Lukewarm

Lukewarm

I try to drink deeply of your love
And so you give me a tall glass
Watching...
For me to sip slowly of this lukewarm water
Neither hot or cold
While I'm standing here
Casting shadows on this crossroad
Without any sense of direction
Facing your loss of affection
Sitting in limbo without a signal or symbol
Just a guess at what comes next
Meditating miserable moments
Drinking this lukewarm water
Swallowing a heart sinking feeling
Cause deep down I already know
That's why I'm sipping it slow
As I lift my hands and hang my head low
I soon realize that my time is up
What I thought was a tall glass
Was really a Dixie Cup

JMC
11/7/06
(c) 2006

Self-Reflection

I had an interesting conversation the other day. An acquaintance of mine from some years ago happened to contact me out of the blue and we spoke for awhile and caught up. This made me realize that sometimes when you answer somebody's questions it really challenges how much you actually know about yourself... about your identity. So, I had a moment of self-reflection. Not to say that I don't self-reflect anyway, I probably do so more often than I'd like... but this occasion kind of brought me back in a time machine. Years have gone by, I am older now, in my mid-twenties. I navigated through the treacherous rapids of the late-teens and early-twenties and safely found calmer waters, albeit with a few holes in my sails. Without losing my core being, my personality and character, I went through some great changes. Some were more than awful, and thankfully short-lived, others have been magnificent but perhaps strange for people to understand or accept... a perfect example being my trod in Rastafari. Certainly I am not the same man I was 5 years ago or so. In fact, I truly believe now that although I referred to myself as a "man" then, I was most definitely a boy. I can say with confidence that in another 5 years when I look back to this time, finding a "lost boy" wouldn't be the case. Lessons of life have seasoned me: spiritual awareness and maturity, confidence and purpose, the experience of relationships lost and found, better decision making skills... and clinically speaking, a fully developed frontal lobe of the brain (I teach psychology and some clinical terminology rubbed off on me). I'll confess I am "lightly seasoned" as it were, I still have countless defining moments and experiences ahead of me, but I know who I am and who I am not. While conversing with this person from my past, I became aware of how difficult it was to admit certain things to myself. Once in my life I tasted the result of my own folly, and then like the prodigal son, I came back to my Father's house as a humble and remorseful man. Experience taught me wisdom, but it was an avoidable experience. My previous lifestyle of "living on the edge" was not born out of necessity, but from poor choices. Yet at the same time I know that without that detour, I would have never become who I am now. If I wasn't who I am now, then who would I be? Well it is impossible to answer... and rather pointless. My faith in JAH reassures me that everything happens for a reason, and even my former vagabond ways were indeed necessary for my personal growth. My acquaintance was surprised by some of the things I briefly mentioned, I had never given an impression or indication of these things during the time he knew me, and truthfully I was and still am an affable guy who tends to get along with most people. So any given person's perspective of me may not be the entire one or the correct one. I think this holds true today, even from my very own perspective. Consequently, during the conversation I zoomed out from my ordinary field of vision, just to check myself. What did I discover? Well, I saw where my journey had led me through... a winding snake of a path with barely any trace of sensible direction. But on closer examination, more and more it looked like it became a progressive route. My focus now is on the straight and narrow, yet I am open to change and growth in my character and outlook. There are many small uncharted paths along life's highway, scenic ways that are worth checking out, as long as I remember where my final destination is... and I'll know it when I get there, because I've seen it in a vision in the Valley of Decision. I&I must give thanks. I know that I am a good man, a good person, with much to share with humanity in this short lifetime of mine. Although I myself may find my former and future journeys strange and inexplicable, I know that I am a SoulJAH on a mission and I won't stop moving until my work is done.

How about you? Take time to know yourself and identify who you are!... and never ever judge your fellow man. Guidance everytime!

JAHsh

Hell Hath No Fury...

Hell Hath No Fury...

I say hell hath no fury like this stubborn woman's scorn
No matter what I do, she says I do it wrong, my apology torn
I try to give her things, she flings them back in my face
She says I do nothing for her, but JAH Know its not the case
I know I'm not a perfect man but I have done her no harm
If she refuses my affection... well, I can't twist her arm
How the hell am I supposed to know if she don't even communicate
She thinks that I should read her mind, and if I don't its an ugly fate
Like "we can't relate", so she's not even willing to compromise
I guess she say she don't fit me so she'll try the next man out for size
I'm an upful man, I don't cheat and lie, I have never been deceitful
But no matter how hard I try, she just keeps seeing me as evil
Bent on cutting me loose, she holds me in contempt for an unjust reason
And after her resentment, she'll want something from me the next season
There is no more love in her heart, no longer weak in her knees
Lord, I seen it, the way she treats me, when people greet she
My introduction is short, cause all along she planned to abort
This relationship we shared even when we worked so hard for it
Plenty men she run through and she will try and treat me the same
Spending time together, she would mention each brother by his name
But I will refrain from that shame, cause to me love is not a game
I'm a lion running wild on savanna plains, no I can't be made tame
Looks like I-man always receiving blows from every woman I chose
All I can do is stand firm, and know myself, cause that's how life goes
May my actions speak the Truth, I don't care what people say
You can cut me loose tomorrow but my memory... it will never fade away

JMC
11/4/06
(c) 2006

The Coronation

The Coronation

He was draped in a red velvet robe and wreathed in fine gold
The symbol for all of JAH children coming in from the cold
Thousands of people followed the procession in the street
And then he sat with the Empress, four lions lying near his feet
No ordinary king, this was The Lion of Judah and Elect of JAH
Earth's rightful ruler, crowned as the Emperor in Addis Ababa
The leaders of seventy-two nations attended the imperial coronation
All of mankind received the invitation written in the constellations
For this was the Faith defender, Christ in His kingly character
So many have been called to sight up Rastafari and hail the Emperor

JMC
11/2/06
(c) 2006

Haile Selassie I's Coronation Day
November 2, 1930

Too Serious For You

Too Serious For You

Never see me grind and wine with a strange concubine
Only JAH JAH on my mind in disya judgment time
Don't want a dancehall queen, all slack and obscene
I-man need an empress whose faithful and clean
If she let a man press her close and dance to the riddim
I gotta wonder what else the sistren go do with him

Out on the town, I see this boy acting like he's got paper
Ladies see his flashy things, watch out, he's a date raper
Always getting fooled, they want a man but go follow a boy
He'll just play with you a little, and drop you like an old toy
A real king don't need bling or grills ordered from a magazine
He's a fiend, diseased in the mind and flesh to the extreme

Too serious for you, meh seh too serious for them
They're trying to stop me, the heathen and the shethen
They call me names and think I strange, cause JAH is my friend
You can find me reasonin' with the saints in the lions' den
But when the trumpets sound, I'll unleash the lions dem
And the wrath of JAH will be seventy-seven times seven

I don't care who come to tell me that it's not JAH I'm servin'
Underneath their robes and turban, they're as filthy as vermin
Hiding behind a righteous cloak deceiving all the simple folk
Hotta fiyah for all the spiritual wickedness that dem provoke
So you can classify me as a rebel, like the One on Calvary
Asked me to join the Revolution, and I said I'll follow thee

Politician ads and campaigns, its all just a stain in my brain
Maintaining war and pain, greedy for a statue in the hall of fame
No wonder why the world's a mess, why the youths get distressed
Why children are having children, mothers exposing their nakedness
Babylon is enslaving the people with its dirty lies and mind control
And the beast keeps a feast devouring souls, its belly never gets full

Too serious for you, meh seh too serious for them
Nobody can stop I, no matter how many they send
I'll never stop chanting until the whole world end
And if the beast comes back, then I'll do it again
The Most High said the Truth an offense, but never a sin

Seeing is believing, revealing the deceiving with every glance of an eye
That's why I hail up JAH Rastafari
Too many hypocrites and careless out there, too many fools
Man, you must beware... cause the Gideon is near

JMC
10/22/06
(c) 2006

Doin' JAH Works

Yes, it has been some time since I have written something, so this is just to let the massive know that I-man am still here on this earth doing JAH Works. I have been busy student teaching at a high school and it is a lot of hard work and time I must tell you, but it is a blessing for sure because silver and gold shall pass away but a good education will never decay, Selassie I! Currently I am teaching students a unit I designed on Mama Africa and it is a great joy for me because this a subject not covered well enough in schools. Although I am not yet official, as in certified (and not being paid), I am just one step away now. It has been a lot of hard work to reach this level, I have achieved so much and I now have my Masters degree, so I must really give thanks and praise unto the Most High!

I am also thankful for having been featured on my friend HannaH's new CD with the song "Under The Rainbow" (You can check out the song and HannaH's other tunes at http://www.hannahsgroove.com or http://www.myspace.com/hannahsmusic). We did the tune during this past year and since it has been released a whole set of positive vibes have come forth from that. I was waiting a very long time to record something again and perform live.

Other than these couple things, the journey of life continues forward and I&I chant Rastafari still. I am enjoying time with the empress in my life, a real blessing, and I am learning new things each and every day about this world. Hopefully I get a little time to put forward some reasonings and poems on here, I have plenty thoughts to manifest. In the meantime, more guidance and blessings to all!

JAHsh

JAH Bless Joseph Hill

I received some sad news this morning that a great singer and inspiration in the Rastafari movement passed away yesterday, Joseph Hill of the reggae group Culture. I remember the day long ago when a bredren of mine first introduced me to Culture's music and after hearing Joseph Hill's conscious, heartical, and thoughtful lyrics I had a very strong respect and admiration for him. I could listen to a Culture tune and come out better for it. He was one of the classic artists from the golden age of reggae, having had a firm foundation, and still continued to tour and provide new music to both his people in Jamaica and internationally. He never sold out or bowed down, he just continued to speak the Truth and share the message. Listening to Father Joseph's music you felt he was speaking directly from the heart with much love and wisdom, like a teacher gently schooling the Rasta children. I deeply regret having never seen him perform as I remember having a couple of opportunities to catch a show. However Joseph Hill's voice will forever be immortalized on the many albums that Culture released since the 1970's and his teachings and commentary will resonate in the hearts of his Rastafari fans. JAH Bless Joseph Hill, a true Rastaman, troddin' to Mt. Zion. Farewell,"Humble African". You will be missed, but Rasta never die, Selassie I!

JAHsh

Joseph Hill
January 22, 1949 - August 19, 2006

"I was travelling up the mountains one day
And suddenly I heard the voice come to I&I say ay
Behold I come quickly to pay every man
According to the work that he have done

And I know that it was the voice
The voice of the Most High...
And I know, yes I know, that it was the voice
The voice of the Most High...
Should Behold
Behold... I come quickly
Hear what he say to one and all!
Behold
Behold... I come quickly"

- Joseph Hill (Culture)