KORIM... explaining TWO, defining ONE

My Spoken Space...

2006-06-12T08:18:00.000-07:00

Please take a listen...
http://www.myspace.com/korimthepoet

Inshallah

2006-05-22T06:27:00.000-07:00

You remind me of the stars
You are light in my night skies
I see the moon in your eyes
If I could lay you down on a bed of clouds
And have angels massage your feet
I would do it in a…
Heartbeats seem pointless when you’re not around
Just close your eyes and listen to the sound of my voice
Let me whispers stories of redemption in you ear...

Free your mind...

And let your imagination take us to Zion
I've fallen for you with such ease
And I swear I taste your breath on a winter’s breeze
Baby, where's the Jerusalem you come from?
You make me feel love, natural
Like... like... Rastafarian wisdom
Let me retrace our history back to where we fell in love in heaven...

Were born...

Went our separate ways...

And now we stand here today and I gaze in your eyes
And I believe that God has cradled the brightest stars in the universe
And placed them on your face
Any poetry I write could never equal the beauty in your smile
When we grow old let the rhythm of my voice be the beat that sends the blood rushing through your veins
I promise my voice will live forever and soothe your troubles long after I'm gone
The day that I leave, please know that your name will forever be printed in my heart
And that the bitterness of your absence is the thing that I hate the most
If I could, I'd stay here...

Right here...

Where you and I are close

Even though we are mere mortals in this world
Our love will linger in the attics of heaven forever
The kisses that we share will always take me to paradise
Let me lose myself in the mahogany of your eyes
Travel to heaven and back
See I've fallen in love with your perfection
But even deeper with your flaws
If I could capture the sun I would give it to you wrapped in velvet
So you could have maybe half of what you've given me every time you open your eyes
I wish that I could trek through the valleys of your mind…

Freeze time…

And tell you stories of Kings and Queens who ruled land filled with love
You've captured my heart
I Adam
You Eve
Please believe I would write poems of our love on heaven's hallways
So the Angels could understand how much I love you
Let me fall into the depths of your heart and linger there forever
Inshallah

Outcast Suicide

2006-04-05T09:18:00.000-07:00

There she goes
Nothing but a dark spot on an all white plain
Shunned and left out
An outcast simply because she was not the same
No one to wallow in her sorrows
Or accompany her in her pain

Now at home…same story
Daddy left when she was two
And her Mother, she beats her just to make sure that like her, she settles for less
So she opens up her legs to ward off her mother’s sinful burdens
Hit it and quit it
Out in two weeks
Just in it to get it
Makes her all the more weak
But there’s plenty of more fish in the sea right?
Well, all the fish she found were sharks
And they chewed her up
Swallowed her
And excreted her along with their selfish bowels
And the stench of their ignorance

See she was under this worldwide misconception
This worldwide misperception
That every man needs a woman
Every He needs a She
Every Him needs a Her
But see what I’ve discovered is that depending on someone else for your happiness
Brings you nothing but pain and suffering
See this deception will duck and dodge special dilated pupils making it hard for you to decide, decipher, and determine the disease that’s causing your soul’s hurt
Now, if I could talk to her,
I’d say “Don’t worry
Yes I… I’m an outcast too
And what goes around, comes around
So they’ll get back the struggles they’re putting you through”

She was nothing but a pawn in this chess game of life
And everybody seemed to have her in checkmate
She had no one to hand her crown to
The proof of her trials and struggles was tatted within her body
Her heart was split right down the middle… at the meeting of her legs

Now she has nightmares every time she lays in the bed of some stranger,
Selfish fool, slowly slaughtering and tearing away at her innocence
She did not choose to sell her soul and her purity to the Devil
She was given no choice
An outcast
She truly was

She never truly knew anyone based on the simple fact that she did not know herself
She had not yet discovered her lost soul
Her soul was hidden behind dishonesty and every lie she was ever told
Her soul was hidden behind the darkness of her daylight
And the brightness of her dark…her perception of reality
She could not see clearly because her eyes were cluttered with the
Reminiscence of depression and cloudy days that surrounded her
Every…
Day…
Of her life
Pain and strife
Became the norm

Until one day
One day she decides to take matters into her own hands
9mm chamber pointed directly at her temple…
Cocked back…
Triggers pulled…
GUNSHOTS
Finally…
An end to the suffering…

jmsterling copyright 2006
All rights reserved

For Momma

2006-03-28T14:35:00.001-08:00

I've seen angels fly
Across dark brown skies
Everytime tears fall from her eyes
I mean, can you imagine what it's like to see an angel cry

And I know that I'm only a man
But I wish that I could give her the happiness
That I know only God can
I mean take her hand inside my hand
And walk with her to the promised land
And sometimes I pray for the world
Just so I can give it to her
Because she surely is the queen of mine
And I wish that I could reach into her eyes
And pull out her dreams
And give her all her hopes, fantasies and everything
I swear I can hear God screaming her name every time I close my eyes
And she does so much and I don't know why
And sometimes I fall on my knees
And ask God, Most High
I mean can you imagine what i'ts like to see an angel cry
What it's like to spy and see drips from beautiful lips
And all I have to offer is this...
Momma, I love you

And everytime I fall on my knees
Before I go to sleep
To have the dreams He's given to me
I pray for perfection
Just so you can have a taste of what you've given me all my life
When I find my wife
I won't settle for less
I won't settle unless
She's just like you
And yes I do
Thank the Lord
But I know that everything in my life I have you to thank for
Like the poems, the love and so much more

I wish I could write this poem across her heart
So that the blood pumping through her veins
And my words are just the same
Giving her life
I mean, can you imagine what it's like to see tears falling from an angel's eyes
To see an angel cry
I wish my breath could be the one that dries
The moisture from her cheek
And there's so many dreams hidden within her smile on her beautiful face
Like she can make you feel the world with a single embrace
and I'm sure that anyone could testify
That I would do anything to dry the tears... from this angel's eyes

jmsterling copyright 2006
all rights reserved

Letter to Jesus

2006-03-23T12:02:00.000-08:00

You know I often wonder why it is that I live
And yes, I know that God is a god who always forgives
But I've held onto a broken smile way too long
And I'm tired of singing this song
I mean maybe...sometimes... it's good to be wrong
It's like I try too hard to write
If only I could give God my pen
So that every drop of ink that spilt on this paper would come from him

See I'm writing this letter to Jesus
And I can't explain why I'm scared to speak to preachers
Maybe it's cause I'm unworthy of the Word
And I don't know why I don't respond to alter calls
I mean maybe after all this is done
I can look up to the sun and cry
And God, Most High, will dry my eyes

I'm searching and I don't know why
But every day I see angels passing
And I'm dying to show this passion
Just get rid of this facade
I just want to get close to God
But I don't know how, if I fall on my knees
Close my eyes and pray then maybe
I'll find salvation before judment day
But until then
All I have is me, my soul and my pen

And I'm dying to get to know Him
Just find that love
I want to know what it's like to have my mind constantly dwelling in the heavens above
And I can't help but to start believing
That He's the only one that can do away with my demons
I mean, line them up one by one
And march them out my bloodstream
And like soldiers they start leaving

I just want to know the Lord
I'm doing more than just asking for it
I'm praying
I just want peace of mind
This poem is doing more than simply rhyming
Its saying that maybe there's an explanation or a reason why I'm hurting
Entwined in the words in the Bible verses
But I'm scared to look
I feel unworthy to open that book
I feel like whoever wrote the Bible
Must've known what I'm going through
And said I'm... writing this... for you
So whenever you get confused
And don't know what to do
You can just open up and read the truth

I'm getting closer to a solution
I'm getting closer to an answer
With everything that I'm doing
And sometimes...
Sometimes I feel like writing bible verses on my tongue
so any time I speak
Or pray
It's just the same
In Jesus name
Amen

jmsterling
copyright 2006
all rights reserved

Freedom

2006-03-22T10:01:00.000-08:00

Dear Freedom,
I know we haven't spoke in a while
I've lost you in this lone, cruel world
I was confused as a child
From the second of my conception it seems it was doomed
Even after I was born
I was trapped in Momma's womb
From the day of my birth
It was the world not freedom that predicted my worth
And I'm sorry
I regret every soul that I robbed
and everything that I've took
I've grown up too fast
and as a result I'm shook

Yo Freedom, free me
I've been wating a long time
I've tried to find freedom through every verse and a rhyme
I'm illustrating in my mind
The image of Freedom
That I can't seem to find

Yo Freedom, free me
I'm a slave to the ways
On my soul, was spilt blood
Since my face shrieks from a page
I'm from a block where you get shot for wearing the wrong shade
You get beat by your Moms for not misbehavin'
You get punished by the hood for stuff that you ain't done
See thats the block that I'm from

But I was freed from that place along time ago
And you think that I'm weak because my anger I don't show
So you step to me wrong but yo' peep this
I'm cool in my way
but you shouldn't take my kindness for weakness

Yo Freedom, free me
I've been lookin' for love in a flock of pigeons
Looking for that one white dove
Dealing with cock blocked divisions
To find the one from above
The one that'll make me stop and stand at attention
The one that I've been thinking of

Freedom, free me
I'm so under attack
See as a youth I was trapped
I was forced to go snatch some crap
To throw in my sack
Just to make a little scrap
But now I'm cuttin' my shacks
And I'm droppin' my whip
And waiting for Freedom to come and release
This ishhhhh off my back
And attack my villians
And heal my wounds
God, I know we ain't spoke in a while
but is Freedom coming soon
As the white man speaks of freedom
His freedom I don't see
I just sit back and I wait for Freedom to free me
For Freedom to free me

jmsterling copyright 2006
all rights reserved

I Hate to Cry

2006-03-21T14:44:00.000-08:00

You know I have to say
One of my least favorite things to do is cry
I don’t know why
But lately it seems like pleasure and pain come in partners
And I’d rather have my heart stop
Than to feel one more tear drop
Fall down my cheek
Making me feel weak
See, I’m supposed to be a man
Never a tear in sigth
Just hide my emotions
May everything seem alright
Even when it’s not
See I’ve never tasted a poison worse than teardrops
And you know, no matter what the reason
No matter how I’m feeling
Tears are still tears
And I hate crying
And I just can’t seem to keep my cheeks dry
And sometimes I feel like my heart holds onto whatever hurts me
And it’s like my smile is slain
I’ve become accustomed to this pain
I just can’t stop these hurricanes
in my eyes
For some reason
I continue to cry
It’s like every up comes with a down
Every smile with a frown
I know I sounds selfish
But I feel like I deserve more than this
Just give me sunshine for my rain
Happiness in exchange for my pain
Maybe I should expect bad
So that when bad comes
Like it always does I won’t be surprised
And tears won’t fall from my eyes
See I…
I hate to cry
And I swear I hear Lucifer’s voice calling
Every time tears start falling
See it’s hard for me to see God’s face
In a place covered in the fog created by my evaporated tears
In the space existing between my ears
See
Maybe
I should cry daily
Because they say if you stand in a storm long enough
And absorb that pain long enough
You get used to the rain
I mean if you can make pearl out of a grain of sand on the ground
Then why not a smile out of my frown
And a giggle out of my whimper
Every day feels like December
cold, and never dry
I don’t know why
But I know I
Hate to cry
Maybe one day
My tears will dry
And I can laugh like angels reminiscing in the sky
God Bless

jmsterling
copyright 2006
all rights reserved

Spoken To

2006-03-20T09:44:00.000-08:00

I spit at 15 and found my home on the mic
And now every time that I write it's almost like
A deaf man hearin' screams in the night
I want to use my words to slash those cowards in power
And rebuild those towers
And you can call it treason
I can't seem to shake this feelin' for some reason
I feel like if I were blind I could still give you a perfect description
Of what's going' down in my mind at a certain time
And still each line would rhyme
And it's almost like a deaf man hearing' screams in the night...

I want to chant like freedom fighters trying to stop apartheid
And Donald Woods died but he tried
I want to look you in the eyes
And make you realize
The truth, in the face of lies
And I see a soldier walking over ebolic concrete with cinged feet
So you better beware
People looking at me funny, a mixed breed with a clinched fist in the air
Inhale.....
And blow the intoxicating vapors
And jot down the blueprint of the struggle through a pen on some paper
Crevices and cracks in concrete trap the blood of the urban youth
So what's the use
Why even try
When you're just gonna die

See like the Black Panther's my word’s intimidating and people often feel me
But there's a message hidden within the whispers
So listen closely
To heart beats
And you might
Hear me

I walk through the valley of the shadow of death
With my eyes wide open and my hands around my last breath
With fire in my eyes
And a pen as I rise
Yo’ I’m gonna spit to where my teeth and my tongue become one
And my lips get numb
And they turn to blue
My ideas are trapped within my words like the Bantu
And if you listen closely
One day, they’ll free you
Inside my hopes and my dreams
I’ve hidden the screams of Steven Biko in the night
See it’s not what it seems
I’ll write a poem across your pupil so you can see what I mean
I said, I’ll write a poem across your pupil so you can see what I mean

My name is Korim
K-O-R-I-M
Defining two, explaining one
I was created when the devil coughed upon the sun
I am second to none
My words will POP-POP and rock your mind
Like shots from a gun
Together me and my poets will conquer this world
Getting light from the sun
'Til every finger is connected to a pen writing until it gets numb,
Chanting words from Dr. King and Marcus Garvey all together in one
Screaming whispers of those words "We shall over come”
See, this art is a gift and this gift is an art
And I'm a spoken word artist from my soul to my heart
I feel honored and blessed to have gotten what I've gotten through
And you should feel honored and blessed for
You’ve just
Been SPOKEN TO

jmsterling
copyright 2006
all rights reserved

Hold On

2006-03-17T12:33:00.000-08:00

Many days I sit back and contemplate
How on my shoulders was placed this crippling weight
Now...
it seems...
weightless
God's on my side
And finally
I can take this pressure like mountains
And toss it like pebbles
And my momma always taught me never ever settle for less
This knowledge will settle and rest inside my dome
See I finally found a place that i can call home
I'm talkin about my pen
Just search within
And you'll find a place
To house the burdens of sin
And so many people go abused
just misused and bruised
and i know that this just might be you
But hold on
Because dreams do come true
Just hold on & He'll come through for you
Despite your sins you're always forgiven
So don't you dare give up on Him
When the tide seems high
and the chance is low
Just close your eyes
Open up your soul
One thing to do
Fall on your knees
And let Him talk to you
And His words will hit you like pistols
And I promise that the answer will be clearer than chrystal
Keep your head up high
Chin to the sky
Never look down
And always know that your destiny
is in God's hands
and that everything will happen according to God's plan
This beautiful God's land
See I am God's friend
And he's speaking to me
And I see you, see me, see Him, see me
And what I'm tryin' to be
And what I finally see
That He's the only way to find the freed
Just open your heart
And let Him step in your soul
Fall on your knees
And letHhim take control
And watch your burdens go
And look up even when everything else is down
Listen for that one voice in the world that's absent of sound
Look fwd to better days
And listen to what I say
In the end everything will be ok
Every problem will be solved
Fall on your knees... and pause
Amen

jmsterling copyright 2006
all rights reserved

Breathless

2006-03-14T06:55:00.000-08:00

Breathless...
Baby you leave me Breathless
like a drowning man drinking a glass of water
baby you quench my thirst when there is no thirst left
you simply replenish me
you are my first thought when I wake up
and my last whe I go to sleep
let me look you in the eyes and tell you how I feel
make it hard for you to think
make you see my face every time that you blink
let me wrap myself around you
and sing lullibies in your ear
when you can't sleep
cuz when I look in your eyes
my knees get weak
I look in your eyes
and I see me
I look in your heart
and I see we
and baby I will be there if no one else when you start to go astray
cuz you take my breath away
and actions speak louder than words
these poems can't even begin to convey
so let me shower you in my kisses
till my love seeps from your pores
and you just cant take no more
cuz when you look me in my eyes
my heart swells
and I want to go to hell
cuz this heaven you puttin me through
is just too much and theres nothing i won't do
I would give anything to give all of me to you
and nothin less wait . . .
just let me catch my breath
see I want to study the curves of your face
and the arch in your smile
examine anything that you do
see I want to become an expert on you
I want to become the food that you eat
let you digest me let me creep
and run through your veins
as you do through mine to keep me sane
and everytime I look in your eyes
I get breathless
and I watch you plié quiescently like a ballerina across whispers of... "I Love You"
that go in my ear
through my mind
down my spine
and straight to my soul and
para ti ago lo que quieres - I would do anything for you
anything you want me to
cuz when i'm around you
I get breathless and I dont know what to do

Its like you' ve some how become the air that I breath
you've become something I need
and I've closed my eyes and seen my seed
and without you here with me
I dont think he could be concieved
and sometimes...
sometimes I wish that I could sit down
and have a conversation with God
find out what did he do
what was his inspiration behind his most beautiful piece of artwork called you
cuz tu me dejas sin aliento baby
you leave me breathless
Breathless

jmsterling 2006 copyright
all rights reserved

Raindrops

2006-03-13T06:52:00.000-08:00

Yo' I often go outside and stand in the rain in hopes of disguising my tears,
Hoping that the raindrops from my eyes clouds eyes blend in with the rain from the heavens.
This rain has flooded my heavens gates so many times and I...just...can't stand the rain against my window,
It hits it and breaks it and drips through the cracks like blood from untreated wounds worn too long.
It falls on my back like titanium bullets piercing my pride's armor causing me to produce raindrops of my own.
This rain has flooded my heart and drowned me in sadness and depression,
See this rain has slowly seeped through the cracks of my cranium crawling down the crevices and creeks of my brain,
Penetrating my pituitary gland making me... forget who I am.
This rain...

I just can't stand against my window.
It taps it at constant rate and pace driving me mad, making my heart race.
See this rain falls on my head in the cold weather
And rolls down my cheeks leaving ash lines down my face that I wear everyday; Proof of my pain.
This rain...this pain...

Has joined the hurricane in my mind and the storm in my soul and softened my heart,
Broke it into millions of pieces and washed it away so many times.
So here I stand,
In the middle of this thicket of thorn bushes tryin' so hard to keep my eyes closed so I won't catch a glimpse of that grass on the other side that looks so green,
But every time,
Every night I see you walk away from me and thunderstorms rage out of my tear ducts and
I... just...can't control this rain... this pain remains no matter what I do and wish that I had the power to control it.

You never notice it until it falls on you.
See this rain has got me holding my breath until my face turns blue,
I cant wait until the day when my clouds are parted and this rain is through.
See I just cant stop thinking about you.
See, this rain falls so heavily that at times I cant even see out my own two eyes
This rain has got me wondering why I continue to cry, I mean... drop rain drops
This pain won't stop no matter how much I try so I go out side and start climbing up this water spout
And out comes this pain... this rain...

And washes me all out then once again here comes you and you dry up all my rain.
And here I am climbing up this god dang water spout again...

jmsterling 2006 copy written
all rights reserved

God In Her

2006-03-10T06:46:00.000-08:00

She says that everybody in life has purpose
no matter how long they stay
or what side good or bad they sway
nobody is worthless
and she doesn't know it see
but she gives me poetry
everytime I hear her voice
its like i hear angels whispers' resounding in my mind everytime I hear her speak

See... there's this girl I know...
and I see God in her and she doesn't think so, but she's an angel
and everytime I look her in the eye's I see angels wings' spread and all of God's secrets fly
see she's everything that right is meant to be
she makes me wanna fall on my knees
and write scriptures and prayers in my skin like Psalms 23

See... there's this girl I know...
and I see God in her and she doesn't think so, but she's a blessing
Taught me so many lessons
never knew a person that I could share my whole universe with
in a single conversation
she's got me reading from Genesis to Revelations
renaming the constellations
through her alone I found delectations

See... there's this girl I know...
and I see God in her and she doesn't know so, but I love her
it's like I taste heaven every time that I touch her
I mean... I feel an angel caress my souls body
everytime she says my name
See there's this girl got me feeling like bible verses are pumpin through my veins
See God said "let there be light"
and she opened her eyes
and a new legacy begun
and never did i know that mind, body, heart and soul could all become one
until I heard her voice
and I thank God daily
I know it sounds crazy
but sometimes I fall on my knees
and I pray to the Lord please
asking him to tell me
why I deserve her
and I put it on all my past, present and future pains
that I will never hurt her and
I know I fell in love the moment that I heard her say my name
see I saw heaven inside the eyes of an angel
and I listened to her mind
like in Psalm 16:1 she could ask me or God to keep her safe at any time
See... there's this girl I know...
and I see God in her and she doesn't know so, but she, to me, is a prophet see
I've never known a love
that makes me think about the world above
it's like she puts heaven in my pen
so I can write away all my wrong
do away with my sin
see there's this girl I know got me dreamin of heaven
yo wonderin what its like to find eternal sleep
I mean wonderin what it's like to find eternal peace
So I write this piece to get my peace
See there's this girl I know and I know it sounds odd
but she makes me want to find God
Ii mean does heaven actually exist
Is there a happiness better than this
see this bliss has got these words fallin from my lips
like ink from tips of pens
that wrote the stories in the bible like love
like 1 Cor 13:4
Like I never had a love like this before
like love at its peak plus more
See... there's this girl I know...
and I see God in her and she doesn't know so, but I love her

jmsterling 2006 copy written
all rights reserved