Wednesday, December 5, 2007

RIP Phenzwaan 1977-2007

a dear friend passed away this morning, the circumstances of which are unfortunate, and he has been taken from this world much too soon. his talents were numerous and his voice, his spirit, his passion are things that i will always take with me. his impact on my life has been so large and i am one of so many that he has touched, through his words or through his presence. i am struggling to understand, but believe he will find us again, in another form. here is a poem that does not even begin to do justice to his beauty. you can find his work here: http://www.phenzwaan.com (i'm having trouble getting the link to post, sorry)

for phenzwaan

this has been a year
when the words died.
when great wordsmiths
have muted their breath
for a braver journey,
and i'm finding my heroes
slowly fading, stars
burned out in a galaxy
i have not yet found
on any map of mercy.

time rushes with age and
i find myself moving
too fast to reach back,
grasp your hands again.
you, ascending
and my acceleration
breaches the plane of
touch, this emotion
has exponents that my
eyes cannot look up
high enough to graph.

we make a mantra,
we mumble. we say it
louder, tomorrow is not
promised
, bring me your best
everyday. i always say
i love you when i leave you.
and i am used to this,
but i never remember
the sharp slice and dull deluge.

how it feels to close my
lips around your name
and know that you will
never hear my voice.
the numbers on my hands
grow, the names i say
in my head in that
part of the prayer,
there are more lights
that fade in my eyes.

i don't know of a better
reason to meditate on
the moments of morse
code we sent back and
forth across violent seas
while trying to name
our reigns of lighting.
we licked the waves and
our wounds, afterward.

i command you now to heal.
i conjure every word you wrote
down and deem it doctrine
of this religion of verse
that i worship. you preach
every time a breath reaches
up to you. you breathe always
in the vibrancy of your voice.

love always,
lo

1 comment:

William said...

Lolo,

That was a really wonderful poem. Thanks for sharing that with all of us. I hope you are finding some comfort and healing.

-w-