Genesis, when all was dark and chaotic, space was filled with random noesis; there was no rhythm. As the silence covered the existence a poet set his mind on creating a verse that expanded beyond the concepts of time. Where time was a mere syncopation of breathing, the supreme let his thoughts roam the vastness of the infinite, in the break of silence beginning and end spoke to create a free verse, which ignited an apocalyptic chain of reaction.
An alchemist at work mixing syntax, intelligence of mathematics, chemical reactions spitting light from the belly of heaven; a light that waged war against the darkness, chaos became order making every verse one as the sun. Discovering the power of both tongue and mind, learning to let the power of the original spoken word artist who breathed of himself into my nostrils become the exhalations of inspiration. Free Verse is my chosen path, just as the Divine spoke one verse (the Uni-Verse) into the darkness and raised a sun; I am God’s poetry animated…
Life began for me in the brokenness of New Orleans, where butter and sugar sandwiches, junking, jazz sets, and tagging along in revolutionary activities with my father were the best things. I spent more time with my head in studies; I had little time for foolery. My father spent a great deal of time developing me as a Hebrew scholar that the English language was more an after thought. Often, I consider myself blessed to have studied a Semitic-tongue before picking up such a young and wild language. At the age of sixteen, a family friend caught me on one occasion flipping through a TIME magazine as if I were reading it (though truthfully I was making up the stories with each turn of the page, I couldn’t read a single word), took it upon herself to teach me how to read/write English using the Jerusalem Post, Time, and Newsweek magazines as the curriculum. Imagine going through an entire world history letting the pictures be the proverbial thousand-words, a fantastic experience. Imagine what I perceived of Reagan, Thatcher, Gorbachev, Ghadafi, Watergate, etc.; I am sure I developed more truth than them magazine reporters wrote.
After living abroad in Israel for most of my childhood, it was time to return to the land of my birth with a whole new outlook on life, seeing cultural appreciation at an apex, but also at the genesis of its decline; the music began to change. Trying to understand how to survive this starvation of cultural famine, I began to gather with talking groups, community centers, and ciphers in and around Chicago; getting involved in activist groups responsible for stopping gang activity and raising awareness about community development—Chicago is a great scene for activism if I might add.
I know this story.
I re-write it each sunrise
I know its ending,
for I have scripted it by divine inspiration.
-Tshombe
In 2004 I began to blog on cultural awareness, heritage appreciation, and other cogitative contents. All of which was inspired by my wife Dedre, who encouraged my writing not only as a form of creative expression, but also for its therapeutic value. Somewhere in all of this, someone called me a “poet”, and not knowing really what this new title meant; I began to explore new ways to achieve self-understanding, and a new way to reach out, and pass on a message of truth and inspiration to those who read and listen to poetry. It was also in this year that I co-wrote my first short play titled RUN, which was performed abroad and in the United States.
I found love again
One that glows as the moon
Rises in the sun
Letting the rebirth be done
-Tshombe
2005 was the year that it all came to a single explosion, in the way of directionality for my poetry. Years prior it was just a pen and book, but now it was time to use the synthetic-universe (internet) for some good. Along with two other young poets, we began an online poetry-writing group known as the Po3tic Voices or PV if you will. We went from hosting workshops to podcasting, and 2006 we went live across the globe with what became known as The STORM, my first brainchild of many, and subsequently led to the release of four albums and co-producing several others over the years.
It is more than just being a poet—it is the artistry of constructing change while doing a few creative things to form poems. The poem is the revolution and I find myself every time I get lost, it is like learning to read backwards—seeing the words and finding the pictures. Though considered by many as being a poet, on most days I am a critical thinker who looks beyond the known ledge {knowl~edge}, seeking out the fullness of purpose, and learning to share that experience with you: Purpose driven art. My writings are about constructing context from the subtext of life, which aims to negate any pretext on the path of self-understanding—sounds complicated I know; it truly is just simple enough to be complex, like love or life—this is my story, help me understand it!
This is how I define poetry:
Poetry (pō’ĭ-trē): a proverbial alchemy of words, thoughts, and verbs igniting inspiration upon the canvas of minds. A rhythmic combination of lines and bars designed to liberate beyond the confines of rhymes, stretching the boundaries beyond limits; it is the spirit’s catharsis process turned into art, and subsequently into life; therefore, I write Kai (life) Poetry.
The fact of the matter is each time I write a poem, I redefine poetry in terms of what it means to me.
For Interviews, Speaking, and Appearances at your venues:
If you wish to invited me to participate in your program, let me first thank you for your considerations; I most appreciate it. As exciting as it is to be invited to participate in your program, I do have a few requirements of you:
- A detailed email of your event: date & time, aim and program purpose
- Download my press kit, which contains all that you need to get started [here (64MB)]
- and the reading of either “The Voice of Poetry” or “Purpose Driven Art” (found in the syllabus link above)
“Remember, your time is your own and if you don’t used it wisely someone else will waste it for you”
© Tshombe | Kai Poetry. all works posted are under copyright law, and any violation is subject to federal penalty. All posted are ruminations and inspirations of Tshombe. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this author is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given, and with appropriate and specific direction to the original content. Thank you for reading and sharing my works.
