SOMEBODY START THE CAR...HOW COME U AIN'T GOT THE CAR STARTED YET!?...

Travel
by "OBSIDIAN!!!" [Excerp from "This Eye of Mine" c. 2007]

So, when eye'm feeling
the gloom & eye'm lost
in my room...

Eye put on my tunes
& let my mind travel
-Travel

Eye let my mind travel

So, when eye'm feeling
the gloom & eye'm stuck
in the room...

When the thick of it
unfurls & my head's
in a whirl...

When my life starts 2 unravel

Eye put on my tunes
& let my mind unravel
Eye let my mind travel
-Travel

Petite Mall
by"OBSIDIAN!!!!" [Excerp from "Zen is Now" c. 1991]



sitting on a fallen throne
under the high vaulted dome
in the center of the universe
staring off into forever pushing back into
never the time traveler's machinery
through painful futures and forgotten
sceneries the machinery of the mind
the tear stained eyes the window
through time

back to glorious kingdoms since crumbled to
dust and abandoned futures since
weathered to rust under the shadowy canopies
whose faith in i have long since crushed and erased
and memories of the friends i've destroyed
habits i've embraced
in the futile games we've employed
knowing that while we shook hands
we strayed from our glorious
plans to rule the world

pushing back i come
to the here and now the petite mall's over
and some how all that's found is the noisy chatter of
a million commuters the plaintive
cry of a guitar burst and i descend from
this curse to a wooden throne under a high vaulted
dome of grand central terminal
the center of the universe…

SING!: "OH, I MISS THE KISS OF TREACHERY...THE SHAMELSS KISS OF VANITY...THE SOFT & THE BLACK & THE VELVETRY TIGHT AGAINST THE SIDE OF ME"-THE CURE

Tainted Heart
by "OBSIDIAN!!!" [Excerp from "Zen is Now" c. 1991]



there's a place/in my heart/i cannot touch/deep as the depths of the largest sea/tender as a freshly opened wound/hidden from view/and for all intent and purposes/not/i laugh when it aches/sigh/at the memory/curse the day it was formed/all the while outside of me/i cry out in joyfulness/for the bleeding heart/and the stained memories

I WAS LOST BUT NOW I AM FOUND...

THE WANDERER
by "OBSIDIAN!!!" [Excerp from "Zen is Now" c.1978]



Every man has a home
Even lions a place to roam
'Birds have nest and fox have den'
To shelter them from the stalking winds

When the sun dies down
Our friendly fire's gone
To their homes they all return
Until the dawn

When the land's so quiet
You can hear a crawler's step
Look to the horizon and see my silhouette

Because i'm a wanderer
That’s what i am
I have no family
Like the inconceivable wind
I'm free

I have no certain destiny
A reason or a rhyme
Like the sands of the sea
And the redwood trees
I keep no track of time

By the sun's horizon you'll find me
I'm there everyday
Watching the sun rise up
And watching it fade away
Watching it fade away
And watching it come
From it's humble descent
To it's equilibrium

Because i'm a wanderer
That’s what i am
I have no family
Like the inconceivable wind
Like a mist of a thought
Foggy and thin
…Like the inconceivable wind
I'm free…
I'm free…
I'm free…

LIGHT UP YA'LL!!...

Ganga
by "OBSIDIAN!!!" [Excerp from "Zen is Now" C. 1991]



I wanna riff
upon a spliff
and catch a whiff
of a fat seed
loosely rolled ganga

‘behold the herbs!’
it calms the nerves
and makes you wanna
…manga!

why you be so face-teey
when you can get lay-waist-eey
when you light this hemp seed
fat ganga-mon
get iree!

don't you past that fat
spliff by me
'cause I wanna pull it strong
and let my hair grow long
and praise Almighty Jah
for the Rasta!

Fer-I
want to touch the sky
and get so bump-a-clod high
off my fat seed
loosely rolled ganga…

YO!...THIS IS ABOUT MA PEEPS!!...

MY PEOPLE

by "OBSIDIAN!!!" [Excerp from "Zen is Now" c. 1995]



My people are a people with creases in their face
My people are a shunned and despised race
My people have hands that are callused and worn
My people taste the first strokes upon
Their bronze backsides the moment they were born
My people are a restless and agitated sea
My people taught the first sciences to humanity
My people have a vacant and far away look in their eyes
My people long ago were expelled from paradise
From paradise lost to paradise regained?
My people can't even remember their name
Though there are traces of remembrance in the songs they sang
Of lost civilizations…
Greater than Atlantis
Greater than Lemuria
My people came from Kush before it was called Africa
My people mined and smelted immeasurable gold
My people were the ancient biblical 'men of old'
My people carried the Ark of the Covenant long before Moses was born
But now my people's hands are callused and worn
Some say that from the ashes we shall be reborn
Some say that like the sun in its glory
We shall rise again like the dawn
Some say when from the darkened pages of history
The thin light of hope is torn
Then you shall see my people rise…
Then you shall see my people rise…
YOU SHALL SEE MY PEOPLE RISE!
…RISE!!

JUST A THOUGHT...

ZEN IS NOW

by "OBSIDIAN!!!" [Excerp from "Zen is Now" c. 1999]



It's moment's like these
…it's moments like these!
that causes me to wonder
could there ever really have
been a paradise

It's moments like these
coursing through the leaves
that causes me to wonder
could there be a third life
after having died twice

Laughing invincibly
i pass the crack addicts
laying on the streets and
in the alleyways in the lurch

While several lost souls
among them file listlessly
into the backdoor of some
sweaty baptist church

It's moments like these
while in vain on bended
knees i wonder

am i really the

master of my universe?

I FEEL THE HUNGER...

THIRSTY

by "OBSIDIAN!!!" [Excerp from "This Eye of Mine" c. 2006]

eye'm thirsty
for my cherokee soul
and my cherokee soul
is thirsty for me...

good-bye western road
good-bye yellow brick
sea my name is now
'LongRiver' trying to trace
the ways of trees

scrying to trace the
path of the wind by
the river front as
the river front bends

trying to trace the
meaning of the words
scrying to hear voices
unheard which pass through
the branches of the trees

by the river front
standing by the shores
of the river front
standing by the shores
of the long riverride
home...

IN SEARCH OF LIGHT!!...

Initiation
by "OBSIDIAN!!!' [Excerp from "Zen is Now" c. 1995]



Let his name be cursed in crowds!
Let his name be banished from among mankind!
Let the fair memory of his youthful days be stricken from the scrolls!
Let the mere sight of him provoke jeers and profanities!
Let him be despised and shunned!
Let the mentioning of his name be made along with curses and sighs!
Let stones be thrown at him at the mere sight of his presence!
Let darkness follow him wherever he shall roam
Darkness and thick gloom!

Let his path be made crooked and full of obstacles!
Let the day that he was born and came forth into the world be cursed!
CURSE BE THAT DAY!! [spit!]
Curse it and strike it from the scrolls!
Let the wild beast of the fields and the jackals follow him in pursuit wherever he May go!
Along with sickness and a great malady!
Let it be his portion all the days under the sun!
Let the works of his hands be damned!

Let his prayers be an exhalation!
And his thoughts be annihilation!
And let a desolation be his reward along with strong condemnation!
And when he dies let the maggots consume his flesh
Let his soul be captured in a mesh!
Damned him to the hottest of hells!

…and now
let him be initiated
let him be brought forth
into the light of day
and be made anew

BISMILLAH HE RAHMAN NER RAHIM...

The Ghaib!
by "OBSIDIAN!!!" [Excerp from "Zen is Now" c.1991]



woe to all the
dunya of this world!

before Allah the ghaib
unfurls

and mankind who's time
was limited by his decrees

drops to his knees
while dhikering with strings
of pearls
and even sulyman
{allayhee salam}

caused the Jinn to dive and
to toil the land
in their task
erecting strong columns
and majestic arches
with knowledge
while before him they
made flow a sea of brass

but when sulyman
fell down before their eyes
none of the Jinn could
avert his demise

even the strong ifrit
who transfered the throng
of Belquis couldn't change
the moment for sulyman that
Allah had decreed

he fell down before them
with his staff
and all the Jinn were freed

and have you not any
knowledge of how
Allah has divided the sea

and made a barrier between
the salty and the sweet
and a division between the
night and the day

and a decision between the
guided and the astray
and on that day
when the veil of
the ghaib shall be
stripped away
and all of this life shall
prove to be but an illusion
and the flames of hell
shall be the final conclusion
for all who doubted
the meeting with their lord

while upon the earth
vast treasures they stored
while laughing they
cast aside the fitra
from their minds
their faces shall be
darkened while the
righteous shall shine

and you too shall
fall down!
so prepare yourself
for the day when
you too shall fall down!

and on that day
when the veil of
the ghaib shall be
stripped away by the
leave of Allah
then you shall come
to know that your
lord was never that far…

MIND'S IN A WHIRLWIND...

Dust Motes
by "OBSIDIAN!!!" [Excerp fro, "Zen is Now" C. 1991]


alone i walked
down a cobblestone street
the rain washing the
sound of my feet
beating on the slippery pavement

delicate shafts of moonlight
break through between the
stalagmite overcast sky
the stars are distant shouts
behind murky clouds

my thoughts are murky
and brown like the
ale i consumed
in some smoke filled bar
i forgot the name of

my lover's gone
and i don't know why
she wouldn't say
she just stood there
in her oversized plaid sports jacket
stoically brooding
behind luminescent green eyes

the embers of a
once smoldering fire
dying out leaving them
in the gray ashes of
hazel patience

i stumble upon
a sidewalk curb
that the city officials
decided to raise

i stagger into the
belly of some darkened
alleyway and offset the
delicate ecological balance
of its nocturnal inhabitants
cats purr and rodents
noisily scamper away
their tails knocking loudly
against tin

i threw my head back
to drink the nurturing
milk of the murky stars
and ponder my lot in life
and ponder yours

just then an opportunistic wind
whips up the once unseen
dust motes around me
just then i

as i watched the whirlwind
eddies upon eddies
spinning about me
in some ancient dance

i finally understood
that we were only
two dust motes
whirled together
by the wind
and that it shall never
whirl us together again

TO HOBO BOB...

Ma Vodka Bottle
by "OBSIDIAN!!!" [Expcerp from "Zen is Now" c. 1992]



As long as it doesn't show
and as long as it doesn't fall out
i can endure the humiliation
of human dignity

As long as i don't slurp
when i draw
and as long as it doesn't
slip from my paw
when i hit the floor
i can enjoy the brief illusion
of serenity

As long as i don't run outta bills
and as long as i
can still make my way
to the liquor store up the hill
i aint gotta a’ member 'bout
my loneliness

As long as i can just
…keep it coming
THE HELL WITH THE NUMBING!
yeah…and the dumbing
i can have the thrill of
being real
and get to feel
my one and only-ness!
…Whoooh!!!

HICCUUUP!!!...

Prayer of the Drunk
by "OBSIDIAN!!!" [Excerop from "Zen is Now" c. 1990]



i will stagger
from the light
and will walk the walk
of the preternatural
i will have intimacy with vertigo
i will swear without fear of life
without shame of fear
i will speak in the tongue of the few
and reveal secrets
hidden deep inside of me
i shall make promises
that i shall forget
and break
make passionate love
and in the morning forsake you
and when i rise
i shall pray fervently
…to a god of porcelain!

Chances
by "OBSIDIAN!!!" [Excerp from "Zen is Now" c. 1985]



What are the chances of fire becoming ice?
What are the chances of snow becoming rain?
Being without you could never suffice
Knowing that I'll never see you again someday

What are the chances of us sweet moments again to share?
When I close my eyes I can still see you near
An east wind comes and blows your lovely hair
I reach for you only to see you disappear

What are the chances of fire becoming ice?
What are the chances of snow becoming rain?
Being without you could never suffice
Knowing that I'll never see you again someday

HEAD & EYES FORWARD U!!!...

AWOL
by "OBSIDIAN!!!" [Excerp from "Zen is Now" C. 2001]



"left
your left
your left right'ol left
right'ol left right left…"



i still hear the drill sergeant
shouting over my back
while i'm lying in the leaning rest
so where am i going to go now? ["group…a-ten-shun!"]

i still hear the rumble
of the M60 blasting away
while i'm low crawling in FTX
so where am i gonna go now? ["half-right-face!"]

i still feel the rope
tied around my waist
i'm repelling from a ranger tower
now the rope's around my neck

i still march in double time
singing cadences
like i'm out of my mind
with my boots blinking like the sun
so where am i gonna go next?

i'm standing in parade rest
while waiting in a Mc Donald's line
reciting my orders to myself
so what am i gonna do next? ["pre-sent-arms!"]

turn myself into levingsworth
figure out a way to do my time
for committing the crime
a second time
FTR vrs ETS

i still feel the heavy boot
of a sergeant resting on my back
as i'm lying in the leaning rest
cold sweat
as i stumble out of my bed ["or-der-arms!"]

i still see me
present
court marshal
in my class A's
standing at attention
eyes forward
with nothing to say

i should've loaded a magazine
locked and loaded an M16
selector switch from safe to semi
and put it right up to my head! ["ready-aim-fire!"]

i still hear two hundred soldiers
shouting, "death before dishonor!"
roger that
drill sergeant say,
'don't run away!'
you're better off being dead



"left
your left
your left right'ol left
right'ol left right left…"

SING!: "IF EYE ONLY HAD A HEART..."

Demise

"…it is acquired".

-LordLumiel The wise





This Heart of Mine

by "OBSIDIAN!!!" [Exerp from "Zen is Now" c. 2001]



chiseled from stone
at the side of some
tired mountain

dropped into the tired hands
of tired workers
down
the slope of a quiet
valley
floated upon waters
upon rafters across
a stream

fashioned by angry
hammers into a
recognizable shape
sanded and grinded
down into some
acceptable form

fitted into a multitude
of forms just like it

overthrown by Cyrus The Great
by Mehmed The 2nd
leveled by the relentless blast
of canons
overran by a myriad
enemy hordes

treaded
by sandaled feet
grounded into powder
dust under the sinking sun

then placed into a leather pouch
for keep sake by some victorious
warrior

HEED THE CALL!...

SCYTHIAN TRUMPETS
by "OBSIDIAN!!!" [Excerp from "Zen is Now" c. 1999]



Scythian trumpets
Scythian trumpets!

Blaring
in a wasteland that i
once called my home

Tracks of my forefather's fields overran
house of my god's overthrown
into the dust
where wheels of my chariot turns
slowly into rust

Blown away
with the faded echoes of children
once playing in the market places
sighs
of my daughter's disgraces
pressed into the cold bosoms of these
'wild men of the north'!

Fires
consuming all that my hands have wrought

Scythian trumpets
Scythian trumpets!
blaring
in a wasteland
that i
once called my home

SIGN-O-THE TIMES...

TOWER OF BABEL

by "OBSIDIAN!!!" [Excerpt from "Zen is Now" c. 2000]



Space shuttle's view: "Houston, the world's so
Small, while babylon's tower's looming tall!…"



Strike the stone!
strike the sand
the sun and the moon
the lines in your hand
a cool winter breeze and flame
laughter wild and untamed
the waxing moon
the shaded dune
eagle feathers
roaring lion's ruffled mane
saber tooth and pain
the pursed lip
the jagged cliff
the fatal slip
twisted hip
soil and stain
dark clouds
roaring crowds
thunder dome!
a shaman's bones ringing in a pan
the warning hand writing upon the wall
ozone's hole
field goal!
civilization's final fall
satellites
and meteorites
a yellow and weathered bible's pages flips
to the pages of the apocalypse!
while babylon's tower's looming tall…



Space shuttle's view: "Houston, the world's so
Small, while babylon's tower's looming tall!…"

REFLECTIONS...

IMAGES OF MY MIND
by "OBSIDIAN!!!" [Excerp from "Zen is Now" c. 1978]



When that charcoal coloured amber sun
burns slowly off the scene
i close my eyes to this world
and dream a dream
there images of you in my mind
ever seen so clear then disappear
when i gently caress your darkened hair
surprise and unaware is your response to me
while unspoken your eyes can calm the sea
when those waves of oblivion start to rise
you just touch them
and watch the sea subside
all of these images lie far behind
in those images of my mind
now i'm afraid to touch you
for fear i may be awaken
to find myself alone in my room
again with my heart shaken
so i'll just watch you off in a distance
and glad of this much
amazed at what can take place
in those images of my mind
i behold your face in the distance
untainted in its image
and untouched

ALL U NEED IS YO-SELF!!...

Resolved
by "OBSIDIAN!!!" [Excerp from "Zen is Now" c. 1999]



…i don't need your love
i have the architecture of the city streets!
bottle of booze by my feet
burning brand of a cigarette butt
to light my way through the night
stranger's embrace to set me upon a winged flight

…i don't need your love
i have the journey of a thousand years
within the wrinkled pages of a discarded book!
a stolen wink of a passerby
a flirtatious look
screeching sound of an ambulance
leaving tire tracks upon my life
got a switchblade knife to get me out of any strife
a busted paycheck to stretch me into next week
a box of pork fried rice and a token booth
to watch the freaks in a peak on the sneak

…i don't need your love
'cause i love myself!
yeah, i be in a corner store reading books on self-help
ride the D train from forty-duce to 212th
get caught out in the rain on 110th street just for my health
trying to make a magic genie beam me up
from delusions off rising from poverty to shameless wealth
i'm in a world all to myself!

like i said…
i don't need your love
or your pity
i got the license to be me
i got the license to be free!
…to roam the city