Triumph

Sometimes I like to look back to where I have been and map the progress of change and the bouts I have fought in the arena of life. I believe that this process is how we evolve as people and how the unexplained becomes explained. No matter what life has dealt us; if we are still here, we’ve prevailed.

By Charles Sapp II

The Sun’s tidal forces take over my body.

The Heavens and Earth hold dominion of my physical self.

My internal being shivers with recognition of loneliness and captivity,

until the awareness unthaws and breaks free from the molding of confinement.

The adventures of a new frontier await me,

as the sound of distant discoveries beckon my desires to investigate.

Eyes wide open in the dark,

scanning surfaces to detect a glimmer of hope, resting with inertia.

The strength of change,

emotionally transforms the human landscape as seasons approach,

where destiny reroutes its destination as we confirm truth from ideology.

My soul basks in nature’s light,

to absorb the current condition of existence

as it rains down with flash floods of awareness

where the weight of the world rests upon me.

At night the Moon consoles me;

she spotlights the key elements that make us dream

and leave the insignificant hidden in the dark.

The process leaves an open wound

and the reparation of mankind is symbolic to the healing.

I dive head first into the abyss of my body,

swimming deep to revive my drowned soul of the past

by breathing new hope and restoration of faith

into a body that has been beaten, bruised and cut by life.

My outer shell has toughened as my inner self has grown stronger.

Reality is what you make of it

and I realize that I am a hero to myself.

Sunrise and Sunset

I write this poem as I remember the passing of my mother exactly 5 years ago from yesterday. She played an integral part of my social awareness and sensitivity. My mother raised 3 wonderful children and even though she may not physically be here with us, but her spirit remains ever-present.

By Charles Sapp II

The Sun rises and sets early,

this day I especially remember you.

The horizon is visible because of you.

You have been the closest I’ve been to God.

From you I came to be,

and now without you, a piece remains within me.

The love you gave to me shall never cease and expire.

Your early departure has never shorted your wisdom shared.

The seeds sowed have grown to mature trees and a sapling that bears creative fruit.

Your passion thrives

as it courses through our veins.

Your material form may be no longer,

but the manifestation of you can be seen throughout all that is beautiful

and is reflected by the watchful eye of the moon at night.

You are my heavenly mother,

secured throughout eternity,

within memory we shall never forget you.

Truants

By Charles Sapp II

Those truant to the encompassing magnitude of tribunal gatherings,

where the world has spoken in unison.

As the perilous planet pirouettes through space,

beings cling to her surface with heads bowed with prayers of mercy.

The future has come,

what was told has been said;

what was written has been read.

Time’s translucent dictation of the past

and reoccurring present, will heed no more warnings.

The Earth has crumbled under the sheer weight of burden,

and trees have walked away with their roots.

The untamed wind hunts stealth with savage fierceness

and the tumultuous seas trespass the shore’s boundaries

in pursuit for vindication from unlawful treason.

The soil that has given birth to nameless children,

must now identify their selves.

The watchful eye of the Sun will now look away

as the Moon marks shame to the naked walkers of the night.

The planet will claim its independence as it existed before.

The world has spoken,

we have not listened,

evolution is in progress;

the delay is negligent

and time will not wait.

Love Offering

Picture taken on 8/2/08 Reservation Beach, Marina CA.

This is my hundredth post and I wanted to commemorate it with the parallel loves of my life which is my soon to be wife and my writing. My two loves have transcended my expression and experience, during the darkest moments in my life and allowed me to see the full picture; the purity of simplicity and the beauty of entirety which encompasses all with the grace of love.

By Charles Sapp II

I’ve solidified the rain and summoned the Sun’s presence,

showcasing the crystalline beauty of diamonds falling from the sky.

I’ve presented this offering of love

to the one that I love.

She teleported herself through the ether of dreams from the future,

six years of riding on memory’s back,

she made her way to my heart.

Full and complete she filled my mind with strength and will.

The ambient foreshadow of reunited energies,

coalesced into a fire to never become extinguished.

She delivered me Red-Hots in a heart bag, with the scent of Pearberry lotion

so I may never forget her scent.

My love plot thickens,

as I envision us walking the opalescent sands of distant destinations

to wed our fate and cherish humble beginnings

as our lives have transformed and journeyed thus far.

She is the enlightenment I’ve sought for,

her presence makes my soul complete.

Destiny watches with magnificence and pride,

as it resurrected something beautiful from an ugly past.

Receptive to her love,

I deliver her my trust and respect,

I bow to her grace and look deep into her eyes

and allow my soul to speak

as it recites my pledge, my testament, and my verse

throughout eternity’s lifetime.

Spirit Child

By Charles Sapp II

The spirit child

separating truth and wisdom with the sleight of tongue.

With the familiarity of attractive forces,

vaporous verses spewed from the lips of a hungry mouth,

summoning the creation of imagination with ghostly appearances.

In pursuit for love inhabited in the most inhospitable regions of the heart and mind;

the spirit child within lives.

The spirit is found in all,

the mystery of the subsequent is solved

by planting seeds of the future to procure our longevity.

The tight grasp of child's hands clasped into ours,

while awaiting the tide of change to rise;

wading in shallow waters,

feet become soaked as careful steps made towards the depths of the unknown.

The spirit child,

evokes the innocence and nourishment of love

within our co-existence concerning all matters of the heart.

The living verse spoken into existence and living breath inflating the lungs

while inquisitive nature hunts for answers as hunger propels the need for growth.

Remember the child’s comforting gaze,

transferring the strength and power we were once born with

as life is the adventure of acquired knowledge

and truth is the back-drop of its inspired essence.

Heroes & Heroines

By Charles Sapp II

Heroes and Heroines forgotten within the present,

to become remembered in time’s passing.

The ones that devoted their lives

for unification, harmony, and the good will of fate.

Repelled by the succumbing darkness that waves its hands

by dimming the light towards receptive spirits.

Heroes,

humble with accordance to nature;

battle the shallow beasts’ attempt to overturn the bouts of grace

with anguish and tumultuous tribulations of humanities insubordination.

Heroes that replenish the body of water

with open wounds pouring their life force in sacrifice to the source

that sustains the proliferation of tranquility and peace.

The face of mankind speaks with great fervor,

yet the language of action is felt by the commonality of faith

where truth outweighs the subterfuge of the few.

Galactic graves and constellation memorials ignite the skies with honor,

as the beauty of purity pervades the emptiness of lost hope

and fills the void of eternal despair,

mankind can reflect on those that evoked consciousness throughout history.

Heroes that paved the road to the future

encompassing global change,

environmental awareness,

human rights

and the preservation of beauty through human compassion.

Voice

I have pondered and reflected on the age of my writing and its process. I found that it was influenced greatly by various of my favorite writers and poets. I realized that my voice was a mirror of those that I aspired to be like. I was most influenced by those that had a knack to verbally paint pictures with descriptive ease and utilized the powerful imagery to motivate, inspire and reflect.

By Charles Sapp II

I’ve been searching for decades for my voice,

foreign and unfamiliar it has been.

My voice has been hidden beneath the layers of influence and inspiration,

found within the writers and poets of the past and present;

my identity was not of its own.

My voice

became the voice of Saul Williams’ spoken word that was heard from the distance

and echoed the whispers of Khalil Gibran and the words from the Prophet

and the Neon Vernacular of Yusef Komunyakaa illuminated my written verses.

The power of these writers and countless others have transformed my voice

and the development of heightened states of awareness.

My voice,

surfacing through the ages towards maturity

and conceptualized to define the soul and spirit of the collective,

My voice is merely the intertwined vocal intonations of self,

manifested through my predecessor’s dialectic wisdom.

My voice,

verbal with optimism as it reflects the surface of galactic waters,

and reverberates the serum of truth that pours out of each spirit encountered,

while journeying through the vocal cords of life.

My voice

has grown, enriched vision

with human awareness coalesced with cosmic concoctions

that speaks my words into existence.

My voice is the voice of humanity,

my voice is the soul that is buried deep within,

my voice has always been my voice,

made up of you and me.

Blackness

I was fortunate enough to watch the first part of the CNN Black in America special yesterday evening. It became my inspiration to write this poem and allowed me to reflect on my experiences as a Black man in America and in the world. Interesting enough the experience I had in the world speaks volumes to how Black is perceived and how it was established.


By Charles Sapp II


I was told that Black is the color of darkness

and represented by the negative nature that looms

in shadowed corners and dark alleyways.

They said Black is not beautiful,

but an ugly representation of ill fate

and the absence of the Sun in full gloom.

I was told that the word human is the derivative of a man with hue.

The complexion of culture symbolizes this true,

The Sun has not forgotten us,

the brilliance lies within the melanin.

I was told that my flesh does not determine how the world views me,

although the world blindly mistaken me

for having the mindset of centuries worth of castigated slaves

instilled with an inferior complex,

When spoken, my words undulate on deaf ears.

The Earth remembers

while the universe forgets as scars fade with time

and knowledge is the remedy for the future.

From what has been said and what I’ve been told,

spoken is the translated language of ignorance,

a language I cannot comprehend;

passed on by generations, its effects are evident.

The Black that I represent,

is in the unity of color

found in all human skin.

Inward Recognition

By Charles Sapp II

The first of my journey has been complete.
The winding roads have taken a straight path towards home.
The comforting arms of familiarity truly exists, like tomorrow’s nested hopes that bear fruitful futures.
Normalcy lost, in search to be found.
Faint subtleties appear then disappear into the calm waters of recognition of what once was,
as time changes paths and altered in accordance to the law of contentment.
The stars look back with recognition awaiting approval by the morning Sun,
granting a new day and rejecting yesterday’s doubts.

A colorful wheel of fortune spins for my choosing, but not for myself,
but for all whom may encounter my touch.
A conscientious decision made with eyes closed
and silent gestures of prosperity enriched with happiness
with an edge of fulfillment as I inhale opalescent colors and exhale translucent words of expression,
manifested silently as emotions that soothe thy soul
and atone my transition as a whole, like the eclipsing shadow that shrouds the visionary quest within,
questioning the day’s moment.
The digestion of time,
full from life’s experience and the exposure to truth.

Immortal Love

I once experienced a time when the future was clouded with doubt as thick and complex as hurricane clouds. This poem is the testament that the Sun does break away the clouds and the purity of light penetrates the darkness, it may come in different luminous forms, however mine came in the form of love.

By Charles Sapp II

Before I knew her,
my life was forever affected
and the serum for recovery was her love.

Spiral staircases leading nowhere
amid a labyrinth maze without outer walls;
caught in the confusion with no direction,
lost among the wanderers, fading within the shadows defined by distance.
A dream interpreted by the crossroads of life
and the transitions of opportunity developed by choice;
well constructed by the confrontation of fear
and the defeat of disability and mental paralysis.

With eyes closed, space expands infinite without limitations and physical barriers.
The oceans appear deeper and the sky is wider;
later realizing that the power lies within.
I take a deep breath and travel inward,
swimming through the dark waters within self
and reach the center of light that has dimmed to a faint glint.

Distorted images pervade my awareness—in remembrance.
Her warmth revived my spirit.
Her touch reassembled my broken trust.
Her kiss breathed new life to a tired body,
that could no longer hurdle any more of life’s obstacles, let alone take another step.
Her presence resurrected a revised me;
metaphorically re-engineered with faith, confidence and strength of will.

With starlit candles,
I want to celebrate our love,
basking in the moonlight as her eyes glow and dance to my eyes;
the jewel of my life.
Romantically enthralled and captivated by graceful maneuvers, waltzing with my soul,
as we double date with our emotional and physical love.
Love so potent, it cannot be extracted
as it clings to the surface of our fused hearts.
My love for her is timeless,
I will plant a field of her,
to bear fruit of future seeds;
therefore making her immortal.

Sacrifice for a New Day

By Charles Sapp II

Legs alternating,
staggered steps in humanoid patterns
against the Sun burned Earth,
while arms swing like pendulum gears
adding momentum to movement.

Intensity not by heat,
but motive to seek refuge
and simmer in the shade,
with immersed feet in an aquatic oasis
reviving soles of despair.

The nomad with sunburned feet
treads with frostbitten toes; given a piece of self to the world,
a sacrifice
suspended by time’s mercy.
Alternative universe,
an exclamation of a parallel dimension
cascading sheets of ice,
frigid ruins of cavernous cavities
where frozen monuments melt from global disharmony.

The rain cries down over the body of the land from swollen clouds
and the call of the wind halts progress as a heeded warning
lead to the summit of glory.

Sauntering backwards, retracing generations of footprints
and reading the scribed riddles within the strata of abstract clouds;
the rain lifts off the land and returns to the cloud,
this later dissipates, carrying away the distress from a tired planet in peril
and the ignorance that persists.

The dawn of a new day
brings perspective and challenge,
influence is spread vast like the oceans,
deep with retrospect and desire to soothe the bruises and wounds inflicted on life.

Forgiveness

By Charles Sapp II

Forgiveness,
letting go of expectations,
relinquishing wrongs and errs;
the repeat of self trust without justice.

Broken flesh from compounded force,
repaired invisible wounds,
timeless tears drench cotton fibers
and leaving saline trails down face.

Kneeled prayers,
rocking like pendulums of faith,
crushed and bruised trust shattered,
reflected then inflicted inwards.
Guilt burns,
pride deflated
and human endurance tested.

Shapeless entities
reduced by ridicule
by haunting apparitions of the mind.
Balance shaky,
unsteady without bearings,
until the light reignites,
buried deep.

Seeking the surface,
standing tall,
proceeding with simple actions,
with a degree of difficulty.
Affirmation of events beyond control,
deceit retreats and evaporates
along with all developed stigmas.

Anxious as anxiety drifts to sleep,
voices settle and hand regains sensitivity;
the breath clears the mind
and focus becomes sharp with detail.

I forgive you,
and myself
for all the torment I’ve injected.
The water calms to stillness smooth as glass.

Only now may I see my own reflection.

Creation

By Charles Sapp II

Unity bears the symbiotic love
shared blood, ruminations of brotherhood;
the fight, the struggle
as survivors of gene replication.

Separated at birth,
eternal parents,
born from two Suns
brooded to take flight
a creature of habit,
pretentious anti bodies
as dual pairs.

Strength in adjoining polarities
equation of one, factors of two
distinguished by character and amiable disposition.
Resemblance transparent with cause and effect,
truth and beauty heavily guarded
in steel rib cages.

Reflection off the surface of imagination,
conformed by dark matters
yet enveloped by light situations.
Similarities conflict as opposing forces
sermons drawn from old and new testaments,
doctrines that prescribe evolution;
abominations of the Source
as delusions of grandeur, disconnection from reality,
reality is a collection of absurdities
confronted on small scales
seeing one’s self
in the eyes of their child.

Testament of the Ages

By Charles Sapp II

Youth in a glass
with an effervescent future
fizzing with dreams.
Young hearts beat hard and fast,
pounding chests of inquisitive spirits,
seeking worldly stimulation.

The world in revolution moves by this energy

The old and wise keeps it on path,
yet tired eyes watch the leaves leave the trees
beneath the currents of the wind.
The blistered feet absorbs the water from torrential rains
the same way arid land does,
quenching the parched, cracked and pervaded Earth.

Children witnessing men cry
as egos become bruised
and knowledge is outsourced by foreign thoughts and principles.
Women sacrifice
yet are comforted silently through their baby’s eyes,
as they see their future; bright as the reflected Sun on alloy surfaces and still waters at noon.