Song to my Son
Category: Music

I sing this to him in the morning
knowing all he can have is milk

"Sausage, Egg and Cheese
Pancakes if you please

but I will take milk if you have it!"

5:56 PM - 1 Comments - 2 Kudos - Add Comment

for this we have sacrificed
Category: Writing and Poetry

for this life
with you
i have decided
to change habits

i have made sacrifices

no longer do i run in parks
across concrete and sit to witness
chess tournaments with old men talking shit
as if the table were a game spades

i have given up late nights
sitting in bed until 4am
with eyes wide
watching nothing

and sleeping in
on saturdays
waiting until noon to begin my day

i have given my hands
for you
to plant flowers and rocks along the back of the wood
that ends my lining

forgettfulness is a list of "to do's" and accomplishments
that have yet to be completed
for a room full of people cannot
compare to a quiet silent conversation
and glass of your company

i have sacrficed miles of wishful thinking
for an inch of your laughter

your belly is full with my happiness
and you have sacrificed everything for the promise
i gave
to be a father and friend

our sacrifices are grand
but could never compare
to the mountains we will climb
the horizens we witness
hand in hand

rough are my words
for they do not always align in a rythmic formation

8:11 PM - 0 Comments - 0 Kudos - Add Comment

“my words”
Category: Writing and Poetry

my words

have been kicked
dragged in the dirt
scraped and scabbed
wounded from the pain that life brings
heal from broken perceptions

my words are not pretty

my words

forget their names
look in thesauruses and dictionaries to find their meaning
look for a place in context
where understanding is hidden

my words are misunderstood

my words

they run
hide from ears
that fear listening

my words are ignored

my words

left for dead
yards away from an emergency room window
they can see hope
nevertheless, do not always reach a wish's destination

my words need life

my words sometimes
find friends
on pages
company kept by long walks on parchment

my words are needed

my words

they lift weights
pull letters across finish lines
devote time
energy to defining purpose
grip pounds of heart and soul
packed into fingers and interpretation

my words are powerful

my words
sometimes hide from me
behind shadows
and mountains
between the drive from work and
chores at home

they call me
patient for my answers
and sometimes I never take the call

my words are waiting
for me to realize who we are

8:49 PM - 3 Comments - 6 Kudos - Add Comment

senryu - benjamin believes that
Category: Writing and Poetry

we sometimes break ourselves
so others can find pieces...
of who we are

7:36 PM - 1 Comments - 4 Kudos - Add Comment

poem "scars" this is a w.i.p. so be gentle
Category: Writing and Poetry

just wrote this 10 minutes ago
feedback definitely welcome


"scars"
- Benjamin Hughes

i have scars
in secret places

they tattoo themselves across the soul
but i want the whole
not just parts

so i want
to live in sin
just once
and not face the consequences

i need to sit on park benches
admire old men playing chess

i yearn to be the best
father to my son

and if I could extract one piece from life
it would be to take chances
be a part of slow dances

never stop saying i love you
and meaning it everyday

write like Ernest Hemingway:
"for sale:
baby shoes
never worn"

and the only thing that I could regret in this life
would be to pray to be reborn

that prayer
would be a tragedy
what would be the point of living
if you could live life like a dry erase board

erasing mistakes
erasing the chances you take
for one that you thought
would have a better outcome
and start over again and again

yet life
isn't worth living
if it's not been hard

how could you show proof
of you
truly living
without scars

4:06 AM - 3 Comments - 4 Kudos - Add Comment

letter to my future son
Category: Writing and Poetry

letter to my future son

hello
i know we have yet to be introduced formally

but I have to say
that i am anxiously awaiting your visit
being able to meet you for the first time
sit and
marvel in your eyes

just thinking
makes me pause
the aahhhhs from other people


I would love to think that my anger
will be easily dismissed by the sounds of your sleep

to prepare the bottle
how precious even to watch you eat

for a man to be weak
in the presence of a 6lb weakling
now that is something i would easily welcome

rubbing talcum powder on your rear end
how my back will bend for anything you do

even after i walk into the baby room
upon changing your diaper
resisting the smell left behind

when you are crying at 3 o’clock in the morning
I will not want to get up and change you -
but it’s something i will get use to quickly

you
will be the greatest love of my life

and yet son
we have yet to meet
we have yet to speak
in a language that will be our own

translating just what it means to find home
 
father and son
it’s hard to believe that I have grown
into this role

it will take a toll on me to watch you cry
and smile in one step

to witness first steps
after the crawling has been perfected
directed - hopefully well - by your father
just one author of your beginning

i am looking forward to us winning
races across living room floors and
A’s in preschool and kindergarten

we will bore memories into digital cameras that will last lifetimes
from the constant games we will play

let’s just say
I am looking forward to the conversations
the funny faces, tears
small giggles and smiles

could you ever imagine me
folding clothes
little jackets and hats
understanding now what onesys are

changing blankets
convertible beds
reaching to the ceiling and painting stars
to help you learn that this is all
your universe

it has been a long time coming
so welcome son
please take it easy on me
because we have a lifetime to share
 

Currently reading : Pregnancy Sucks for Men: What to Do When Your Miracle Makes You BOTH Miserable By Joanne Kimes Release date: October, 2004

8:26 AM - 1 Comments - 2 Kudos - Add Comment

Barack Obama’s Complete Speech on Race Relations
Category: Goals, Plans, Hopes

Barack Obama’s Complete Speech on Race Relations

Instead of listening to the rhetoric, pundants’, watching news clips and snippets.... watch, read and listen the his response in its entirety

Be well informed!

http://my.barackobama.com/ObamasOwnWords

7:00 PM - 2 Comments - 4 Kudos - Add Comment

OIL Thoughts: Repsonse to all the "Don’t Buy Gas" and OIL Price Emails
Category: Writing and Poetry

Hey everybody I get these emails all the time and they really bug me... here are my thoughts:

Wait... Let’s Really Think About It
The funny thing that many people fail to realize is that American companies do not control the prices of oil. OPEC as well as the basis of other Middle Eastern companies, that many other countries purchase their oil from, define the international production - which ultimately affects the prices of oil and make it go up or down. Because they all get it from virtually the same supplier.

Supply and Demand
If OPEC chooses not to increase production, as it has done over the last twp weeks, the international availability of oil decreases. That decrease means that there is less on the market which then in turn creates more demand. Since there are the same number of people, consuming the same amount of oil - having less oil production means more demand, which increases the oil prices

Another Fact that many people do not know
Many European and Middle Eastern companies, as a result of the ever increasing demand from oil and their large profits received from the demand, are able to give subsidies on oil taxes and the product. As a result of the subsidies they give, the gas-at-the-pump prices are decreased. It is not uncommon for those people in other countries pay 15 cents - under a Dollar $ a gallon.  OPEC and the other oil producers can then use these subsidies to curb frustration, problems and public opinion. Because really if we were paying less than a $dollar a gallon would we be complaining???
I don’t think so

Change of Habits vs Change of Companies
Until people actually change their habits (i.e. riding bikes, decreasing driving trips, commuting, drive share, alternate sources, etc etc i understand this is not an easy thing to do) not much will change. The fact that people will not buy from two oil companies will not change much either. They will still buy from other companies and since most the oil comes from the same sources... and so on and so on...

Just my thoughts. If people have more information then they will be able to make well informed decisions.

Just my $3.54 cents worth

On Sat, Mar 15, 2008 at 12:18 PM, From an emailer wrote:

    Here’s the idea: For the rest of this year, DON’T purchase ANY gasoline from the two biggest companies (which now are one), EXXON and MOBIL. If they are not selling any gas, they will be inclined to reduce their prices. If they reduce their prices, the other companies will have to follow suit.

    But to have an impact, we need to reach literally millions of Exxon and Mobil gas buyers. It’s really simple to do! I am sending this note to 30 people. If each of us send it to at least ten more (30 x 10 = 300) .. and those 300 send it to at least ten more (300 x 10 = 3,000)...and so on, by the time the message reaches the sixth group of people, we will have reached over THREE MILLION consumers. If those three million get excited and pass this on to ten friends each, then 30 million people will have been contacted!

Currently reading : Oil Politics: A Modern History of Petroleum By Francisco Parra Release date: 17 January, 2004

9:18 PM - 0 Comments - 0 Kudos - Add Comment

The Wire

comments are always welcome

i wish
that everyone
could watch 'The Wire'

you can't understand
but you can empathize
you can't empathize
but you can try hard

but watching
is not trying
it's just sitting on your ass


we all talk like we are doing something
like we are changing things
affecting something

but all the talk
is nothing
but talk

there are issues
under the skin
that we can feel
but our eyes
don't want to look down

luckily there are peoplewho are willing
to shine a light in the darkness


i wish i could do something to wash the shit
but all I do is pile it on
with a smile
and heartache

7:12 PM - 0 Comments - 0 Kudos - Add Comment

feeling full
Category: Writing and Poetry

my time is getting thinner
much like my waist

been working it all out real hard
my mba classes on Mondays
evening apprenticeships courses on Tuesdays
piece by piece the schedule fills

been filling my time
the baby is kicking
letting me know he wants to dance
feel fingers and feet
i smile immensely

there are things that fill spaces
places that use to be empty
are now like rooms filled with furniture
families have to have a place to congregate

and I love the way things come together

can't mention but so much
so little
is so obvious
 
need a vacation
so much so that I will go to Savannah

offshoring jobs is annoying
calling for a flight and making reservations with india
they say the connection is difficult
i think it is the accent and language

but language is not the only thing that seperates us

sometimes it's just enough to sit on a beach
and wonder why god made the sunset
to calm our weary minds
 

7:01 PM - 1 Comments - 2 Kudos - Add Comment