Light 'Em Up

A slow methodical walk comes to a halt
My arm rises with finger on the trigger
I aim
A bright flash is seen
Then another and another even quicker
A body begins to lean
But this contortion is only a portion of the intended scene
This I know as I live view it all through the crosshairs of an LCD screen
Nikon, my weapon of choice
I rejoice when it captures the serene pose of my subject
The designed target
Creativity
My subject acting as a catalyst to this fabulous activity
Three soft lights fluidly enhancing my productivity
And what began timidly has been exposed to confidence
With the ability to transform a bashful grin into a smile of dominance
A nervous slump into a commanding stance
And to advance insecure perceptions into an impression of perfection
But only if you allow me the chance
Photography is more than just a hobby for me
It is an opportunity to change the world
To disclose more than what we see
To take imagination and make it viewable
In a world that would render an idea preposterous
I devote purpose into making it doable
Putting my subjects in center stage
Producing imagery that will amaze
As I light them up

1/14/2016

And We Pray

And we pray...
We pray for the continued opportunity to pray
We pray for the chance to again and again receive favor
We collect
We congregate
We pray
And we say our testimonies
We sing our hearts out
Be it for rehearsals or actual ceremonies
We yell and scream our hearts out
Wait...
We YELL and SCREAM our hearts out?
In God's holy sanctuary?
Infiltration by Satan's sanctimonious soldier
An evil who thought himself the beholder of life and death
It seems to the voice of reason he was deaf
As he left blood spilled and families shortened we prayed
We prayed for mercy
We prayed for the nightmare to end
We prayed for the hate in his heart to lessen
We prayed for the detestable look in his eye to vanish simply because we were different
And then we prayed no more from Earthly bodies
From the heavens above we look in fear
Because we now know fear is lurking around every corner
Fear has infested protective forces
And now fear has invaded protective housing
So we pray for the souls that remain
And we pray for protection from the evil onlookers that only see "difference"
And we pray
And we pray
...and we pray

6/24/2015

I Hate Facebook for the Same Reason I Love It

I hate Facebook basically for the same reason I love it
For the same reason I shove its icon to the front of my phone’s home screen
It’s an easily accessible platform to express what happens behind the scene
Yet it can easily create a contestable thorn in the side of what you actually mean
But it’s the invisible line it creates to make livable the distance between the unseen
This keen idea is what brought me near
And also what brought me here to these words
Way before a bird’s chirps and tweets came in 140 characters or less
Before a gram was measured in filters and registered 11 likes to be a success
I was blessed to find a collective book of familiar faces
I was also simultaneously cursed to find a book of stress
Because when accessibility became a luxury it also became a normalcy
Normally you meet up
Normally you catch up
Normally you then anticipate the next date to connect
Normally connections are severed to make reestablishing feel real special
But thanks to Facebook we’ve taken the term “friend” to a whole new level
One where we wrestle with the notion to share
Because with hundreds of friends at least several will care
Right?
I mean there couldn’t possibly be any repercussions from constantly being plugged in
To harness the discussions should obviously never leave a feeling of chagrin
However, within that constant link is a constant occupancy
Imagine if you will being in a room filled with dozens of family and friends constantly
Every day sharing every detail of their life
Constantly
And trust me when I say sharing is not a part I ever have or ever will find bad
It’s the obligation to acknowledge the constant conversation you never previously had
Because that constant connection is a constant conversation
One where someone lobs an update in the air
Wondering which friend of family member will acknowledge it out of the park
But remember that there are others that choose to hide in the dark
What about those who turn their head and refuse to remark?
It’s the same as occupying the same room yet pretending not to notice each other
Or looking at someone talking to you but choosing your eyes to close or cover
And that’s just rude
No one wants to be rude to someone they care about
A care generates a share
A share it motivated because someone cannot be there
And it is because distance has always been an obstacle that I love it
But
It’s because of the over exposure that there is a desire for occasional closure
To unplug the cord
To go back to a time when presence was a high value we would still afford each other
I grew up in the country where you forcibly had to make distance your friend
So when I found Facebook I was elated
But killing the distance to the point I can never miss you
Well that’s why I hate it

4/9/2015

Support System (Li Fanno Ricordare)

For the last few years I’ve tried to make you remember
Make you remember everything that I was
And make you remember everything that I am destined to be
Make you remember the things I was obsessed to see
And make you remember the traits that unequivocally made me
I tried to make you remember every emotional impact
Every mental moment that I would mastermind
Every time I made sure doubt was never left intact
Ensuring your intensity would never be undermined
I tried to make you remember
But it seems my memory was a tad blinded
Because you see I forgot
I forgot that belief wasn’t always 360
Support wasn’t always in the system
Confidence wasn’t always reciprocal
Mutual understanding wasn’t always standing beside me
I remembered what would usually guide me …was me
Sitting up late at night wondering why only me
And then I remembered a few soft voices
And then I remembered a few that made the unpopular choices
And then I remembered the brave few that had my back
The brave few that knew you hadn’t seen the best of me
The brave few that knew my true destiny
They looked deep inside and saw the recipe to my fate
They saw my drive
They saw my passion
They saw my will
They saw the value of my unique way to create
And they saw inscribed across my heart was the word “Great”
They saw what the proud many turned a blind eye to
So when my destiny becomes reality
Do not let my blindness surprise you

4/6/2015

Never Say Goodbye

I don’t like saying goodnight
And I don’t like saying goodbye
They feel so concluding and final
And when I’ve finally found something I’d like to extend
The very last thing I’d wish for it to do is end
Call it selfish
Call it self-regarding
But parting is a thought that triggers feelings so alarming
It feels harming to close conversation that’s charming
Therefore I can’t help arming myself with versions of delay
Suspend that closing and resume engagement on the next day
Segue into a new topic
Otherwise we meet distance and my vision is myopic
Focus is a struggle when close conversations is merely periodic
And that is my fear
For when we close the book of one exchange
We must find reason to arrange a proper occasion to open another
And I don’t want our momentum to suffer
I don’t want to struggle to recover the magic
I don’t want to meet the tragic experience of an awkward ice breaker
I just want to enjoy this moment forever
I just want these strings we’ve tied together to never sever
So call it selfish
Call it self-regarding if you must reply
But I don’t like saying goodnight
And I don’t like saying goodbye

3/26/2015

Alone In a Crowded Room

I can see my heart beat
I can see it strain to maintain its pace
Its calm and collected pace
I can see it lay waste to the serene
I can see it make haste given the scene
Because it has found itself to be one of many occupants
Yet it feels as though it is the only occupant
The opulent feeling of composure is lost
It’s the price it must pay at this exposure’s cost
Because while the idea to toss caution into the wind teases
It pleases only in an ideal format
For that environment is where I’m anxious
That environment is where breathes quicken
That environment is where I’m kept on my toes
That environment is where I feel like a chicken
Petrified at the fear of clumsy conversation
Horrified when awkward vibes replace communication
Mortified when silence subscribes to that combination
All because I don’t know how to conclude
Troubles trying to terminate mirror those trying to initiate
Therefore I simply sit and wait
I sit and wait while I navigate my eyes through the occupancy
Slowly I drift into my mind trying to find the source of this sensation
Wondering when people are not enshrouded and display in full bloom
Why is it that I always feel alone in a crowded room?

2/21/2015

March

Have you ever taken a stroll down memory lane?
Have you ever seen factors in that path where the math didn’t add up correctly?
You may have thought “eh, guess that wasn’t my cup of tea”
But that’s strategically what you’ve been conditioned to see
And lately the way Kermit the Frog has been sipping
If you ask me, there is a lot of tea
There is a lot of missed opportuniT(EA)y
Every evolving opportunity that we didn’t always have
Like the opportunity to laugh
The opportunity exist
The opportunity to walk
And it is in that walking motion that we can create a commotion
Ruffle the feathers of chickens stuck in their way
Enough is enough and it’s time to quicken the pace of the music in play
Because ladies your paychecks don’t look the same
And that’s off beat
Because fellas no matter how hard you work you still catch the blame
And that’s inharmonious
Because of pigmentation like black/brown/beige/tan some aren’t considered as “tame”
And that’s out of tune
Because these shouldn’t affect the law of cause and effect
But since they do then let them affect your cause
Because you can march for a cause that inside you lit a fire
Come off pause and let the mentality that good enough is good enough expire
Or you can march just because you’re sick and tired
Personally I am restless so the latter is my best fit
I will march into the face of the construct of my censorship
Whether it is with a hood up or a hand up
The X factor is I will man up and instruct my words to stand tall
Tell them to march through my lips
And with strength that only God himself could understand
Those words will force a command upon the opposition
To position itself to the side
And to also march
But in the opposite direction
Because the entity of that system is in the way of progress
So the entity of that system must face its correction

2/16/2015

I Built My House on the Road Less Traveled

I built my house on the road less traveled
I noticed the path and saw a chance for presence of solace and solitude
I could not pass an opportunity for romance with my own solid mood
Call it rude but I saw it move my heart when my mind and soul could interlace
The knowledge of struggle was well known and greeted with an embrace
Fearful as I was I would accept each challenge met by each step
To remain against the grain would make me defiant
But since day one I always felt I was supposed to be self-reliant
So to myself I was suppliant to being my attention’s most invested client
Taking what minor motivation was available and producing a giant
I just could not help but avoid being socially compliant
To wear dark colors while others wore bright
To fall deep in thought while others did not choose a tongue to bite
To use my brain while others thought to use their might
To stand alone despite a slight interest to unite
To use sight to observe the norm but refuse to conform
But instead allow a storm of disobedience to swarm through my life
Yes I could make existence easy
But this consistence would not please me and only lead me to resistance
Try as I may I simply cannot accept comfort
I have to anticipate events to come hurt my peace
This only in turn causes my anxieties to increase
Because what you see as quiet I experience as a riot
Being ever vigilant never knowing what is imminent
The innocent is never infinite and can implement any incident at any time
This is why I chose to become intimate with this uphill climb
Call it pride imposing its will towards an easy decision
Call it nerves complicating a simple mission
Call it a foggy focus that clouds clear vision
But with my survival thus far the unfamiliarity seems to be coming unraveled
Because long ago I built my house on the road less traveled

4/23/2013

A Monster

Salvation of life frequently comes from the helping hand of the hero
The hero is what fights away the darkness with an abundance of light
That despite disparity it will pair with the calm to restore a balance
Swooping in clad with cape but minus a cowl
Sporting a reassuring grin
It appeals to you not to fear the venomous legislation deep within
Dread not the system of abuse
Instead introduce composed conduct to seduce its conversion
Reject complacency safely even if this may create latency
Because the hero is the net of safety
It is a cushion sometimes found in us all that keeps us out of harm’s way
But sometimes its charm does not save the day
Sometimes the one with the cape cannot quite get it right
Necessary becomes the enlisting of the one that exposed the kryptonite
The one you turn into that rages against and roams the night
Blending in with the darkness in search of anything running afoul
The one with no cape yet instead cloaked in a blackened cowl
It conceals an unsympathetic scowl across a shadowing silhouette
Because sometimes being good and doing good is not good enough
So sometimes to defeat a monster you must become one just at tough
Bring forth the controlled chaos when one tries to dial up a bluff
Unlatch each mental cuff
Dismantle each emotional shackle
Set a candle lit trail for its exodus
Because the hero will not wish to cause much damage
Whereas a monster points its unrestricted path of destruction
The hero does not wish to cause a great splash
A monster desires to cause a tidal wave
Though both behave with the intention to institute an impact
A monster intends to leave ruins of an institution overdue for demolishing
Condemn what you know and leave nothing of its memory
So take this decree not as a dismissal to the hero
I am not advocating its avoidance
The hero has great purpose and by many is found fonder
But there are those other moments in life
Those are the moments when you must sponsor a monster

11/28/2014

Let's Be Weird Together

Let’s be weird together
Let’s dance in the rain neglecting the befuddled look by onlookers
Let’s don costumes and take a walk in the park
Let’s spark the bewilderment that comes with having a picnic in a pool
Let’s make a fool of normalcy and let’s just be weird together
Let’s add obscurity to the recipe of our life
Let’s make that a necessity
Let it be necessary to be contrary to opinion
Why be normal when we can be weird?
Why follow a path when we can laugh together on the road less traveled
We can tighten our voyage while others become unraveled
They force themselves into a box
We surrender to the unorthodox
Because when the opportunity knocks to be different
Let it be you and I that flocks to answer
So let’s go go-karting in shopping carts
Let’s practice archery with lawn darts
So long as our hearts forever tether
Let’s be weird together

10/29/2013

I Am Nobody

I am Triggus... I am nobody...

Nobody listens to what you say
Nobody cares of what you do
Nobody believes in your word
Nobody appreciates you
Nobody wants to stand firmly by your side
Nobody upholds what is true
Nobody pays attention
Nobody has the slightest clue

But I am Triggus... I am nobody...

1/3/2014

More and More

I am regretfully not perfect
But every day I try more and more
There are just so many things I am unaccustomed to
More and more each day I try to familiarize myself
Because more and more each day I find myself enamored in you
To the point I find myself stammering through conversation
Nervously watching you hammering through times of separation
While we continue to glamour the view of our future’s unification
More and more this seems like a viable reality
Amidst the calamity we cause expose flaws to increase our vitality
The more and more problems we find
The more and more solutions we discover
We ascertain additional strength and growth
Because no matter the challenge we recover
As the lover in us both will not allow a collapse
It will not sanction a severance
It will not permit an unceremonious parting
Because the more and more we try
The more and more I cry
But these are tears of joy
As in our future and in our hearts we deploy investments galore
Because every day we want this more and more

12/14/2013

Sipping on Love Songs

Half passed midnight
Only the pale off-white ceiling in my sight
It should be the back of my eyelids
But heaven forbids me from sleeping tight
Or maybe it is the work of hell
Casting its wicked spell when Mother Nature turns off daylight
This turns on this plaguing thirst
It grows worse as each second transforms into minutes
And within minutes I find myself stumbling down the hall
Daring the drowsy darkness to lead me into the kitchen
Carefully clasping a cup from the cabinet
With a rickety wrist reaching for a beverage kept hidden
Pouring until my cup runneth over
Spilling a somber melody all over my counter
Pacing back and forth pacing each sip I devour
There is no need to chug
I have nothing to do for many an hour
As the thirst begins to overpower I scour for a replay
I press repeat to my beverage to refill the leverage it has over me
Overly withdrawn I take seat on the edge of upholstery
Until I fall back
Then I brawl that off-white ceiling from my vision once more
Then I crawl smack into the position I just left at a stand
The kitchen with a cup in my hand
Tilting my head back to help the drink flow down
Allowing the thoughts to come forth
It is in those thoughts that I drown
I sink from my drink of intimate instrumentals
Each gulp gains a refrain to accompany each sound
And as the bass line drops so does my cup to the ground
I will clean that up later
Hoping there is a later to come
As I succumb to my own delirium I travel back through the darkness
Returning to the beginning of my trip
Until I need to indulge in that next sip

5/17/2013

Made of Armor

I am made of armor
My body is impenetrable
Empty the ammunition from your most advanced weaponry
No man made firearm can step to me
Send instructions for my destruction to every infantry
In the end will be nothing but disappointment
Route your bravest warrior
Dispatch your strongest soldier
I will wear a smile as their efforts wear thin
Draw your sword
Try to cut me down
Stare in amazement as I do not even bleed
Then allow the thought to concede in defeat to proceed in you
The actions of your artillery only impede the day to rue
The day you learn of experienced emotion
No motion against me will drop my knee south
Because I am made of armor
Nothing hurts

...nothing but your mouth

2/18/2013

Truly Wicked

No meaning behind wording
This is mutually known by the occurrence of deafening silences
But in the actions are where truth is found
Passion raging near the thighs
Passion absent from the eyes
Empty exclamations leave lips
Secondary sentiments traded traditionally
Aversion stomping in minds that have become numb to the pains
Acts not to manufacture memories but to formulate forgetfulness
Truly wicked games
Played to suppress shames of insignificance
The mortification of morals gone awry and other fought feelings
Constant containment of a conscience
Yet left with a conscious that cannot be extinguished
Weakened forces caressing a self-destruction
Wavering elements too feeble to stifle the cycle
Stubbornness produces the powerless
Selfishness manages the taking of advantages
Both successful in sustaining a senseless situation
A festivity without aim
A truly wicked game

1/22/2013

Signed, Triggus

If it does not bear my signature
You cannot place upon it an integer of value
Words are not worth the paper printed on if misquoted
When taken out of context their meanings become convex
Creating characteristics uncharacteristic to a straight shooter
My marksmanship being questioned upon confrontation will go on next
My mind is draped in clouds thanks to misinformation from my polluter
You see, this intruder publicized what he or she fantasized ever so socially
So to be reputable I must include the services of a notary
A simple hand script simply is not always suitable for the situation
Not when the design of a signature can contain fabrics of fabrication
Embellished facts and exaggerations
Even the slightest of alterations is invisible to a tailor unfamiliar
This makes it difficult to reconfigure the brain to abstain from the insane
It is increasingly problematic when addressing the people
People will talk while a person is more likely to listen
People will attack while a person is more likely to make a rational decision
People will speculate while a person is more likely to investigate
Now allow me to initiate an official statement
Am I stuck up?
No, I am just cautious of spending the currency of my time
With the inconsistencies littered in my life new entities have a hill to climb
Am I a loner?
No, I am just careful when it comes to protecting what is mine
Despite my trust I have had the selfish thrust knives into my spine
So please hear my words and let no woman or man block
Not one testimonial can be considered authentic without my John Hancock
You can give all the others a big shush

Signed, Triggus

9/2/2012