I have at my disposal to keep us abreast of just what is going on in and around us.

A Dream's A Dream...and I'm WISHING A STAR.

Soul II Soul...

Brother 2 Brother

...Let's get it together.  

I am afraid...for the first time EVER in NYC.  I hate that.  I hate that we have evolved into...cultivated and curated a sexual/social landscape that I can no longer be part of.  I am certain somewhere there is a wicked irony to all of this...with a bit of a Giggle for good measure.  Even I have to smirk about it.  That said, it makes for yet another way my time in NYC THIS TRIP is to be addressed, while MY NYC experience is RE-Dressed.