On September 27, 2018, I had the honor of performing a set of poetry for the community funding organization Vallejo Soup at the Vallejo People’s Garden. This is the poem I wrote for them. A Recipe for a Better World Take a dash of love, a cup of cooperation, stir together with some unity, and invite the whole community. Multiple chefs don’t spoil this soup. The more the merrier on this island of the mare. So boldly we dare proclaim that together we can! Together we can build the world we want, raise one another up, hold one another, stand up for each other. Together we can. Together we can do…
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Vallejo Together
I performed the following poem as part of the Vallejo Poetry Showcase at Unity Day 2018. View the video here. Vallejo Together Here in a city of many faiths, of many peoples from many lands both near and far, a kaleidoscope of folks, speaking a tapestry of languages that ring out in harmony across our beautiful city, as strangers become friends, all together, holding hands, under a smiling sun, we come together. We are forever tethered by these city streets from the bridges in the south to the highways heading north from the hills in the east to the waters of the west we are populated by people so sweet,…
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Vallejo Unity Day 2018
The following poem was written by individuals who visited the Vallejo Poet Laureate booth at Unity Day 2018. Vallejo Unity Day 2018 Community Poem Community unity is a beautiful thing. We all are so different, but fight for the same dream. Unity & Equality Brotherhood & Sisterhood Peace & love Unity is the cycle of our lives. Breathe in and out to the end. Love. Happiness. Peace. It is a beautiful life! Bug. Isang bagsak! When we stand together, no one can sit by and ignore us! We all need restorative justice and practice it until repetition becomes easy and forgiveness doesn’t take 20 years or more. Unity – a…
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Two poems for National Poetry Month 2018
I had the honor of performing among a group of super talented fellow poets in Benicia, CA for “Why Poetry?” and Fairfield, CA for “Why Poetry Matters” for National Poetry Month to support two good causes: The Joel Fallon Poetry Scholarship and Solano County Library Foundation Literacy Programs. The poem “Libraries Ignite Universes” was written for the Solano County Library system and was originally published on their Facebook page earlier this month, and is in my new book Resting on My Laurels. The poem Why Poetry Matters I wrote for the Fairfield event. I read both of these in Benicia, and then again in Fairfield as part of a larger…
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Participatory Budgeting Poem
PB Poem This fine city of Vallejo is giving us a choice in the way things go with a budget that is of the people. We get to choose where our taxes get spent, making for more efficient government. If you want to help our kids, the art scene, and homeless folks, too, fix the roads, improve our parks, well, this is what you got to do! The choice comes around every year. Your voice is heard by city hall. It’s absolutely your call! If you’re at least fourteen, living in Vallejo, step on up, and participate in this scene. Get out and vote, then if you want to you…
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Penguin’s Prayer
Today Lee Lee, Erika, Diana Tenes, Lady D and I went on the Art Beat show on OZCAT for what shall be the first of many poetry radio shows. The next poetry show will be broadcast at 10 AM Pacific on April 5th featuring Benicia Poet Laureate Johanna Ely and several other Benicia Poets. Future shows will be May 3, June 28, and third Thursdays thereafter. If you are on a computer with Internet Explorer, you can listen to the archive here. The poetry starts about 30 minutes into the broadcast. I read “Penguin’s Prayer” along with “Headline Antidote.” Penguin’s Prayer Over caffeinated insomniacs, dreaming, dancing prayers, singing prophets, jiving…
