Trying to capture a nice pic of an orchid
It was a bit dark so I put a flash on it
Suddenly, a bird appeared
With frosted wings
A big heart
Flashing eyes & lit tips
A simple flower
Illuminated
Life within life
Visions of beauty are endless
Meanings are infinite
-CJM
By CJM
Please take a moment to hear this performance. The night this came on HBO, I had taped it on VHS (#TBT) b/c I was at my friend Felix’s birthday party & didn’t want to miss Def Poetry Jam. I had never met La Bruja, but that night she came to the party. At one point, the music stopped & she spit some spoken word. I was so taken, hooked & inspired, in awe of her passion & personality. I went home & watched the tape & saw her perform Lola & WTC. It was a double whammy! I immediately took out my pen & wrote a poem in her name called “The Good Witch”. She continues to inspire many with her magical brews.
Life is like a race
Sometimes, we go too fast
We fall on our face
Trip over our feet
Tied up with ourselves
Sometimes, we go too slow
Think too much
Wait & contemplate
Procrastinate
Until, it’s too late
Sometimes, we fall off track
Feel like giving up
Bruised and cracked
We drop the baton
We don’t feel like doing jack
Sometimes, we think…
We’re completely out of the race
Fallen from grace
When we’re just bit displaced
It’s all just matter
Perspective
Time and space
The lap will return
We’ll continue our pace
Take up where we left off
Either way, we end up in the same place
At the end of the day
We only come face to face
With time
We realize how much we complicate
How we only race with ourselves
And how none of it matters anyway.
Copyright © 2014 Carlos J. Mendez
WORK By CJ Mendez
We are the Borg
We have been assimilated
Work work work
Sleep sleep sleep
Conditioned & trained
A moment to meditate
Play
Computer
Games
Crack that whip
Make that paper
Suck seeds of life
Wash, rinse, repeat
Ruled by trees
Matrix
Our reality
Or slave mentality?
Resistance is futile
Mornings, afternoons or evenings
Until your graveyard shift
Break through the cycle
Break for love
Break is over
Back to work!
Just a tiny dead branch stuck in the sand
Until I picked it up & held it to the wind
And it began to dance in my hands
By CJM
I’m born again
Feeling brand new
It’s my birthday
I can do what I wanna do
So I’m letting go
Of all the things I can’t control
Of all the silly fears we have inside
I’m not meant to feel little
I wasn’t brought here to hide
So I’m gonna continue to strive
And let my light shine
Proud of where I stand
With my heart in my hand
Simply in my knowing
In being the man
I am
-Carlos Juan Mendez
Yet, how else would we test?
On each other?
Of course not
And should we even be testing?
Or just living naturally?
Of course we want to save lives
But when are we crossing the line?
Even if over 95% of the mouse genome is similar to our own
20,000-25,000 genes
The same as a chimpanzee
Cost-effective & efficient to speed research
So small & have a short generation time
An accelerated lifespan
1 mouse year = 30 human years
The space & time required to perform research is manageable
And I’m scientific
But is there a thing as too much Science?
Maybe if we pay more attention to nature & spirit
We could find that there are cures for everything
If from this world
Then of this world
Vegetables, fruits, plants & herbs
If it came from here
It should be from here
Shouldn’t we have figured it out?
We’re smart, right?
Unless we tried to fix shit
And fucked up a lil bit
I’m always torn on this subject
Because science & medicine have achieved much
But I think somewhere along the line
We lost touch
Started getting too hooked on “legal” drugs
And half of these diseases were never around 20 yrs ago
We’ve gotten too far off our natural path
We think the remedies all quickly come from the lab
And we’re just filling up banks
Anyway, I went off on a tangent
Back to the rats…
http://www.livescience.com/32860-why-do-medical-researchers-use-mice.html
The other day a friend posted a link about Kowloon Walled City in Hong Kong, the most densely populated place on Earth. It was insane to see these pics up close & personal.
A Rare Insight Into Kowloon Walled City
The place has since been destroyed and replaced with more supportive structures, that another friend shared a few days later. Nicer on the outside, but similar on the inside, called Battery Cells, and still the most densely populated place on Earth.
Hong Kongs Claustrophobic Human Battery Hens
We sometimes take for granted all we have, the freedoms & luxuries.
Even here in our very own US of A. What, you thought we were that special?
The Jungle – Largest Homeless Camp in US
It inspired me to write this poem the other night.
ACCOMMODATIONS by CJ Mendez
Inspired by a small space
In another country
Where we can’t relate
If you told me that I had to accommodate my life
And have a little less
So that everyone can have equal lives of happiness & success
Then I’d give up a lot
And not under a dictatorship
But mutual & all due respect
Because all this excess is just ridiculous
The polarities are so complex
And we’re never gonna manifest our destiny’s
While robbing keys from the next man on the street
Taking his money
And giving him a tax receipt
Or a refund check
Laughing our way to the bank
When we’re the ones in jest!
Today, on the way to work the first song that came up was a throwback to 1990! Tracie Spencer’s “This House” from the album Make A Difference. Of all songs.
So I looked up the lyrics & it all came together, the links above regarding how people live, the poem & the song. No coincidences, just synchronicities.
I wrote this in June 2006 on the plane back to NJ after a quick trip to Miami to find a place to move. I remember a friend telling me back then & again today that it made them think of WW3. I didn’t write it with that in mind. It had to do with our gov, President Bush at the time, marriage, etc. So here we are, 7 yrs later, still dealing with the same issues & this poem means just as much to me today as it did back then. I’d like to share it with you.
A DENT IN OUR PRESENT
We’re disillusioned
Led purposely to confusion
With no absolution to ease the minds of the youth
We desperately need to rethink & regroup
The lessons we’re learning are so unreal
In fact, we never learn the real deal behind the closed doors
Constant spiels of bullshit spitting on our faces
While many unfortunate minds just accept it
Some never question it
But many are guessing it
So when will we know the real deal?
When it’s too late while we wait?
Though we already know the truth
We just don’t have all the proof, yet!
But take a good look…
We’re blindly conditioned through wars & religion
TV & films… desensitized against our own will
Violence & hatred portrayed as entertainment
Modeling shows teaching perfection
But we walk the runways of life anyway
Feeling constant rejection, no self love, no acceptance
Bling Bling blinding the blingers from seeing past their own diamonds & Cadillac grills
Spilling exaggeration & foolishness
Neglect for money & all about respect?
For who? For what? For what have you done? For who?
All the fabulousness & labels
Alienating their own audience who can’t even relate
Since they’re not getting nearly as paid
Homophobic evil from political leaders
Marriage so sacred while we ask
“Who wants to marry a millionaire?” on the TV air
Then call it a day & go your separate ways
Cause it was just a game anyway
WELL NOT FOR US!
Reality stars making it big without anything real to give
And we give in anyway
Sitting like fools watching fake life happen
We’re being shelved as humans
Secret workman fighting for our own freedom
But not fighting at all
Since there seems to be no cause
And if one is created it’s quickly disseminated
Until we forget…
Meanwhile, there are greedy power wars
Against 3rd worlds we know can’t endure
The wrath of the political ass we call a president
When in reality; he’s just a dent in our present!
Unpublished © CJ Mendez, 2006
FREE READINGS by CJ
If I don’t like you
You may never even know it
Because I’m so courteous
I may never even show it
But, try it with me
And eventually you’ll see
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