Never thought I'd be the kind of guy who sits in coffee shops contemplating how to achieve spiritual contemplation
thru electronic pen and paper manifestations of jargon that sounds like contemplative masturbation.
I think
I beat
and I purge
all thoughts and words
on this kwirky blackberry qwerty keyboard
wearing “paper denim” denim
canvas shoes and a crisp white cotton t-shirt
while pounding on plastic letters in a wiry rhythm that no one can hear but me.
In my head it sounds like a musical instrumental
laced with sycophantic subliminals
to get God inside my poetry.
You see I don't need traditional black church homiletics
and Rev. r Bishop to evangelize and use prophetics
cuz I can shout on my own
simply by capitalizing my letters and use exclamations in my poems.
Hoping to free those that read em listen
to em and
recite it like they wrote em.

I'm in search of contemplation.
I'm seeking separation
from mainstream artistic expression
that lacks depth and dimensions.
I want my writing to be multi- layered, multi-leveled, multi-cultural and able to be multi-plied infinite times.
Yes I'm seeking exponential creativity that continues to build upon its power until the end of time –
even if that time is infinity –
just immortalize my shit and put everything I ever wrote on my tombstone when you bury me - just make sure the hole is deep enough to carry me,
and you invoke the spirit of my poems when you read my eulogy –
I want to be known as that artsy fartsy intellect who believed there is power in words,
and that I not only cared for what I said, but took responsibility for those that heard –
whether or not I pissed them off or convinced them to change the world.
Let them know I never got tired and I never got weary
and I kept writing even if my vision was blurry
and I couldn't see what was in front of me –
I kept writing when people told me to sit still
"boy grass never grows under your feet"
but that's cuz I'm climbing uphill.
I didn't have time to rest until the rest of my poem was written
but I couldn't stop writing so none of my poems have endings,
just transitions between new beginnings
and space savers while refilling ink in my pen again
or checking my dictionary for definitions,
my thesaurus for synonyms,
and asking my pop pop to recount his history and teach me his wisdom
and if I needed to sleep and dream just to recharge my system,
 or if I need to take a moment, sip some coffee, and just listen....

And for me, listening isn't always easy.
 I always got too much to say and taking pauses for others never really appeased me,
and it wasn't until my search for God that I found humility
and I wrote a poem once that had a line about my ashy knuckled and my humble knees.
I've been on stage a few times and grabbed my dick and told the world to hmm on deez,
I wrote a poem once about my spit so hot it boils at zero degrees,
I've performed in places with Amen corners screaming “God bless” me like I sneezed.
I've written poems at the wishes of others and said God grant me these.
Cuz these be your people trying to get to you thru me
and I'm not a medium…I actually wear a small
a powerful young poet not standing very tall
 and yet still trying to acquire it all yall
I'm in search of contemplation.

I'm trying to write some haikus
that I can put in the curriculum in high schools
that get the students to contemplate on whether getting high really is cool.
Yo I wanna think myself to literary break thru.
Write a poem so long I’ll have to give my audience a break 1/2 way thru.
So I’ll have to come back later on for part 2.

Tony’s Facts: Anthony (Tony) Keith, Jr., originally from Washington, DC, has served as the Assistant Director of the Multicultural Resource Center at UNC Charlotte and is currently Assistant Director of Penn State's cultural center. He holds a Bachelors degree in Communication from the University of Maryland College Park, and a Masters in Education degree from The Pennsylvania State University. Tony is a spoken word artist and poet and has performed in numerous places such as Tanzania, Trinidad and Tobago and Los Angeles, showcasing how he uses his artistry as a mechanism for creating social change. Tony can be contacted at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it