Category: Poetry

A while ago there was a Black Mirror episode about a guy
Who lived in a screen-covered room alone, and day and night
all the walls that were screens played commercials, and he would be punished for closing his eyes.

21st century’s a quarter past and pixels are on the rise,
Every pocket, purse, clutch, backpack – pixelated walls torment us all, different kinds and sizes, under the guise
Of progress, convenience, technical innovation;
Technology is a bullet train so fast it ends up leaving the elderly and underprivileged at the station.

I’m more of a “touch grass” person than the type
to gush over a machine’s details, the next model coming out, or the like.
It’s a living, for sure, but tech/life balance is key,
Feel the wind in your hair, with your hands free, and you’ll see
that being surrounded by commercials and machines all day was never meant to be. – RSM

The last few years or so I put another layer of joy into my familiar repertoire;

A ‘what if’ from my past came true, and I was elated.

This is left field, but I always wished of a world where fancy, rechargeable, metallic dresses were a thing, and my bestie Mary Jane had told me she started working at a place that sells exactly that!

Me and MJ go back since high school, so when I first pulled. up to her new fancy job I couldn’t believe it –

I had to be over 21 and show ID to get in. In the middle of the day. Weird. The vibe was eh to be honest, it looked like an Apple Store in there.

She was wearing a metallic, cylindrical, futuristic dress that needed to recharge after a few wears, she told me. 

I was glad to see Mary’s glow up, she said the money was good and she’s been wearing these new dresses every day.

One time I stopped by and she introduced me to her coworker, Ivy.

She donned futuristic clothes just the same, but had a fiery look to her. She just seemed so… concentrated. Not a bad thing, Ivy was cool people, the three of us started hanging out after work sometimes. Then a lot more.

I started wanting Ivy around all the time, so much that even MJ gave me a side eye about it every now and then. 

Ivy had me wrapped around her fingers like a vine. Things were great, things were golden, things were also terrible, things felt numb, things were too dependent on Ivy being around for me to have a good time.

Ivy was fun! She knew how to be discreet but still had a wavy vibe anywhere, anytime. 

Eventually we started spending so much time together that I seldom felt like I could evade her gaze, but I wanted to be under her gaze all the time. Euphoria had trapped me.

We had adventures together, the 3 of us, but burning holes through lungs, pockets, and one’s ability to cope with life ain’t worth it, and trust me, Ivy had pretty expensive taste.

I sat down with Ivy and MJ, tension noticeable between them, and had to make a tough choice – I let Ivy know we couldn’t really hang anymore. 

MJ and I have had ups and downs, but I’m glad we’re back on the same page.  I understood eventually why the side eye or shade of other kinds were thrown.

I realized Mary was looking out for me. 

Ivy took it surprisingly well, she’s not losing any sleep over me with all her other metallic, rechargeable dress loving friends.

Mary and I are as tight as ever, but I don’t visit the fancy dress store she works at anymore. We just chill on our own, just like old times. – RSM

Bob Marley once said “Money is numbers and numbers never end. If it takes money to be happy, your search for happiness will never end.”
We spill ourselves over every day trying to ensure our livelihoods,
Only to see the goal posts right in front of us move – like a carrot dangling on a fishing line.
Fuck the rat race.

As we circle around this giant blue ball and it rotates around the sun and spins
this ‘Choose How You Survive’ game we’re in won’t let us win,
Inflation frustrates us, long hours drain us, new waves of challenges keep us on our toes – even when we’re laying down.

“And we’ll never be royals…” Lorde sang,
But it’s not like I’d want to be,
My dreams don’t come with castles and guards with big, silly hats –
I just hope to live in a more forgiving, caring, all people-focused world eventually,
Where self care is the norm instead of a personal form of activism.

Until then, I’m just going to seize my moments to be less productive –
I’ll give myself some pause when I can by just pressing pause on my neverending to do list.
Find time to show love to yourself.
Bob Marley said it best, probably with a smile on his face:
“The day you stop racing is the day you win the race.”
-RSM

Up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, or however that classic code goes, it shows
the principal of balance –
that, at times, life comes in opposites, to embrace each up with each down, letting each turn take you toward something different.
Having no expectations is a real ‘code’ I use in life to adapt, show love to myself and others, and to get through life itself.

If I were digging for happiness somewhere, it would be wherever peace begins to peak out of the ground.
Happiness can grow when peace is assumed as the norm, when peace blends in with the air.
The same way we all breathe every day, let us find peace through it all – throughout the hard times especially, whenever we can fit it in.

Peace is the key that unlocks our best selves, our best lives, and puts out our wildfires of stress like it were blowing out a candle.
From the Sega Genesis days til now and beyond – embrace the unexpected, and tranquility will find you. – RSM

As the beautiful dancing fountain projects city scenes so serene, I’m in between –
It feels like I’m playing catch with friends and fam across 2 different places
When I really miss feeling like I’m on some sort of team.

I don’t mean to take for granted what I have in this life,
I actually just wish I had it all a lot closer to me. People wise, I mean.
A trade off is coming, and I’m beyond willing and able,
But it won’t be easy, and there’s a lot to be grateful for what you’ll be exchanging for the formerly familiar.
It doesn’t sound like you, but it is.

“Well, I guess this is growing up” is what first comes to mind, and “…even children get older, I’m getting older too…” follows right behind,
I’m trying to make the best choices and stay at peace, but the uncomfortable is inevitable if you want to grow in this life,
and I just honestly hope that at the end of every day for everyone, things will be alright. – RSM

Extra time before a flight.
Just barely catching a train you worried about catching all night.
Putting together an outfit so extravagant that Elton John feels it somehow.
Seeing 100% on the top right of your phone.
Finding wet cash in your laundry you forgot you had.

Being able to help strangers in a language you’ve been working hard to learn.
Hitting that savings goal, seeing your patience pay off with what you’ve earned.
Passing that big test with flying colors.

Being completely dry, but drenched by the sun.
The first time you open the door to your new place.
Waking up refreshed, only to realize you still have a lot more time to sleep.
And last, but not least, whether it’s 5 minutes or 20 years:
Time with the people you love. – RSM

Throw Some D’s by Rich Boy on repeat
on my headphones at work to remind myself – this is how I eat,
While I knock down problems while hopscotching the floor of life as it caves in beneath my feet.
The greens keep you lean and I prefer green to lean
But I throw on some hood classics to get me all the the way through the day, not just stuck somewhere in between.

I’ve been making a living working on my job, making a fortune working on myself,
But the real ‘NEW MONEY’ I got is how I work on my health.
Fuck yeah to the little things that make us go,
May our favorite motivations keep us spiritually high, and may our mental, emotional, and literal currency never be low. – RSM

I wrote this while listening to Kendrick Lamar’s ‘dodger blue’

The same team that beat my yankees on their largest stage

I’ve been processing rage and sadness, but not cuz of baseball, 

It’s other-shit-just-fuckin’ up-my life, trying to not take it personal

but it gets personal af when the demons you know and love to hate

come back with armor – sterling, stainless steel metal upgrades,

And all you have to fight back with is your hands – once again I feel like I got played.

the demons been kickin’ in the door wavin’ the four four since the mid 2000s

but my team showed up in force, their strength was boundless.

I didn’t have to face it on my own cuz my Avengers already assembled 

and with time and love I made my own demons fucking tremble.

My team is across more places than in the past but we still team up nevertheless,

It could be a day or 10+ years, if you’re on the team you already know there’s no stress.

No uniform needed, and the field is just life,

The love of my fam and friends is the energy that gets me through strife. 

So whether it’s dodger blue, yankee blue, mets blue,

Team up for your loved ones and your true colors will shine through. – RSM