tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17156237952361003312024-03-08T16:04:37.098-05:00Avant-garde AscensionAvant-garde(adj.) - innovative; radical or unorthodox. Ascension(n.) - moving upward from a lower to a higher state. Welcome to Avant-garde Ascension. My name is A. Lewis, a.k.a. ATLthePoet. I named this blog Avant-garde Ascension because that's what I want it to be. I want any reader's brain to [ascend] to a higher and [avant-garde] level. "An intellectual visionary is a seamstress; the precedents and ideas he sews today are but the fabric of tomorrow's reality." - A. Lewis, Poet and Gentleman.A. Lewis, Poet and Gentlemanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13521568891890263263noreply@blogger.comBlogger703125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1715623795236100331.post-12672838554268331142015-07-30T05:05:00.005-04:002015-07-30T05:05:55.401-04:005:04 AMThey say timing is everything.<br />
I suppose that's why<br />
Us having something<br />
Feels like it will end up as nothing at all.<br />
They say you have to walk before you crawl.<br />
We've been sprinting since we met,<br />
And neither of us is tired yet.<br />
The whirlwind has swept away the cobwebs,<br />
Dashed away any doubts,<br />
And made us dizzy with delight.<br />
Texts sent upon awaking,<br />
And we fall asleep on the phone at night.<br />
Why am I left with the feeling<br />
That it's all just too right?<br />
They say if it's too good to be true...<br />
Well, you know the rest.<br />
Why second-guess the best?<br />
You make all others seem like second-best.<br />
My heart beats so rapidly around you,<br />
Folks would still hear it if I had a second chest.<br />
The time we spend together is amazing;<br />
Our time apart is an exercise in patience.<br />
I just always want to be with you,<br />
Basking in this infatuation.<br />
I love how you incite my imagination.<br />
..but I hate the occasional bouts of trepidation.<br />
Wondering when the high will end,<br />
When reality will snap back into place.<br />
I just know the Hands of Time<br />
Are ready to slap us across the face.<br />
We're both young,<br />
With so many places to go.<br />
While the fire is strong between us,<br />
There just isn't a stable place for it to grow.<br />
That's why we continue to fall.<br />
Convinced we can have it all,<br />
When we can't even reach solid ground.<br />
It won't be easy when we finally do come down,<br />
We'll just have to deal when that time comes around.<br />
I know they say timing is everything.<br />
I suppose that's why<br />
Us having something<br />
Feels like it's better than nothing at all.<br />
Time may run out on us, but at least we started our clock.<br />
In a time of lackadaisical effort, we've given it all we've got.<br />
No matter the ending, we had quite a run.<br />
You'll always be special, even when it's said and done.<br />
<br />
-TAA<br />
<br />
<br />A. Lewis, Poet and Gentlemanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13521568891890263263noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1715623795236100331.post-51219654885764336632015-06-28T00:03:00.002-04:002015-06-28T00:03:53.335-04:00Handwritten - 6/26/15Let's go where wi-fi can't reach us, and practice real connectivity.<br />
Leave the touchscreens, and find out about real levels of sensitivity.<br />
Social media didn't ruin relationships,<br />
And neither did technology.<br />
However, both have changed how we communicate,<br />
Which has affect our methodology.<br />
Thanks to notifications, we're afraid to speak first or text twice.<br />
Too busy worrying about how things might look,<br />
Rather than what feels right.<br />
Desiring companionship is considered everything but normal,<br />
And often associated with weakness,<br />
Yet people wonder why their outlooks are peppered with bleakness.<br />
Profiles are facades, no matter how honest they are.<br />
Without feeling our energy, no one can truly know who we really are.<br />
Text messages lose the quality of tone;<br />
Without it, the intended emotions and feelings are gone.<br />
People are left with mere perception alone,<br />
Which leads to misunderstandings aplenty.<br />
I don't mean to imply that texts are empty,<br />
But they often complicate conversations that could be had simply.<br />
Beyond the tweets and messages,<br />
Beyond the likes and comments,<br />
There are deeper levels of connection;<br />
The ones that make sparks fly like comets.<br />
Rather than refresh feeds and pages,<br />
We should be refreshing our minds and spirits in compelling places.<br />
Mutual friends are cool, but what about connecting through mutual beliefs?<br />
Rather than similar relationship goals,<br />
What about mutual ambitions, and a desire to see each other succeed?<br />
Seems like we focus on what we see on screens,<br />
Which is ineffective, since we all curate those things.<br />
Instead, we should be seeking admissions only heard in moments undressed by trust.<br />
Meaningful facts that have to be bared.<br />
We all choose what we share, but filters disappear when we care.<br />
Our raw selves are rough, but our flaws are what make us perfect.<br />
Requiring effort and understanding makes us worth it.<br />
Conversation is a lost art; let's unearth it.<br />
There are feelings to be felt that defy wording;<br />
There are beautiful times to be had, and we all deserve it.<br />
<br />
-TAAA. Lewis, Poet and Gentlemanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13521568891890263263noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1715623795236100331.post-11384376143314985652015-06-27T02:28:00.000-04:002015-06-27T02:28:24.532-04:00Interested (In You) - 6/27/15May my intentions reach your heart clearly,<br />
And my actions speak loudly enough for your trust to hear me.<br />
I understand that you have guards up,<br />
But I'm not in the business of knocking walls down.<br />
Instead of demolition, I hope I'm in a position<br />
Where I make you laugh until the blockade falls down.<br />
Of course I want you physically;<br />
That's a part of attraction.<br />
However, seeing you smile,<br />
And being your spare calm when things get wild,<br />
Mean more than providing sexual satisfaction.<br />
...although I do plan on offering that in spades.<br />
The thing is,<br />
Sex too soon can lead to emotional escapades,<br />
Since it escalates feelings exponentially:<br />
From "we're just talking,"<br />
To twitter and instagram stalking, instantly.<br />
I'd much rather practice romance and friendship consistently,<br />
Build on that consistency,<br />
And see if our hearts begin to yearn for each other more insistently.<br />
We can even both begin with options,<br />
As long it's agreed that when sharing is no longer optional, we drop them.<br />
Whatever it takes to see this through.<br />
As the saying goes, I've got a love jones for you.<br />
I'd be humbly thrilled to see you shine and grow in my light and love,<br />
But for now, you're just the one I'm thinking of.<br />
I look forward to getting to know you, and I mean that sincerely.<br />
May my intentions reach your heart clearly,<br />
And my actions speak loudly enough for your trust to hear me.<br />
<br />
-TAAA. Lewis, Poet and Gentlemanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13521568891890263263noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1715623795236100331.post-76495658282124932652015-05-17T03:19:00.000-04:002015-05-17T03:19:20.053-04:003:18 AMNo matter how great a night turns out...<br />
Before the lights turn out,<br />
You'll creep up on me.<br />
Getting home and chilling alone,<br />
The events of the night slowly fade.<br />
Despite the memories made,<br />
I find myself thinking about you.<br />
What's a good time without you?<br />
It's always great to see you enjoy yourself;<br />
Our great times are unlike any else.<br />
I'd love to share my fun,<br />
Seeing as I don't share these thoughts.<br />
Instead,<br />
I'll just go shower, and get in the bed,<br />
Counting the sheep in your field of forget-me-nots.<br />
The same place you always hide.<br />
Maybe one day I'll close the chapter,<br />
But for now, I'll settle for rest and close my eyes.<br />
<br />
-TAA<br />
<br />
<br />A. Lewis, Poet and Gentlemanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13521568891890263263noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1715623795236100331.post-71217119375012292422015-05-16T06:06:00.000-04:002015-05-16T06:06:03.860-04:006:05 AMWhy is it that every time I miss you<br />
You make it seem like a non-issue?<br />
<br />
Why is it that every time I want to see you<br />
It feels like I don't even have a way to reach you?<br />
<br />
Why do you always go missing?<br />
When you know my feelings are so insistent...<br />
<br />
...consistent, persistent.<br />
All three apply.<br />
When it comes to you,<br />
The well just won't run dry.<br />
I dig deeper and deeper,<br />
All I do is try.<br />
All I want is a little reciprocity,<br />
And you just can't seem to comply.<br />
Caring defies logic,<br />
Yet, on my feelings, you can rely.<br />
I'm always interested in your conversation,<br />
Yet, I never want to pry.<br />
I also want to tell you that I don't care anymore,<br />
But, I'm not one to tell such a stark lie.<br />
I've always felt we could be something special,<br />
That our story was written in the sky.<br />
I've been vocal about it all;<br />
I've heard nothing even close to a reply.<br />
I wish you'd give me some answers;<br />
Maybe things would be clear enough for me to say "goodbye."<br />
Deep down, you know nothing keeps a gentle heart around<br />
Like letting it spin its wheels on the endless carousel of "why."<br />
Too kind to get fed up,<br />
Too hopeful to let "maybe" pass by.<br />
Such is the nature of our bond;<br />
The complexity of you and I.<br />
It could all be so simple,<br />
But before you let me get close, you'd rather die.<br />
And you're afraid that letting me in<br />
Would allow me to learn why.<br />
<br />
-TAA<br />
<br />
A. Lewis, Poet and Gentlemanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13521568891890263263noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1715623795236100331.post-19828273288406227792015-05-16T04:16:00.000-04:002015-05-17T03:31:14.109-04:004:16 AMMy views on love<br />
Have changed with the times.<br />
Maybe...<br />
Just maybe, you can change my mind.<br />
It's tough out here.<br />
Some bring old dirt into new homes;<br />
Others shack up,<br />
Just to more comfortably roam.<br />
None of us really want to be alone,<br />
But we don't even know how to thrive independently.<br />
...which I suppose is why we develop dependency.<br />
Feelings often seem mature<br />
While connections are in their infancy.<br />
Infatuation is just a matter of initial intensity,<br />
Emotions overwhelmed by new stimulation.<br />
Though sticky, it's a temporary situation;<br />
That phase will give way to what's real,<br />
Though that flame, that sensation<br />
Should be a reminder of why both parties decided to build.<br />
The thing is,<br />
Someone worth the effort<br />
Can be hard to find.<br />
My views on love<br />
Have changed with the times.<br />
Maybe...<br />
Just maybe, you can change my mind.<br />
Dating often feels like work.<br />
And no one wants to give effort to an eventual lost cause.<br />
However,<br />
We should all put the prognostication on pause.<br />
We're so afraid of having the rug pulled,<br />
So afraid of getting hurt, we won't even text people first.<br />
Forever misconstruing "thirst,"<br />
Tainting the future by assuming the worst.<br />
Quite a defense mechanism,<br />
Seeing as we're not really afraid of those things.<br />
What's truly scary is someone seeing our true, raw selves,<br />
And knowing what that means.<br />
Giving someone the power to cut where the scars already are,<br />
And knowing what that brings.<br />
Vulnerability.<br />
That's a word we avoid, a word we deny,<br />
A word that leads to stories of affection told from one side.<br />
Miscommunication runs rampant,<br />
Trust issues end up at an all-time high.<br />
It can be difficult to find someone<br />
That simply inspires me to try.<br />
The thing is,<br />
My views on love<br />
Have changed with the times.<br />
Maybe...<br />
Just maybe, you can change my mind.<br />
<br />
-TAAA. Lewis, Poet and Gentlemanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13521568891890263263noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1715623795236100331.post-69722091555593363752015-05-15T03:58:00.001-04:002015-05-17T03:40:00.652-04:003:58 AM I really do...<br />
I still do.<br />
<br />
I know I shouldn't,<br />
But I still care.<br />
The feelings<br />
Those damn feelings<br />
Still there.<br />
Memories flicker<br />
Like flames deep within in a cave;<br />
I assume the winds of time will extinguish,<br />
But they merely provide the sway.<br />
Shadows dance along the walls,<br />
And I care for you, yet another day.<br />
We just couldn't get it right.<br />
Attempting to connect<br />
Was like trying to start a fire;<br />
I suppose that's why sparks flew<br />
I suppose that's why it burned us both.<br />
I suppose that's why I still feel warmth,<br />
When I hold those memories close.<br />
Time may heal all wounds,<br />
But it cannot make us immune<br />
To the recurrent ache of heartbreak,<br />
Nor spare us the gloom.<br />
So, deep in the darkness of my scars<br />
Where the light of learning a lesson can't reach,<br />
Memories flicker<br />
Like flames deep within a cave.<br />
Still there.<br />
Those damn feelings<br />
The feelings.<br />
I still care,<br />
But, I know I shouldn't.<br />
<br />
...yet, I still do.<br />
I really do.<br />
<br />
-TAAA. Lewis, Poet and Gentlemanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13521568891890263263noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1715623795236100331.post-28835159921438690982015-02-15T04:44:00.002-05:002015-02-15T05:19:35.350-05:004:44 AMYou'll hear from me<br />
When I'm not hearing from anyone else.<br />
That said...<br />
I can't tell if I'm fooling you,<br />
Or fooling myself.<br />
Does it mean we're so close<br />
That we don't have to talk often?<br />
Our relationship is special,<br />
And we do give each other room to blossom.<br />
I mean...you are awesome.<br />
But why do I only think of you when I'm lonesome?<br />
Does it mean you're just convenient?<br />
Sticking around, waiting for more,<br />
Offering benefits that I'm reaping?<br />
It's confusing...<br />
But there's so much certainty.<br />
I know you'll pick up.<br />
I know you'll come.<br />
I know it's good...<br />
I know I'll come.<br />
All that coming,<br />
Yet we can't arrive at a conclusion.<br />
Feels real in those moments...<br />
But in retrospect, it's like an illusion.<br />
...is it a delusion?<br />
Are we deceived by how close we get<br />
Not realizing how distant we really are?<br />
Never more than a text away,<br />
Doubts get sexed away,<br />
But once getting pulled back in wears off,<br />
Our personal lives seem really far.<br />
Different pages<br />
Different chapters<br />
Different books<br />
Different genres<br />
What does that all mean,<br />
If our love of reading is what we have in common?<br />
We've searched for each other's deeper meanings<br />
We appreciate how our life stories have been written<br />
Most people just read a chapter or two<br />
And think that first spark means they're smitten.<br />
I wish our situation was that simple.<br />
All of these feelings between us<br />
Is it a mine field, or a garden of common ground?<br />
I'm as uncertain as ever...<br />
But, I'm sure I want you around.<br />
...right now.<br />
In this instant.<br />
While my options have gone missing.<br />
Need the security, the familiar warmth, of something consistent.<br />
<br />
-A. LewisA. Lewis, Poet and Gentlemanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13521568891890263263noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1715623795236100331.post-44690684016239423132015-02-14T03:58:00.002-05:002015-02-14T04:13:59.509-05:003:58 AM (Poem x Rant)Tell me...<br />
Is there a character limit to my approach?<br />
Does the attention you receive<br />
Lead you to believe<br />
That your actions are above reproach?<br />
Is articulation too much for the span of your attention?<br />
If I go beyond 140 spaces,<br />
Am I just "spam,"<br />
And my interest isn't worth a mention?<br />
Do you only want a love that you can share,<br />
That you can retweet?<br />
Do you only want a man that other women favorite,<br />
So you can prematurely claim him to feel complete?<br />
Would you then no longer like him<br />
If he didn't inspire many to comment on what you all posted?<br />
Intimacy is longer than six seconds,<br />
And connections don't happen in a snap.<br />
I swear sometimes,<br />
It feels like all of this social media stuff is a trap.<br />
<br />
We feel so important, so self-aware,<br />
Yet there's details about everyone posted everywhere.<br />
Our attention gets whittled down to the next update.<br />
Only time our minds run normally?<br />
When we're up late.<br />
So concerned with the personas we create<br />
That we can't even proficiently communicate<br />
Or simply relate.<br />
No one wants to simply be a post<br />
A trending topic<br />
A hashtag.<br />
Relationships are so much more.<br />
It's all about attention and status updates now, though<br />
Far more than nurturing and developing a beautiful rapport.<br />
A culture sharing and what's next...<br />
A culture of serial dating and misleading sex.<br />
Sharing ourselves like our pages<br />
And no, that's not implicit slut shaming.<br />
Quick to let our guards down because we want quick results.<br />
Expedient vulnerability leading to even quicker heartbreak,<br />
While the ones most deserving can't even get a fair shake.<br />
Then there are those whose apathy is feigned<br />
Paper walls up so high, emotions so restrained<br />
So afraid of being hurt,<br />
That they live in a land of familiar, maintained pain.<br />
What an interesting state of affairs...<br />
High stakes, higher pace.<br />
People aren't profiles though.<br />
Instead of seeking instantaneous, intense romance,<br />
We need to learn to take things slow.<br />
Coldly clicking, swiping, scrolling, and liking<br />
But face-to-face conversation will always light fires that grow.A. Lewis, Poet and Gentlemanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13521568891890263263noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1715623795236100331.post-70336164479148612022015-02-11T05:17:00.000-05:002015-02-11T05:17:02.011-05:005:07 AMMurky waters<br />
The joy of swimming<br />
The adrenaline rush of limited sight<br />
I don't know where this is going.<br />
I understand that it's flowing,<br />
But it's all so unclear.<br />
We're supposed to be in this together<br />
Yet, you're nowhere near.<br />
You used to be...<br />
I suppose you've gotten used to me.<br />
Dog-paddling in a pond of puppy love<br />
Everything was great<br />
Next thing I know,<br />
I'm in an ocean of emotional commotion<br />
And we don't really relate<br />
While struggling to communicate.<br />
Life jacket on to keep from getting hurt,<br />
But it's filled with fear.<br />
Learned to carry it from past experiences<br />
I suppose I didn't learn enough<br />
If all I do is prepare for more of the same.<br />
Feelings deep enough to drown in<br />
Too dark to locate the surface.<br />
Was this done on purpose?<br />
Do you confuse me to have me trapped?<br />
Lost, bewildered,<br />
Left with no choice other than eating from your lap?<br />
Or was this an accident?<br />
Simply what happens<br />
When you're too deep too soon?<br />
Nah...<br />
If that were the case,<br />
There wouldn't be so much darkness.<br />
Deep down, the grey area became black.<br />
I'm just trying to get back.<br />
It's all too unclear.<br />
I understand that it's flowing,<br />
But I don't know where this is going.<br />
The lack of sight is troubling<br />
Swimming in my own confusion is tiresome<br />
Murky waters.<br />
<br />
-A. LewisA. Lewis, Poet and Gentlemanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13521568891890263263noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1715623795236100331.post-50442985570042336982015-02-06T06:13:00.001-05:002015-02-06T06:14:34.128-05:006:13 AMI've picked you up<br />
I've put you down.<br />
I've carried you with me,<br />
At times,<br />
And I've thrown you around.<br />
<br />
I've left you here<br />
I've left you there.<br />
I've misplaced you many times,<br />
Just to find you again,<br />
All without a care.<br />
<br />
I've broken you a few times<br />
I've patched you up a bit.<br />
Some were mistakes,<br />
Some was negligence,<br />
But I never apologized for any of it.<br />
<br />
I've let you fall into the hands of others<br />
I've snatched you back.<br />
I've held you close to my chest<br />
I've also let you slip through the cracks.<br />
<br />
I never thought it would change<br />
Never thought you'd be gone.<br />
I treated you like a trinket<br />
Now, someone treasures you as his own.<br />
<br />
They say "you don't know what you have..."<br />
Until absence supplants it<br />
However, I knew exactly what was in my life;<br />
I just willingly took it for granted.<br />
<br />
-A. Lewis<br />
<br />A. Lewis, Poet and Gentlemanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13521568891890263263noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1715623795236100331.post-81054081429153004252015-02-04T04:57:00.001-05:002015-02-04T04:57:41.922-05:004:57 AMMy knuckles might get sore<div>
From rapping at your door</div>
<div>
But there are things between us</div>
<div>
We'd be fools to ignore. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
My pulse is on some deathly level</div>
<div>
While anticipation lives and breeds.</div>
<div>
The heart wants what it wants</div>
<div>
But don't our souls have needs? </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Your vibrations are otherworldly...</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Like nothing I've ever known. </div>
<div>
You're my vacation and staycation,</div>
<div>
Taking me places I've never been,</div>
<div>
And always feeling like home.</div>
<div>
Feelings have more than grown...</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
They've blossomed. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I'm here with a bouquet in my soul,</div>
<div>
A garden of feelings in my heart,</div>
<div>
Seeds requiring attention in my mind,</div>
<div>
And a body that would rather root than be apart.</div>
<div>
I knew you were special from the start,</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
But now you're even more.</div>
<div>
My knuckles might get sore</div>
<div>
From rapping at your door</div>
<div>
But there are things between us</div>
<div>
We'd be fools to ignore.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
So will you let me in? </div>
<div>
I'm already there...</div>
<div>
You already care...</div>
<div>
Can the charade end?</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
'Cuz I'll keep knocking.</div>
<div>
Pride has a finite lifespan</div>
<div>
When it's employed for blocking.</div>
<div>
The longer I'm here</div>
<div>
The more your door's unlocking.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Time elapses more</div>
<div>
Your defenses collapse, for sure</div>
<div>
We now have a love that most adore</div>
<div>
Because there are things between us</div>
<div>
We refuse to ignore.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
-A. Lewis</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
A. Lewis, Poet and Gentlemanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13521568891890263263noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1715623795236100331.post-80630458049289856662015-02-03T07:25:00.000-05:002015-02-03T07:25:36.927-05:007:18 AMUnrequited feelings<br />
Slowly drift back into the darkness,<br />
The echoing caverns of our souls,<br />
At this time.<br />
The rising sun<br />
Vanquishes them,<br />
Like the vampires they are.<br />
Sucking the life<br />
Out of the night's silence<br />
With endless chatter<br />
About emotional grey matter.<br />
The morning puts it all to rest.<br />
Life begins anew.<br />
Do know, though,<br />
That they will visit again.<br />
Around 2 or 3 in the morning,<br />
When "late" really sets in.<br />
The echoing caverns of our souls<br />
Will slowly drift back into the darkness<br />
Of the night.<br />
Unrequited feelings.<br />
<br />
-A. LewisA. Lewis, Poet and Gentlemanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13521568891890263263noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1715623795236100331.post-49895870018407975062015-01-27T05:58:00.000-05:002015-01-27T05:58:24.028-05:005:57 AM I can't write enough rough drafts<br />
To perfect a poem<br />
About you.<br />
I see exceptional<br />
In the places<br />
Where your confidence lapses.<br />
Your aura<br />
Often leaves me<br />
In awe.<br />
There aren't enough<br />
Rhymes to describe<br />
Your light.<br />
Metaphors would fail<br />
If tasked with conveying<br />
How much I value you.<br />
I write<br />
To free my spirit<br />
Of all these feelings.<br />
You inspire me<br />
So much.<br />
...so much.<br />
<br />
-A. LewisA. Lewis, Poet and Gentlemanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13521568891890263263noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1715623795236100331.post-61123400658215745922015-01-16T04:18:00.000-05:002015-01-16T04:18:52.135-05:004:18 AM (Vibrations) - 1/16/15<div>
Find your creativity. </div>
<div>
Unearth the fire nestled deep within you. </div>
<div>
There's something your soul yearns to share,</div>
<div>
So figure out what it is, and do. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Find your passion. </div>
<div>
Identify the things that seem to fulfill.</div>
<div>
The ones that always feel good,</div>
<div>
Even when you end up with a raw deal.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Find yourself.</div>
<div>
You're not lost, but all souls need centering.</div>
<div>
Locate your good place, your happy place,</div>
<div>
And stay grounded there; bar ego from entering.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Search this earth,</div>
<div>
Search the skies. </div>
<div>
Search oneself,</div>
<div>
Search far and wide.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Be curious. Seek. </div>
<div>
Feel endlessly encouraged.</div>
<div>
We would not be endowed with greatness,</div>
<div>
If we weren't meant to flourish. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
-A. Lewis</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
A. Lewis, Poet and Gentlemanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13521568891890263263noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1715623795236100331.post-83974832015944803612014-10-29T04:11:00.002-04:002014-10-29T04:12:05.590-04:004:10 AM - 10/29/14I just want to know who you're fucking with.<br />
Who do you argue over nothing with?<br />
Who isn't doing enough?<br />
Who's dropping the ball, fumbling,<br />
So I can scoop you up?<br />
Let me know.<br />
Give me the word,<br />
And it's on.<br />
Just like that.<br />
Never been one to be pressed for a woman,<br />
But your greatness is an undeniable fact.<br />
It's so clear to me...like I was made to see it.<br />
It hurts me to see you behave like you're defeated.<br />
Tired of a man promising changes that don't come<br />
A man that hears your love calling, but won't run<br />
A man that won't put in the work, but wants the fun.<br />
I'd never put down another man to uplift myself,<br />
But the situation speaks for itself;<br />
You can do better.<br />
We can make it happen whenever.<br />
Even if you need time to detach your feelings,<br />
That's cool.<br />
I'm no fool;<br />
I know a woman worth waiting for when I see her.<br />
The type to make a man stop and think:<br />
"Have I found the missing link?"<br />
Yeah...that's you.<br />
Wanted. Desired.<br />
I won't chase behind you,<br />
But, I'd love to take you higher.<br />
Let's build something.<br />
I know he isn't really your man,<br />
So pay that no mind.<br />
We'll just go out and have a good time.<br />
I'm looking forward to it;<br />
You've been on my mind.<br />
Can't wait to make you mine.<br />
<br />
-A. Lewis<br />
<br />A. Lewis, Poet and Gentlemanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13521568891890263263noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1715623795236100331.post-71907759461838753132014-10-27T04:01:00.001-04:002014-10-27T04:23:57.392-04:00Still. - 10/27/14...ain't shit changed.<br />
The same flowers come back<br />
After each time it rains.<br />
Your roots lie deep;<br />
A garden sewn that I can't seem to reap.<br />
It's just so beautiful to see...<br />
But it's a terrible place for my thoughts to be.<br />
It's amazing how reminiscing creates a gentle breeze,<br />
Causing the flowers to sway back and forth,<br />
A peaceful view of something much more troublesome:<br />
Missing something I never really had.<br />
This happens every time.<br />
I say I won't get sucked in,<br />
But the fragrance takes my mind,<br />
And the view leaves me blind.<br />
I stand amid the flowers,<br />
And I fall in. I'm all in.<br />
I begin the task of tending,<br />
Pretending like I don't know the ending,<br />
Like I'm not losing time dreaming of winning,<br />
Like my heart isn't breaking...<br />
When it's over backwards that I'm bending.<br />
I rationalize it as a labor of love;<br />
Putting in work for a bountiful yield.<br />
Yet, when it's all said and done,<br />
I'm standing alone in an empty field.<br />
See...<br />
The sunshine always fades away.<br />
You come around with a few things to say,<br />
Only to become distant, disappear,<br />
Leave my skies grey.<br />
The flowers wilt and eventually die.<br />
I cry. Ask myself why.<br />
Rain pours as I seek to extricate the roots,<br />
And I get caught up as I try.<br />
I don't want to stop caring,<br />
But it always feels like you do,<br />
When it comes to having a place in my life.<br />
...and being hurt isn't cool.<br />
Neither is feeling like a fool.<br />
So I recover, resetting my heart and mind.<br />
Moving forward is a function of forgiveness and time.<br />
Maybe you're afraid of commitment,<br />
Afraid of something real. Afraid of how you feel.<br />
Or just not ready to admit it to yourself.<br />
In any case, I'm ready to tell you to find someone else.<br />
However, before I escape your grasp,<br />
You come back and shine.<br />
Radiant; familiar; warm.<br />
That light I've always seen in you.<br />
That light I can never say "no" to.<br />
...ain't shit changed.<br />
The same flowers come back<br />
After each time it rains.<br />
Your roots lie so deep.<br />
A garden sewn that I just can't reap...<br />
Joy, brought, that I just can't keep.<br />
<br />
-A. LewisA. Lewis, Poet and Gentlemanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13521568891890263263noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1715623795236100331.post-9841527915430542712014-10-22T03:54:00.002-04:002014-10-22T03:54:50.006-04:00Loose Change and Crumbs - 10/22/14Loose change and crumbs.<br />
That's all that's left.<br />
Even though I'm sitting here mad at you,<br />
I'm disgusted at myself.<br />
Laid my heart out like a sofa,<br />
A cushioned place just for you and your love...<br />
And all you did was wear it out.<br />
Left me with nothing but loose change and crumbs,<br />
Struggling to clean up a mess of self-doubt.<br />
I gave everything I had.<br />
All of it.<br />
In the beginning, it seemed like it was worth it.<br />
You reclined from time to time,<br />
But it always felt like you kept my feelings in mind.<br />
There was reciprocity, but it was tainted by inequality.<br />
You had your place in my heart,<br />
Yet I was always a visitor in yours;<br />
Seeking space, a place,<br />
A spot I could call my own.<br />
Meanwhile, for you,<br />
I turned my house into a home.<br />
I was even willing to invite you in,<br />
Just so you could relax alone...<br />
Escaping your world to chill in mine.<br />
As we indulged in each other...<br />
Well, you indulged in me.<br />
Anything I gave, you devoured.<br />
Cleaning up your messes became tedious;<br />
From meditating for a few minutes,<br />
To crying on the phone for hours.<br />
In bouts with self-doubt,<br />
I blamed myself, so I offered you more.<br />
Gave all of my value,<br />
Just to, ironically, become love-poor.<br />
Hundreds of hope;<br />
Fifties of faith;<br />
Twenties of trust;<br />
Tens of truth;<br />
Fives of fight; yes, I fought for us.<br />
Ones of oneness...<br />
Had me checking my balance in many ways.<br />
When I should've been considering it for myself,<br />
I offered you my last:<br />
Change.<br />
With nothing left to give,<br />
Everything stayed the same.<br />
You didn't offer anything,<br />
But got upset when you no longer stood to gain.<br />
So after having your fill of my body,<br />
Feasting on my love,<br />
And sustaining yourself with my hearty soul,<br />
You got up and walked away.<br />
The remnants...they stay.<br />
I search through the cushions to find them.<br />
Pieces of the best of me...<br />
Relics of the rest of me...<br />
Loose change and crumbs.<br />
That's all that's left.<br />
Even though I'm mad about how you treated me,<br />
I'm disgusted by how I treated myself.<br />
<br />
-A. LewisA. Lewis, Poet and Gentlemanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13521568891890263263noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1715623795236100331.post-45924937987806449302014-10-11T03:27:00.000-04:002014-10-11T03:27:35.038-04:00Late Night Drafts - 10/11/14You know I'm a writer, right?<br />
Well, let me be creative...<br />
Pen a story of passion,<br />
Written by tongue.<br />
From deliberate to frivolous,<br />
Strokes of the utensil<br />
Create words that manifest.<br />
The majority are vulgar,<br />
But that's simply your translation.<br />
I'm encouraged by your exhortations,<br />
Even if they are profane exclamations.<br />
Your nerve system is a blank tablet;<br />
I'm only filling it with sensation,<br />
Stimulating synapses with each stanza.<br />
Your body writhes as pages turn;<br />
Anticipation builds for the climax.<br />
A tale of desire draws near completion;<br />
Words become mere sounds,<br />
Onomatopoeias abound.<br />
Now authoring in cursive,<br />
The pen swirls passionately around.<br />
Pages turning,<br />
Muscles tightening and hips churning,<br />
And then...<br />
I drown.<br />
<br />
-A. LewisA. Lewis, Poet and Gentlemanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13521568891890263263noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1715623795236100331.post-16458737550497197192014-10-10T04:20:00.000-04:002014-10-10T04:20:16.824-04:004:19 AM - 10/10/14Your image swims in pools of words I'll never say to you...<br />
In lakes of possibilities I'll never explore,<br />
In oceans of feelings I'll never share.<br />
It's not that I don't want you to know,<br />
Nor am I afraid of hearing you say no.<br />
I just fear the places we could go.<br />
You'd have the keys to me<br />
Long before learning how I like to be handled,<br />
Before knowing where I want to be,<br />
Before acknowledging how I want to get there,<br />
Before appreciating how I got to where I am.<br />
That is a recipe for certain disaster.<br />
A rapt mind and a pleased body will belie the soul.<br />
Even if you stimulate my mind<br />
And satisfy my flesh,<br />
Will you be willing to explore the labyrinths within me?<br />
Will you desire to help scabs become scars?<br />
Will you insist on uplifting me<br />
When my thoughts become most cumbersome?<br />
I'm not trying to be let down.<br />
I don't expect the world of you,<br />
But I see you have the potential to give that much.<br />
If I hold you to that and you don't deliver,<br />
Whose disappointment is it?<br />
Yours for not being who you could be?<br />
Or mine for believing in who I thought you should be?<br />
That's a quandary that too many young people get lost in.<br />
So, your image swims in a pool of words I'll never say to you,<br />
In lakes of possibilities I'll never explore,<br />
In oceans of feelings I'll never share.<br />
<br />
-A. Lewis<br />
<br />A. Lewis, Poet and Gentlemanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13521568891890263263noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1715623795236100331.post-74418841255994382622014-09-26T06:51:00.003-04:002014-09-26T06:51:42.467-04:006:45 AM - 9/26/14The Sun approaches,<br />
Rising with each passing minute.<br />
Dew accumulates on still grass;<br />
Quietude blankets all.<br />
I sit here with time on my hands,<br />
Words on my heart,<br />
And you on my mind...<br />
A story I've told a thousand times.<br />
Never close enough to acquire,<br />
Never too far away to desire,<br />
Yet always more than wonderful enough to be admired.<br />
The tale can be hopeful,<br />
Filled with optimism and such;<br />
Or it can be morose and melancholy,<br />
When my feelings become too much.<br />
Either way it goes,<br />
Before Ra ascends to morning glory,<br />
"The Ongoing Saga of Missing You"<br />
Is my bedtime story.<br />
Funny thing is,<br />
The story has yet to end.<br />
Maybe one day you'll piece my heart back together,<br />
Or Father Time will be pressed into slowly making it mend.<br />
As for now,<br />
My thoughts have worn me out and tucked me in.<br />
Good night, and good morning.<br />
<br />
-A. LewisA. Lewis, Poet and Gentlemanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13521568891890263263noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1715623795236100331.post-56489968743534035672014-08-05T06:04:00.000-04:002014-08-05T06:04:07.246-04:006 AM - 8/5/14When our thoughts are quietest,<br />
We hear echoes of the past.<br />
Some are pleasant<br />
Others are like broken glass.<br />
<br />
This space between late and early<br />
It is the playground of emotions.<br />
Silent reflection on good times<br />
Memories of pain that cause commotions.<br />
<br />
The world seems to be at a standstill<br />
While our heads spin away.<br />
Dreaming in real-time<br />
As night fades into day.<br />
<br />
One must set,<br />
As the other is to rise.<br />
Hurt lingers like waning darkness;<br />
Happiness filters in like sunlight in dim skies.<br />
<br />
Hands align on clocks<br />
Six is now the time.<br />
When the morning is born<br />
The night echoes in the mind.<br />
<br />
<br />
-A. Lewis<br />
<br />A. Lewis, Poet and Gentlemanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13521568891890263263noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1715623795236100331.post-43314512864840755592014-07-26T01:34:00.002-04:002014-07-26T01:35:52.619-04:00Inclement - 7/26/14Time heals all wounds,<br />
So the heartbroken simply have to stay strong and wait...<br />
But what of the heartbreakers?<br />
What is our fate?<br />
Regret sets like the Sun.<br />
Sadness rises like the Moon.<br />
Alternating like night and day,<br />
Leaving only the hope that peace will arrive soon.<br />
Thoughts are much more like big, dark clouds.<br />
Storms of contemplation rule.<br />
Every "I wonder" rumbles like thunder,<br />
While "maybes" and "what-ifs" pour vehemently.<br />
Concern strikes like lightning,<br />
Quick and intense.<br />
It all happened despite decisions made with good intents.<br />
What's right?<br />
What's best?<br />
Questions with no clear-cut answers.<br />
...answers I surely won't find in this weather.<br />
There aren't enough sandbags in the world,<br />
Not enough levies in life,<br />
To repel, or even restrain, a flood of doubts.<br />
As water levels rise,<br />
I can't help but be reminded of half-full eyes,<br />
Welling with emotions swept around by the forces of nature.<br />
Father Time will be responsible for your recuperation.<br />
Karma will be responsible for my remuneration.<br />
I'd give my last bit of sanity to give you the first sign of peace,<br />
To put all of the pieces back together.<br />
Instead, I'll watch you do it all,<br />
Through the melancholy rainfall<br />
Of this weather.A. Lewis, Poet and Gentlemanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13521568891890263263noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1715623795236100331.post-50286445163481167692014-07-24T05:07:00.004-04:002014-07-24T05:07:53.479-04:00The Unsaid - 7/24/14Do the words we leave unspoken<br />
Scream in our minds?<br />
Do they<br />
Whisper in our hearts?<br />
Or do they<br />
Echo in our souls?<br />
Where do they go?<br />
Perhaps they fall in fields filled with memories?<br />
Maybe that is a fortuitous fate.<br />
When the past is recalled,<br />
They show up, not a moment too late,<br />
Accompanying images with intimate words<br />
That once held appropriate weight,<br />
But are now so heavy that they feel slurred.<br />
Do we shackle these thoughts?<br />
Trap them in our dark places<br />
Because of the light that they once brought?<br />
Hold them down...<br />
Do anything to slow them down...<br />
Because they remind us of what we once sought?<br />
Ah, we drown them, right?<br />
Night after night,<br />
Dark liquor or white.<br />
Intoxicate these ideas so they never seem stable enough to trust?<br />
Or do we submerge them just to save them,<br />
Playing hero to see how much they mean to us?<br />
If we knew where they went,<br />
What would it really mean?<br />
Remnants of sentiments...<br />
Would it be like visiting a crime scene?<br />
Or maybe more like a morgue?<br />
A collection of once warm and meaningful statements,<br />
Now cold, lifeless, and stored...<br />
Do the words we leave unspoken<br />
Scream in our minds?<br />
Do they<br />
Whisper in our hearts?<br />
Or do they<br />
Echo in our souls?<br />
Where do they go?<br />
...do we really want to know?<br />
Or are we asking just for show?<br />
<br />
-A. LewisA. Lewis, Poet and Gentlemanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13521568891890263263noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1715623795236100331.post-36214061659763675442014-07-23T19:27:00.000-04:002014-07-23T19:27:50.557-04:00Ghosts - 7/21/14What is it that speaks to you...<br />
That sneaks to you,<br />
In the middle of the night?<br />
Who's visiting you?<br />
What remnants are reanimated?<br />
Does your recollection rile you up?<br />
Or do you wish to relinquish it all?<br />
We all have ghosts.<br />
Emotions that never truly fade.<br />
Feelings that leave, only to return...<br />
Seeking to plague the places they once stayed.<br />
Lit only by the moon,<br />
They glow dimly;<br />
Memorable relics of forgotten times.<br />
Never haunting,<br />
They simply stop by to remind us<br />
That the past is never that far behind us.<br />
<br />
-A. LewisA. Lewis, Poet and Gentlemanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13521568891890263263noreply@blogger.com0