{"post":"The blunt and the bottle
The road to the first swallow
Is paved with bad choices
Self hating inner voices

Lost souls
With no goals
Or ignorant to the disease
And keep encouraging me

To puff or sip
But these are my lips
Hands and body"}

{"post":"(An unfinished piece) Affirmative Action

The dirt etched into the kitchen floor
From the worn sI’m not using big words today :)s
the contort her feet
That sit by the back door
Most of the time
for the short time
She attempts to relax
inside

With no time
To part water in the bucket it
To clear the floor
She breaks her back to rent
That was dirty
compared to ground that is free
but many get arrested for occupying
The day she moved in
Hard to complain
With the high rent
And housing departments
Still using Covid
As an excuse
For not holding slum lords
Accountable in democrat ran cities
Like Pittsfield, springfield, and Holyoke Ma

I’m not a Republican
But I can’t
Support
Those that don’t support me
Ignoring her
While Affirming
The futures of their
White sisters and daughters
White
Republicans repute
Democrats demolish
The existence of ours
Selling dreams
They can’t afford themselves
On the other isle
Erasing our existence
Nothing left but to accept
The dirt
Ground into the kitchen floor
as part of the original tiles
Affirming that she doesn’t matter
With non action
To hold white landlords accountable
For ran down property
Housing mostly
Black or Latinos

Copyright (c)
Maurice Taylor
June 30th 2023
Black Orphan"}

Lonnie Green Pop Tart master of RBS, San Francisco,

{"post":"2023 International Strutters Room Master Camp & Hip Hop Congress Reunion

https:\/\/www.eventbrite.com\/e\/2023-international-strutters-room-master-camp-hip-hop-congress-reunion-tickets-480760115447"}

https://poeticrecovery.us/shared_content/post/1268/1680405116

{"post":"Welcome to Between The Lines (BTL), a live call and response online show where artists respond to artists. On February 28, we will be sharing our poems on \"Being Human,” a prompt posed to us by Ian McKenzie, our Guest Response Artist.
Community Guidelines:
-Participants must sign-up each week: only hosts, guest artists, response artists and audience members who are registered will be admitted.
-Arrive on time.
Because this is a response event, participants who arrive on time will be invited to read and our guest poet will respond to each poem offered. Those coming into our space after our guest begins may join us as a member of our interactive audience.
-Up to 4-Minute (Poems including introduction and comments): After 4 minutes, you will be muted and the next artist will be invited to share their response.
-18 years or older: This is a space for adults 18 years or older where some of the themes explored may include mature content and themes including the use of expletives, social justice issues and sensual descriptive language. No hate speech will be condoned in performance nor within the chat will be tolerated. If that is happening, please alert your host who will address the concern immediately.
-This is a live show and the recording will be aired on YouTube and shared on social media.
-Asynchronous Participation: Especially for those who could not make it or arrived late, enjoy the recording and share your responses and supplementary materials under the week’s BTL video in Club Mermaid
TUESDAYS
8 PM SINGAPORE
5 AM PI’m not using big words today :)NIX
We host the event on Zoom software. If you don't have it yet, download here: https:\/\/zoom.us\/
MEETING INFO:
Tuesdays, 5-7 am Arizona \/ 8-10 pm Singapore
Join Zoom
https:\/\/us06web.zoom.us\/j\/3067448827...
Meeting ID: 306 744 8827
Passcode: 5bkNL9
***If you need Technical Support to get into the room, please contact Lu-Shien Tan or Kemlyn Tan Bappe on Facebook Messenger.
Sign-up to be invited to be Response Artist or an audience member:
https:\/\/forms.gle\/Y3M1UK3EXCFqcfSV7
February 28, 2023 Prompt is: “Being Human” posed to us by Ian MacKenzie.
IAN MACKENZIE
Ian J McKenzie is a retired English teacher from Cumbria. He has been writing Poetry on and off for many years, but only seriously in the last 10. Ian’s work covers a range of themes and forms, including a series of sonnets; he is particularly interested in the relationship between lived experience and how we negotiate our place in the world. To date, he has had his poems published, in Reading Today, Madras Courier; and a poem, ‘Run Down the Years’ in an anthology on the theme of over 70s: ‘I Ache In The Places I used to Play’, edited by Fin Hall.
Format:
Welcome\/Introduction of Sayang Artist, Ian MacKenzie
Discussion
Response Artists share (up to 4 minutes)
Ian shares shares his poetry
Benediction\/Close"}