Oblivion's Love Affair (Haiku)
by Larry J. Knight, Jr.
our lives are moments
dissolving into nothing
glad you are with me
Copyright 2005 by Larry J. Knight, Jr.
Wednesday, June 22, 2005
Tuesday, June 21, 2005
Don't Believe the Hype...PLEASE! [ARTICLE]
The Internal Filter
by Larry J. Knight, Jr.
The 2004 Presidential election will perhaps be remembered as one of the most polarizing events in our nation’s history. The contest between incumbent President George W. Bush and Massachusetts Senator John Kerry has divided the country and created an atmosphere of bitterness, contempt, and guileful attempts to sway the opinions of voters. It seems that with all of the attack ads, talking points, and scathing reports from both Liberals and Conservatives about potential Election Day misconduct, it would seem that the one group of individuals that could provide some semblance of open-mindedness would be our youth. However, it has become increasingly obvious that this once venerable group of free thinkers has now become an assemblage that only soak up what is created by an ‘independent’ media that at times seems to be on a relentless campaign to convert and recruit. The end result of this constant barrage of political information is clusters of teenagers who are virtually unable to filter what they see and hear. In essence, these young people ingest rhetoric created by a political candidate’s press team to spin an agenda. And it is that agenda that is duly articulated to everyone; friends, peers, family members, and teachers. An agenda that spawns an ideology that in most cases is ill conceived simply because no internal filtration process is used to differentiate between fact and fiction. It would seem that any person living in a world as technologically advanced that ours, would take every single opportunity to use that technology to research the information that is being disseminated by our elected officials. For example, when Senator Kerry told voters that President Bush only gave tax breaks to the wealthy, it would seem logical that any person who has access to the myriad of reputable research materials would want to confirm that information before he or she subscribes to the purported ‘fact’.
Now that the election of 2004 is a distant memory, and we citizens seek to embrace the policies of the Bush administration’s second term, we are left asking questions that seemingly have no answers. Even now as the bitter divide that reared its ugly little head in 2004 has appeared to have subsided, we still see people being affected by what can only be regarded as mis-information that is disseminated to the masses. Why are American citizens so willing to give in to what is served to them through both the print and electronic media? Several answers can be 'suggested'; one, they are unwilling to find out the truth for themselves; two, they do not possess the means; or three, they simply don’t care. Sure, it's hard to believe that in this day and age, when so much 'stuff' seems to be taking place all over the world at any given second, that there are people who do not take any opportunity to dig deeper into what is truth in an attempt to separate it from what can only be characterized as a falsehood. For example, I wonder just how many ‘scholars’ of the Fox News network took the time to find out about the backgrounds of some of the Watergate characters who so viciously branded W. Mark Felt as a traitor? I found it odd that some Americans took the word of Gordon Liddy and Charles Colson, two individuals involved in the Democratic Party headquarter break-in as well as innumerable Constitutional violations. These patriotic, yet ignorant citizens, could be found on blog sites, and call-in shows all across the country screaming for Felt’s blood, simply because two individuals who were complicit in the crime said that he behaved ‘un-American-like’. And when the news polls came out, asking whether or not Felt should be regarded as a traitor, many people answered with a resounding ‘yes’.
The point is, why do so many Americans, in this age of access, place so much trust in the internet, television, and radio, instead of using other means to verify and support their beliefs? I feel that we've lost a bit of that which made us a great nation, and that my fellow Americans is the both the determination to seek the truth and to filter out the nonsense and embrace facts. I only hope that in the coming years leading up to the 2008 Presidential Election that we can somehow restore our internal filters and look weel beyond that which is ceremoniously fed to us in the new troughs of the 21st century...24 hour cable news networks and internet blog sites (insert irony). Perhaps we should use the next two or three years to try to reinvigorate our desire to eliminate our apathetic attitudes to things that are being fed to us like lobotomized bovines. And that doesn't mean that we should take the position of Coporation for Public Broadcasting chair Kenneth Tomlinson who along with members of the CPB want to 'change' public broadcasting's tried and true legacy of free speech. Attempting to use a sword to cut out the splinter of that which affects us today is asinine, let alone dangerous.
Simply put, I feel that the powers that be should employ tatics that will seek to unite and form a political coalesence, rather than deepening the divides that already exist. However, it is safe to assume that we adults will ultimately do everything within our power to selfishly think of ourselves and never consider that which is most important..the futures of countless children who will live in this world long after we have expired. Quite honestly, the only way to restore that which needs restoring is to start teaching our children, who are quite impressionable, to acquire facts and evidence through meticulous, not superficial, research, before they make a decision. And if not, if we have grown tired of the 'same ole same', well, there’s always 2012!
by Larry J. Knight, Jr.
The 2004 Presidential election will perhaps be remembered as one of the most polarizing events in our nation’s history. The contest between incumbent President George W. Bush and Massachusetts Senator John Kerry has divided the country and created an atmosphere of bitterness, contempt, and guileful attempts to sway the opinions of voters. It seems that with all of the attack ads, talking points, and scathing reports from both Liberals and Conservatives about potential Election Day misconduct, it would seem that the one group of individuals that could provide some semblance of open-mindedness would be our youth. However, it has become increasingly obvious that this once venerable group of free thinkers has now become an assemblage that only soak up what is created by an ‘independent’ media that at times seems to be on a relentless campaign to convert and recruit. The end result of this constant barrage of political information is clusters of teenagers who are virtually unable to filter what they see and hear. In essence, these young people ingest rhetoric created by a political candidate’s press team to spin an agenda. And it is that agenda that is duly articulated to everyone; friends, peers, family members, and teachers. An agenda that spawns an ideology that in most cases is ill conceived simply because no internal filtration process is used to differentiate between fact and fiction. It would seem that any person living in a world as technologically advanced that ours, would take every single opportunity to use that technology to research the information that is being disseminated by our elected officials. For example, when Senator Kerry told voters that President Bush only gave tax breaks to the wealthy, it would seem logical that any person who has access to the myriad of reputable research materials would want to confirm that information before he or she subscribes to the purported ‘fact’.
Now that the election of 2004 is a distant memory, and we citizens seek to embrace the policies of the Bush administration’s second term, we are left asking questions that seemingly have no answers. Even now as the bitter divide that reared its ugly little head in 2004 has appeared to have subsided, we still see people being affected by what can only be regarded as mis-information that is disseminated to the masses. Why are American citizens so willing to give in to what is served to them through both the print and electronic media? Several answers can be 'suggested'; one, they are unwilling to find out the truth for themselves; two, they do not possess the means; or three, they simply don’t care. Sure, it's hard to believe that in this day and age, when so much 'stuff' seems to be taking place all over the world at any given second, that there are people who do not take any opportunity to dig deeper into what is truth in an attempt to separate it from what can only be characterized as a falsehood. For example, I wonder just how many ‘scholars’ of the Fox News network took the time to find out about the backgrounds of some of the Watergate characters who so viciously branded W. Mark Felt as a traitor? I found it odd that some Americans took the word of Gordon Liddy and Charles Colson, two individuals involved in the Democratic Party headquarter break-in as well as innumerable Constitutional violations. These patriotic, yet ignorant citizens, could be found on blog sites, and call-in shows all across the country screaming for Felt’s blood, simply because two individuals who were complicit in the crime said that he behaved ‘un-American-like’. And when the news polls came out, asking whether or not Felt should be regarded as a traitor, many people answered with a resounding ‘yes’.
The point is, why do so many Americans, in this age of access, place so much trust in the internet, television, and radio, instead of using other means to verify and support their beliefs? I feel that we've lost a bit of that which made us a great nation, and that my fellow Americans is the both the determination to seek the truth and to filter out the nonsense and embrace facts. I only hope that in the coming years leading up to the 2008 Presidential Election that we can somehow restore our internal filters and look weel beyond that which is ceremoniously fed to us in the new troughs of the 21st century...24 hour cable news networks and internet blog sites (insert irony). Perhaps we should use the next two or three years to try to reinvigorate our desire to eliminate our apathetic attitudes to things that are being fed to us like lobotomized bovines. And that doesn't mean that we should take the position of Coporation for Public Broadcasting chair Kenneth Tomlinson who along with members of the CPB want to 'change' public broadcasting's tried and true legacy of free speech. Attempting to use a sword to cut out the splinter of that which affects us today is asinine, let alone dangerous.
Simply put, I feel that the powers that be should employ tatics that will seek to unite and form a political coalesence, rather than deepening the divides that already exist. However, it is safe to assume that we adults will ultimately do everything within our power to selfishly think of ourselves and never consider that which is most important..the futures of countless children who will live in this world long after we have expired. Quite honestly, the only way to restore that which needs restoring is to start teaching our children, who are quite impressionable, to acquire facts and evidence through meticulous, not superficial, research, before they make a decision. And if not, if we have grown tired of the 'same ole same', well, there’s always 2012!
Death Before Dishonor?
photo by Larry J. Knight, Jr.
The Reclamation
by Larry J. Knight, Jr.
The subway station at Myrtle and Union
is quiet after dark,
only the converged sounds
of late night blue collar workers
and mechanized Metro card readers
play in the vacuum;
the neighborhood has changed since the early days,
now young punks run rampant
through cavernous underground tunnels
with reckless abandon,
dodging transit cops and rival crews,
tagging everything,
stealing anything;
late nights are the worse,
the stench of carrion and opportunity drawing
scavengers, marauding through tile encrusted corridors
and the ad covered bellies of trains;
ain’t nothing sacred anymore?
Standing on the platform
like some predator waiting for prey,
is a middle aged man,
hairline slightly fading into oblivion,
face worn from city life,
his breathing, white and furious;
air exiting the confines of his chest
in short slow successions…
first the inhale (long and labored)
then the exhale (slow and reluctant);
in the silence
the repetition plays like an organic metronome,
moving back and forth,
in and out,
rhythmically,
until a hush settles
and he is calm-
though possessing the presence of life
he’s devoid of humanity;
instead the primal urge to fight,
the instinctual impetus to clash with an aggressor
the code kill or be killed
plays in his mind like a symphony;
he thought, this was how it was on his block…
no remorse,
no thinking(too late),
just action;
he could hear the number 3 train
pulling around the last dark turn,
the rush of air growing,
thoughts of future actions comforting;
On the platform, near the MTA map,
tracing their fingers along the number 3 line
in search of a final stop, three teens;
who they were didn’t matter
this was vengeance,
for all the beatings his son was given,
for the stolen bike,
the looks of intimidation,
the community;
they were the enemy.
He remembered the first time
he moved into the building,
new wife, a son,
first home;
life then was good…
the prelude to a perfect story
regrettably and progressively
mixed together with years of tragedy:
apartment broken into,
wallet stolen,
wife harassed in the elevator,
child threatened;
he thought, people shouldn’t have to live like prisoners
in their own home,
shouldn’t have to open windows to smell freedom;
fear was a part of the lease,
etched into the fine print of their landlord’s
agreement to provide them with the basics of inner city life-
bad plumbing, broken elevators, drug traffic,
violent crime, terror;
but not anymore,
he was going to do something about it,
settle the score,
make things even;
take back his neighborhood,
restore its glory.
His nose pressed firmly against the bicep
of his outstretched arm, long and lean,
like a missile ready to strike at the suddenness of a command;
his brown muscles twitched and strained,
their woven cords lay beneath the ink-stained flesh bearing a picture:
one heart, two roses, thorns piercing, blood drawn, and a name…ROSALITA;
one eye squinted, lids tightly closed, lashes intertwined;
one eye open,
carefully, premeditatedly
looking across the barrel
through a sight
at a target in a jersey;
his finger wrapped around a trigger,
death set within his eyes-
the roar of blood through veins,
deafening.
The number 3,
like some silver earthworm
boring through an underground labyrinth
snaked through darkness,
only two sounds existed -
his heart and the train,
each syncopated
within the vacuum
like some terrible combination of sound,
each servicing the next;
hand muscles tightened,
life moved in slow motion,
his targets seemed to freeze,
their bodies swaying in suspended animation,
rocking back and forth;
their arms appeared to levitate offensively
to surrender, or to attack,
thoughts of his wife and child shuffled through his mind
like a slide show projected by insanity, or conviction;
and then, he thought of the code: kill or be killed,
their characters, inscribed upon the absence of reason
formed new logic,
this was how it was on his block,
no remorse,
no thinking,
just action;
his finger tightened,
ropes of bicep muscles flexed and reacted,
and he looked across the length of the barrel
grit his teeth
and thought, Bernie Goetz ain’t got nothin’ on me!
then fired…
short bursts from a pistol erupted like a volcano,
the lava flow hot;
four bullets slicing through space,
then the echo of death
the sound of pierced flesh
the gurgle of blood
the thud of corpses,
the end;
this was how it was on his block,
no remorse,
no thinking,
just action,
and vengeance.
The subway station at Myrtle and Union
is quiet after dark,
only the converged sounds
of late night blue collar workers
mechanized Metro card readers
and pissed off vigilantes
play in the vacuum;
late nights are the worse,
the stench of carrion drawing
scavengers, marauding through tile encrusted corridors
and the ad covered bellies of trains…
ain’t there anything sacred anymore?
Copyright 2005 by Larry J. Knight, Jr.
Friday, June 03, 2005
A Life Supreme Ad (#1) [ADVERTISMENT]
designed by Ryan P. Knight
"...his performance shows a range of talents from vocalist to profound writer." -Liz Valentine, Entertaining U Newspaper
After two years of waiting, literary and spoken word fans alike can now experience the newest works by writer and performer Larry Knight as he returns with a collection of poems and music taken from the forthcoming album 'Affinity."
This collection of 12 tracks entitled "A Life Supreme," including poems such as 'Overcome,' 'Chaos in E Minor,' and 'Saturday,' was released in conjunction with a feature of the same title. It contains original music by Ryan P. Knight, a young, talented musician; Ryan Sinclair, an accomplished percussionist; and Kandace Jacobs and brother Brandon, two brilliant classically trainied vocalists. Each artist lends their individual talents to the overall project and creates a cohesion that is hard to find on most projects of this type.
Fans of Larry Knight will enjoy the seemless fluidity of the tracks as they move between themes such as race, music, oppression, and hope. Produced by Knight, James Hardeman, and Ryan P. Knight, the entire collection sounds as crisp, clear, and dynamic as a live performance.
In addition, listeners are also treated to exclusive liner notes that include the full text of three poems featured on the CD. This well designed package is a collectors item that is reminiscent of the old LPs of the Blue Note jazz era.
For the low price of $10 (plus shipping fee), fans, as well as newcomers, are sure to enjoy.
To purchase go to www.paypal.com and send $10 (plus $4 shipping charge) to ljk93@aol.com. The signed CD will be shipped out after the order has been received.
Those wishing to purhase the CD may also go to www.ebay.com.
For more information send an email to ljk93@aol.com or call (904) 728-1369.
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