"The results of a woman who fell short of the glory and was caught by a man who stood nearer"

Poem: Father Figure
Artist: Jonathan Collins
Book: Coming Soon!

I'm excited about this one, cause I actually know the kid. I kinda had to beg him to put this on here, but f'real's he's a beast. Hopefully he'll thank me when he blows up, you know gotta credit the little people.

Who Is Jonathan: Jonathan is a soon-to-be 20 year old writer of poetry. While dabbling in a bit of spoken word in 2007, his endeavors into the written style have served him well. Integrating the complexities of his faith and his views in today's society, his poems are never able to be read through once. He hails from Tennessee, although he currently rests his head at Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia. His procured "southern style" is very pronounced, yet his message is universal.

Why You Should Love Him: Honestly, after reading his stuff, you have to sit back and think, and pick your own brain. Sometimes, you won't get it right away, but when you do you can't help but sit and be like "Damn." Okay this seems like a lot of hype but I think it's the truth. His poetic rhythm is tight, unlike my failed attempts into poetry, his flow is definitely one that should be heard. Also a plus, his stuff is raw and unrefined...sometimes you can tell when something has been proofed so many times, the author's original intention was lost. Yeah, not here, I feel like it adds even more to the poetry than taking anything away from it. While a great read, when read out loud the experience grows even more.

No more writing from me...here are 2 of his poems.

Father Figure
I know my daddy loves me but sometimes it gets hard
cause i find myself thinking about my life and the way things have gone.
My mama always told me he loved me but those words sometimes seemed derranged
Where were you at all of my basketball games?
Where were you when I took my 1st steps?
Where will you be when I take my last breath?
It's hard being the only one that knows that this so-called functional family is dysunctional
There's just these certain times when I feel uncomfortable
knowing that this daddy who's never there is judging me
makes me wonder how he has this custody.
It's either that or every Sunday he brainwashes my mama to think
that she MUST bring me to him to begin the week.
So there I sit, Me and his many other kids
me,contemplating suicide just to see if I died
would he know that I once lived.
Then I go back to a so called home and see a product of fornication in the mirror
the results of a woman who fell short of the glory and was caught by a man who stood nearer
to lucifer but wasnt necessarily the devil's advocate, better yet the opposite.
He was a man that tried harder, but the harder thing to understand
was that although he was of valor, he was still merely a man.
And he can't handle such a disaster as when the boy he raised finds out that he's a bastard
with wounds from confusion and thoughts of destruction
toward a family that hides its dysfunction.
Then I take a step back into the tragedy that some of us simpy call reality
and see the totality of my father and begin to understand the purpose behind his abnormality
I begin to realize that he was always with me at heart, although a visual presence I cant embark
but today ill start to understand the method that he chose to have me raised.
ill see that that man who raised me is not just an imposter,but the one chosen to implement my daddy's ways.
I realize that I have to be trusting, but I just wish he could come and hug me
but he's no longer physically here among me...yet
I know my daddy loves me...
I know my daddy loves me...
I know my Lord loves me...

09/28/07

The Invisible Man
to be invisible is to not be seen
maybe this is the power of dreams
i mean it only makes sense since senses cant intervene
between the blinding power of a veil and an optical supreme
now once again I am not seen and neither is my impatience
because they feel my fire and desire as strong as they hear my cadence
they smell the blood sweat and tears that conjours to form my fragrance
they taste the sweet and sour blend of my misleading misbehavior
and they dont even have faith that I am here, as they do their Savior
but have no fear ill save ya
do you and all alike a favor
so when Things Fall Apart ill Catch 22, lives
and go back for their neighbors
i will halt leaning towers
barricade deadly showers
I will untangle the twisting winds
and subside the infernos, hell's closest of kin
but you wont see my flesh wounds made at the hands of the fire
nor hear my cries coming out of that deadly spiral
nor taste the salt from the ocean water forming waves so tidal
or feel the muscle anguish and pain from raising a builidng skyward
because your eyes have not seen what has happened right before them
since the lids closed dream of the things that bring me torture
but thats the price of saving the day
and no one would know until i gave it away
that maybe that is the power of dreams
to be invisible is to not be seen

12/8/08


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