brownsugatou

Brownsugatou is joining other bloggers around the nation to bring awareness to world hunger. Go to http://www.bloggersunite.org/, save a badge, head right back to your blog and post up! I am sharing some links to websites that address solutions to world hunger and a new poem I wrote entitled Sacrifice in honor of today's online event. I am also including a link to an article written a while back by Dave Newhouse about Mary Ann Wright or "Mother Wright". If you are from Oakland, CA my hometown, I don't think I have to say anymore. When I think of someone dedicating their life to feed the souls of others Mother Wright is the first person that I think of. Enjoy!

Action Against Hunger
World Hunger Year
1-866-3-HUNGRY
Mother Wright


Sacrifice

Impoverished is impoverished is impoverished.
Whether you are white, black, or "wrong"
Or purple, pink and "strong".

My hunger, your hunger
Is our hunger.
What? You thought it was a color?

A lower rung on the "ladder"?
A dirty hand attached to a
Tin cup on the corner?
An electronic food stamp?
Me passing' up two meals for another?

It is being "food insecure".
(Thanks U.S.D.A.)
It is earning a living with the undesirable
need to beg, borrow, and go without-
Food or PG &E?
Food or bus fare?
Food or health?
What will my choice be today?

Work shoes or no food?
Co-pay or no food?
Stay employed AND go hungry?
Stay employed AND go hungry?
Stay employed AND go hungry?

What
Will
My
Choice
Be
Today?

Sacrifice.

(c) 2009
C. Thomas a.k.a. brownsugatou

Check, check, check it out if you are near your computer and love the art of spoken word or poetry. Hey, maybe you'll decide to host your own show on Blog Talk Radio one day too. Pam Osbey is a spoken word artist, poet, author, enterpreneur, workshop facilitator, and hosts her own show "Literary Pizzazz" on Blog Talk Radio. You can visit her website, read her biography and check out her books at her webswite at Osbey Books.

Still celebrating National Poetry Month Pam Osbey will feature another great spoken word artist whom I've mentioned on my blog before, Christopher D. Sims a.k.a. UniverSouLove. I rock on to his underground classic, and it is underground, "1987". If you are a hip hop fan you can't help it. Check out his sounds at his myspace website. Below is the detailed information regarding the show. Remember you must register with Blog Talk Radio first, log in, and then call in if you have questions or comments. Peace and Blessings for now folks.

Blog Talk Radio Feature
Join UniverSouLove on
Pam Osbey's Blog Talk Radio Show
"Literary Pizzazz"
Monday, April 27th, 2009
8 p.m. Central Time
Call in number is: (646) 478-5460
8 pm Central Time

Pam Osbey's Blog Talk Radio

This may be old news to more experienced bloggers, and photo diggers however it is new to this unexperienced blogger. Picnik is a great online photo editor. Simply put - it's free, user friendly, registration is optional, and there is no need to download anything to your computer. Basically you can edit the photo and save it to your computer. An upgraded version of Picnik can be purchased for a nominal fee. Check out the website if you need the technical specifics to be totally convinced that Picnik is the right online photo editor for you. I'm digging it and I kind of got funky with it too. (but still learning) However, there was no reason for me to smile. See below. Peace and Blessings!

Widgetbox rocks! That's about all I have to say. Really cool site for the not so web savvy blogger such as myself.

I can't even blame this on a writer's block. Feedburner, Twitter (I'm tolerating this new gadget), SEO (search engine optimization), declined by BlogCatalog.com, Brownsugatou just realized that she has a long way to go in terms of sharing her poetry and mingling with others on the world wide web! Yes, I am going bananas but I am not one to give up. This is unlike posting poetry on a forum at a cool site and getting responses. From what I have read briefly online, it takes time, energy, persistence, quality content, some SEO savvy and you gotta post, post, post to draw traffic to your web blog and maintain readership. But it's okay I find that I do lack time to devote to this weblog. But the small amount of time I spend "managing" this blog is sometimes therapeutic for me - writing new poems and absorbing my old pieces. But I have some lessons to learn... Generating Blog Traffic 101 and Maintaining Readership for Dummies. Some web company would be nice! However, I will be one of few bloggers to say that I will be patient with myself and with the traffic that might eventually trickle over to this blog! In the meantime, MacDaddy (please check out his informative blog at www.daddyBstrong.blogspot.com) maybe I'll enter the Guinness Book of World Records for having just one reader/follower! I don't listen do I?

Sometimes I have to "write now, right now". And sometimes it's short and sweet. Just gettin' out my feelings here. If you feel me please let me know. Enjoy!

Something Viral

How can something viral
Yet so vicious,
Be so delicious?

'Cause I feel teased
From within
These thoughts...
I'm feeling
A "good" sin?

The thought of
Never, not.
Not, never.
I can't comprehend.

How can something viral
Yet so vicious,
Be so delicious?

Damn!

Copyright 2009
C. Thomas
a.k.a. brownsugatou

Communication. Communication. Communication. So integral in relationships whether they are blossoming or have stood the test of time. I'll be the first to admit that I am both strong and sometimes fail at communicating - but I don't mind learning and trying something different. This next piece is a definite result of trying something different. I wrote it and shared it with the person that my feelings were directed at... and wow talk about a cup overflowing with a river of good vibes. Enjoy!

He Don't Understand.

Really he doesn’t.
How it’s hard to.
Put one’s vulnerability on the line.
When I sacrifice time.
My son and mine’s.

No he doesn’t understand.
How I appreciate what we share.
Yes it’s divine.

If I could give 100% and then some.
I would.
I try.
And I do.

No he doesn’t’ understand.
I’m often the target of Baby Daddy attacks.
I work my 9-5 plus nine.

I give and get some time.
When its given.
I choose selectively

When I get it.
I take it.
And it’s usually the best damn.
Two minute vacation

No he doesn’t understand.
That I really do appreciate.
The new friendship.
The sharing.
The giving.
The listening.
The laughter.
And the sound of creativity.

Friendship.
Sharing.
Giving.
Listening.
Laughter.
The sound of creativity.

This is the beautiful sum of all my negativity?

Then, yeah, the King will understand…
the Queen is just having one of her moments.

Copyright 2009
C. Thomas a.k.a. brownsugatou

Earlier this evening on my Facebook page I wrote...

I am me and not "society". Words to some poetry are brewing here... Write Now, Right Now! is my motto because I'm a fool for impatience sometimes. One day I will be a patient wordsmith like UniverSouLove, gifted like Taalam, and speak eloquently like T.D. Jakes. That's not the poem, but I'm just sayin'...

Later...
So good to be me, so good to be free, and not choked by what others might want me to be. This piece actually started with me and a funky drum beat in my head. I don't know lately I've been writing pieces to my own mental music. I experienced these same feelings when I wrote "Can I Love You and Hip Hop Too?" (see below) and "My Black Man" (which I have not shared with the world yet). However, I am still a P.I.P. a Poetess In Progress... enjoy!

I AM ME, NOT “SOCIETY”

Silky fine hair
You can take it.

Man made nose?
You can run with it.

Friday’s facade?
Please kill it.

Intelligence?
I’ll freak it.

Mountainous bosom?
I was born with it.

Come inside your mold?
I ain’t havin’it.

My twisted kinky hair?
Always down with it.

Lumpy thick hips?
Can you handle it?

Social expectations?
You know what you
Can do with it.

Copyright 2009 C. Thomas
a.k.a. brownsugatou

When will the the violence stop? In these hard economic times a better question might be when will the madness stop? When will we start having hope and faith again? Entire families are being eradicated in the form of senseless killings. Innocent bystanders, men in blue, immigrants - the latest headlines. While the old "violent" headlines remain the same - war and no peace in the Middle East and on these streets. Yes, times are tough but where is the hope, where is the faith, what about trying to keep it together? I remember patiently standing in the free cheese line, free peanut butter line, food stamp line, check cashing line, and yes the line of hope and faith. I'm still here and I didn't have the greatest begininngs. And yes, then I was somebody's child - brown skinned, kinky hair, ponytails, Angela Davis gap, and yep grilled cheese and peanut butter cookies made me thick around these hips. But never mind all that, I AM somebody's child.

My son: "Mama, an earring + an earring = a diamond. And a chair + a chair = a sofa."
Me: "Where did you learn that from son?"
My son: "My brain tells me that's object math mama."

Now I know children say the darndest things, however when my son hit me up with his version of "object math" I literally had to stop in my tracks and was rendered speechless. I'm still trying to wrap my head around his wonderful logical thinking - and I am not being sarcastic here. I was truly stumped. At six years old, he already has the concept of seeing "the bigger picture down to a mathematical science." That's my son and I enjoy every single "morsel" of time that God has allowed us to share with each other as tomorrow is not always promised. All of this leads me to my next poem that was inspired by my son - and his siblings/my babies who are no longer with us - Ben, Ali, and the Three Angel Babies. My son was born prematurely at 29 weeks and weighed 2.5 lbs. He survived some amazing, amazing, challenges including facing death . More on this in another post.

This poem is about a lot of things rolled into one - "motherhood", relationships, freedom of choice (although I think differently now), and most importantly "life". See I didn't know about "life" until God introduced me to "motherhood".

Brown Suga Baby

My Brown Suga Baby,How did you come to be?
Out of the five, you all the way “live”.
See the first two, I deleted.
Because it was about what I
Was going through.College, socializin’, partyin’, and
The men: a.k.a. their effed up daddies.
I was aimlessly trying to figure out life
But I didn’t know “life”.

The third (it came in twos).
I thought I was on my way.
Coporate hoe, making dough,
Relationship tight, the timing was right.
I was ready for “cuddly-coo” and “peek-a-boo” conversations.
But I wasn’t ready for the storm
That God sent me through.
Your twin brothers, all they ever knew was love.
But, during that sixth month
God called them to his Gates.

The fourth was a blur.
My soon to be Angel Baby created a new hope.
Her Daddy would be there in nine months to cut the rope.
But, like the first two before her,
She too would be nameless and faceless.
Not at the hands of man but at the hands of God

Then came you.
My little Brown Suga Baby.
You came out and hit me up on some
“Please believe it ‘ish!”
You are my pride and joy in this world
And it’s the fighter in you that lets me know that all things are possible.
My Brown Suga Baby,
So precious, so sweet
There is nothing greater in this world,
Than having you make my life complete


Rest In Peace,The Three Angels, Ben and Ali
© 2003 C. Thomas a.k.a. brownsugatou

Keeping it short and funky. Setting these words to music one day? - possibly. But this piece is based on a real life experience - my past relationship with a "local" underground hip hop artist. I've already shared "The First Ladies of Hip Hop". When I share with you another piece "My Black Man" you'll see how it all comes together.

Can I Love You and Hip Hop Too?

Can I love You and Hip Hop too?
Treasure your cloud of smoke
And withstand you not being you?
Can I love You and Hip Hop too?
Stand patiently by your dreams
And not ask what you can do for you?
Can I love You and Hip Hop too?
Walk invisibly in my footsteps
And watch my soles become you?
Can I love You and Hip Hop too?

© 2009 C. Thomas a.k.a. brownsugatou