Bahamas.

It’s a warm summer day in July. The fulgent sun sits high above me in a resplendent blue sky. I’m lying atop of a yacht in the middle of a vast colorful blue ocean somewhere off the coast of the Bahamas. There are no clocks here and I’m not sure what time of day it is. I just know I could lay here for eternity beneath the incandescent yellow sun. My mind is deficient of thoughts; my best friend is asleep on the quaggy cushions beside me. All I hear is the waves placidly sloshing against the boat, careening it almost like a rocking cradle. I have no worries or fears here, lying on top of this gargantuan boat, except for maybe falling off... There is a light, humid, balmy breeze that cools my sticky skin, glistening from a mixture of salty seawater and sweat; things that would usually bother me but today they do not. With the sun warming my now reddish-tan skin I soon fall asleep amidst the lulling ocean sounds.

Fulgent= shining brightly
Resplendent= gleaming
Incandescent=glowing
Deficient= lacking some element or characteristic
Quaggy= of the nature or resembling a quagmire; squishy
Placidly= pleasantly calm or peaceful
Sloshing= to splash or move through water
Careening= to lean, sway, or tip to one side while in motion
Gargantuan= very large
Balmy= comfortable with respect to weather

Hey Mr. Carter

Lil Wayne, Weezy F. Baby, Mr. Carter, or just Dwayne Michael Carter Jr. the “best rapper alive” rose to the top of the billboard charts in 2004 with his hit debut album Tha Carter. Born and raised in New Orleans, Louisiana Carter was in the gifted program in school and an active member of the drama club. At eleven years old, he met Bryan Williams who owned Cash Money Records. The young rapper was soon included in many of the Cash Money songs produced. In 1997 Lil Wayne formed the group Hot Boys with rappers Juvenile, Turk, and B.G. Their debut album reached number one on the Billboard magazine top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums charts. The rapper claims his biggest influence is Nirvana and rock star Kurt Cobain, who Wayne compares himself to: “He was a rebel-didn’t give a f***. That’s me.”
Known as the “charismatic Southern rapper,” Lil Wayne gained titles such as “Man of the Year” by GQ, “Lyricist of the Year” at the 2008 BET Awards and his own self title of “the greatest rapper alive.” Throughout his career Lil Wayne has worked with many different artists such as David Banner, T-Pain, Akon, and T.I. David Banner states that, “Of all the rappers that I ever worked with, Wayne was the only one that really believed in his music. Wayne has given them so much fire, consistently, that it’s built up. He gave away a million dollars’ worth of shit so people can buy an album for $9.99.”
But what truly makes his music so popular? Is it his unique “grizzled croak” voice or the beat and catchy lyrics to his songs? He declares that “recording is an addiction. I can’t stop.” The rhymes of his songs vary by his mood-some are about girls, cash, sex, drugs and guns. Others are about his personal pain.
People of all ages listen to his music, but the message that some of his songs aren’t always good ones. His first major hit Lollipop repeats the line of “she licks me like a lollipop” and “giving getting head.” These are probably not the best lines for a young teenager to be singing. The lyrics to Mr. Carter sends the message that people shouldn’t judge him. The end of the first verse ends with the words “And I will never, I will never, I will never fall/I’m being hated by the seasons/so f*** you all hatin’ for now reason” conveying the idea that Lil Wayne doesn’t let things bring him down. The “two words you never hear “Wayne Quit!”” attribute to his successful career. His newest hit Mrs. Officer consists of a catchy beat and the lyrics are about a “lady cop.” The song is degrading to women, as Wayne raps about being pulled over by a “lady cop” and then proceeds to “beat it like a cop.” Keeping with the same meaning in Mr. Carter, DontGetIt continues with the lyrics “I’m just a soul who intentions are good/O Lord please don’t let me be misunderstood.” Wayne proceeds to talk, rather than rap about how the “white guy” is prejudiced towards those who are found in the hood. He closes the songs with the words: “O guess we just misunderstood hunh/ You know we don’t have room in the jail now for the real mothafu*****, the real criminals, sex offenders, rapist serial killers/ Don’t get scared, don’t get scared.” Wayne’s message here tells how society is quick to judge those who are not the “white guy” and instead of putting those like the “real criminals” in jail, we place the “hood” in jail. He continues to tell how the “white guy” not to judge because he too is human and has the “good and bad.”
“Wayne’s two primary passions: making music and smoking weed.” His main passion for making music and his drive to uphold his title as “the greatest rapper alive” has been the main cause for Lil Wayne’s major success. And his reason for his obesson with the guitar? That can be left up to you to decide.

dramatic monologue

"i drink to my annihilation"
with each sip of strawberry ice-cream soma,
The Solidarity Hymn is sung.
We are slowly letting go,
no longer facing reality.
let it mask the pain, the worry.

A wonderful experience to some,
not to me.
I only feel isolation,
loneliness.

They need it,
to be happy,
to relax,
to hide themselves,
to take a brief holiday.
And escape what they know.

Take some, have some.
"A gramme is better than a damn"
a need for instant gratification.
relieve you of stress.
take the anger away.

They call it "Christianity without tears"
it's a lie.
it doesn't last.
it never does.

The more I use it,
the worse I feel.

While they become one,
I become none.
Oh Ford! how I wish it wasn't so.

If only they knew,
If only they knew.

found poem.

the sweet smell of hot sunshine gone,
a blood-colored summer sunset displayed
replaced by a bright moonlight glow.

she goes down to the beach and stands there alone,
loose hair blowing in the breeze.
moonlight splashing over her tear-streaked face.
she whishes he would follow,
if he loved me he would.

she lays on the sand as soft footsteps approach.
he lays down beside her, pulls her close
and holds her hand.
a soft whisper of I love you.

he whishes she came with a label,
Handle with care-fragile.

but for the moment, they are fine,
they have they’re own little island right in the middle of time.
but all too soon the bright blue horizon will replace the darkness.
but maybe it wouldn’t happen that way,
maybe time would stand still.

if only they were lucky,
if only they were lucky.

Long Day's Journey into Night

“’None of us can help the things life has done to us,’ noted Tyrone. ‘They’re done before you realize it, and… they make you do other things until at last everything comes between you and what you’d like to be, and you’ve lost your true self forever” (O’Neill.) In Eugene O’Neill’s work Long Day’s Journey into Night, the author utilizes autobiographical elements to form each of his characters. His use of his own life experiences helps to present each of the characters not only as a member of the fictional Tyrone family, but also of Eugene O’Neill’s.

In O’Neill’s dedication to his wife, he says his play is a “play of old sorrow, written in tears and blood” (O’Neill). The play was said to be “so painful and personal” that O’Neill would not allow the publication of it until after his death (Gale, Eugene O’Neill). O’Neill spent much of his younger life, living in different hotels, and never in a permanent home, much like the characters in the play. When O’Neill wrote the play Long Day’s Journey into Night, he lived in his only real “home” located in New London, Connecticut (Gale, Eugene O’Neill).

The plays four main characters: James, Mary, Jamie, and Edmund Tyrone, are all corresponded to the members of Eugene O’Neill’s family. His father, much like James Tyrone, was an actor. He had risen from poverty, and had become one of America’s most famous actors. O’Neill’s father was also, much like James Tyrone, obsessed with finances. He chose to move his family around in hotels, never seeking a permanent home. He traveled the country performing in the play The Count of Monte Cristo, critics began to complain about his waste of artistic talent, and he too soon agreed (Gale, Eugene O’Neill) His waste of talent is alluded to in the conversation between Jamie and Tyrone in Act Four when Jamie quotes Rossetti, “Look in my face. My name is Might-Have-Been; I am also called No More, Too Late, Farewell” Tyrone responds saying his wishes not “to look at it” (O’Neill, 171).

O’Neill’s mother, Mary Ellen Quinlan (also referred to as Ella) had been born wealthy, and was raised in Catholic convent schools (Gale, Eugene O’Neill). Ella married James at a young age and traveled with him as he acted across the country. Ella had given birth to three children: Jamie, Eugene and O’Neill himself. Eugene though died at birth, and Ella grieved at her loss. Her husband did not allow her to grieve properly, sending her away to a sanatorium where she became addicted to morphine. She lost her faith in God, and attempted suicide (Gale, Eugene O’Neill).

Jamie O’Neill, O’Neill’s older brother, was coddled as a child. He was obsessed with his mother, and could not do anything (Gale, Eugene O’Neill). He too was an actor, but his dependence on drinking hindered him from full performances. He was also dependent on prostitutes and would not settle for a normal woman. Jamie realized his career was over, and attempted to dissuade his brother from becoming a writer (Stilling, Dictionary of Literary Biography).

Eugene O’Neill is a parallel to both Edmund, and his dead brother Eugene. When his mother Ella, attempts to commit suicide, he announced he would no longer be a Catholic. Instead he searched for an alternative, for both a mother and a God. He found his answer in Friedrich Nietzsche, who O’Neill quotes in his play, Long Day’s Journey into Night. His new faith encouraged “confidence in one’s inner resources” (Gale, Eugene O’Neill). He had noticed his mother’s addiction to morphine at the age of fourteen and feared she was insane (Gale, Eugene O’Neill)

Long Day’s Journey into Night was a work that O’Neill had attempted to write for years. His own family crisis of both drug and alcohol addiction has influenced many of his works. His plays depict his own suffering, as well as his family history.

Gale, Thompson. Eugene O'Neill. 2004.

Jensen, George H. Dictionary of Literary Biography. Ed. John MacNicholas and University of South Carolina. Vols. VII: Twentieth-Century American Dramatists, Frist Series. 1981: Gale Research, n.d.

Stilling, Roger J. Dictionary of Literary Biography. Vol. XXXI: Nobel Prize Laureates in Literature. Gale, 2007.

rain

it's a smell so peculiar,
so distinct.
a flash of light to illuminate the sky,
followed by a loud, ominous rumble.
the dark sky foretells what is to come,
it starts slowly, falling gently.
another flash of light; a loud crack,
it falls harder, in a blinding wall.
a puddle has formed,
days from now it will be filled with tiny tadpoles.
full of life.