Recap of Open-Mic Show 10/22/2012

This week on Random Madness we touched on the theme of Spots of Time.  In an effort to create our own memorable spot of time we featured Robby Baby Dark Poet of Amour, who recited some of the trademark poetry that makes him such a rare talent.  Robby was a very engaging guest host, and treated us to a half hour of memorable moments, so let's recap the show and show you what you missed.

Robby gave us an early Halloween treat with his poem titled Nightmares,  Then we played a track from Anexis the Angel called Educated Guess.  Combining the sad theme of Educated Guess with the psychotic piece from Ryem called If I Can't Have You, set the show up for a dark mood, but it was all preparation so we could take you into the light.

Forever Poetry brought the first spot of time, with a rewritten Mental Pictures, then Robby continued the sensual mood with his piece My Mistress Music.  Then we opened the mic up to Andy Scott who treated us to an untitled piece about the artificial lives people live.  Finally we had Robby close out the show with Angels Don't Weep, which he dedicated to all the angels that weep,

If you were not able to catch this spot of time on Random Madness live, then listen to it now on the player below:

Listen to internet radio with Random Madness Poetry on Blog Talk Radio

The World of Undiscovered Poets: Robby Baby Dark Poet of Amour

Many of us go through life letting those special moments pass us by.  Whether it's the song we hear from the first bird to return after a long cold Winter, or a world renowned violinists putting on a free concert in a busy subway station, somehow we've managed to make ourselves so busy we just don't notice these things when they happen.  On rare occasions when we do open our eyes, we are so taken with the moment that the memory can last us a lifetime.  These precious little grains of time are permanently ingrained in our minds, and when we are at our most desperate hour, we can use them to bring us out of the darkness.

A poet's most important job in life is to notice these precious moments.  It's his job to make a record of it with his pen so that when others read his poetry, they are reminded to take a break from their busy day and enjoy the beauty of the world that is around them.  This week I would like to introduce you to a poet who is so gifted at capturing these moments, reading his poetry is like finding yourself witnessing them first hand.  Please allow me to introduce Robby Baby Dark Poet of Amour.


Tell Me You Love Me
by Robby Baby Dark Poet of Amour

Tell me you love me...
but say it not with words,
rather,
tell me that you love me with soft and caring hands,
hands that touch me with deepest warmth,
as our bodies lay in bed together,
side by side.

Tell me that you love me with the shimmer of tear stained eyes,
eyes pooled with tears of joy for the feeling of it,
feeling the presence of me with you,
in time of joy and trials of woe.

Tell me that you love me with arms that embrace me with care,
wrapped in mutual embrace,
as whetted lips,
their trembling shows me just how much they care.

Remember that the loudest declarations of love,
they are pronounced in the subtlest of fashions,
love compassion fashioned as the soft sentences of sighs that say goodbye to pain,
as we let ourselves embrace each other in loves fulfilling rains.

Do you recall the time that you felt love across the distance,
as you heard a birdsong sing of love to you,
a song that felt so close from far away?
That was my song,
my declaration without words of how I feel,
the steeled resolve to tell you how I love you without words,
words of love sung by lullaby birds.

Whisper it to me,
as you hush me with your souls lullaby songs,
amend every wrong that has come upon me with your lips lullaby lilts,
as you tell you that you love me with a subtle but most profound kiss.

I shall hope that all this and more is present in your souls chalice,
as,
when I look down upon you,
stare into your joyfully tear stained eyes,
I place my forefinger upon trembling lip,
and I whisper
"SHHHHH"
Tell me that you love me
...without saying a word...

Copyright © 2012 Robert Matejko


Robby Baby Dark Poet of Amour began writing poetry as a way to console his aunt, after the death of his uncle.  From that moment on, Robby knew he was passionate about poetry.  Robby's poetic style is a unique blend of dark and romantic elements that combine to paint a picture of a man with an interesting perspective on the world.  Robby is also a "performance poet", capable of expressing the mood of his poetry in such a way that an audience hangs on every word, rapt with attention.  His poetic influences come from the 17th century and the poets from that era, such as William Wordsworth.  Robby himself, is trying to make a name in the poetry world.  He is currently working on a collaborative project which could wind up in the Guggenheim by 2013, and is putting together a book to be released in the same year.  Robby is currently residing in Thunder Bay, Ontario, a small city filled with natural beauty, that is home to a very cultural community, especially in music.  If you would like to learn more about Robby Baby Dark Poet of Amour, you can visit his work at the following links:

http://creativethinkersintl.ning.com/profile/RobertM

http://www.wordmachinist.com/apps/profile/37691617/

http://www.youtube.com/user/musicalroberto


Robby will be a special guest host on Random Madness this Monday at 6pm-6:30pm EST.  You can listen in and participate in the live chat room by visiting the link below:

Poetry Challenge: Three Wish Haiku

We all know the story of the genie in the magic lamp.  If you ever come across a magic lamp and you rub it, a genie will appear to grant you three wishes.  What would you wish for if you could have anything you wanted?  The possibilities are endless, which is why I think this theme will make an awesome poetry challenge.

It wouldn't be a good poetry challenge if I didn't test your poetic abilities once in a while, so for this challenge the rules are simple.  Write three Haiku or Senryu describning what you would wish for if a genie came to grant you your wishes.  The trick to this, is if you don't phrase your words in the right way, the genie might grant you the wrong wish.  Let's see how good you all are at asking for what you want with so few words. 

If you need to know what a Haiku or Senryu is, you can visit the following links which will describe them in detail:

What's a Senryu?

What's a Haiku?


Post your three wishes in the comment section of the blog.  I am interested in seeing how accurate you can be using this short form of poetry.  Cool points go to whoever comes on the Random Madness open-mic show, and faces the genie live. Show time is every Monday 6pm-6:30pm EST.  The link to the show is below:

The Mad Mind of a Poet

Do you have to be mad to be a poet, or does poetry drive people to madness?  An answer to this question will probably never be found, but there is a connection to poetry and mental illness.  Examples of famous poets who dealt with mental illness include Edgar Allen Poe, Sylvia Plath, and Jim Morrison.  These three famous poets were lauded for their contributions to the poetic world, but they all suffered from personal demons.  Edgar Allen Poe struggled with alcoholism throughout his life.  Sylvia Plath committed suicide after battling depression, and Jim Morrison was known to suffer from drug addiction.  Studies have been performed to determine a link between poetry and mental illness without any conclusive evidence, but in many case studies links have been found.  Perhaps, it is because poets like all artist think with the creative side of their brains, and constant use of the creative side starts to weaken the logical side to the point of insanity.  . 


Whatever the link actually is between poetry and mental health, the truth is we have lost a lot of great poets due to mental illness.  Even today there are poets unaware of their mental illness, but an analysis of their writing will scream out this person needs help.  As a community poets should keep an eye out for these signs.  We shouldn't have to lose another poetic genius, because he was left alone to deal with his personal demons.  There are so many advancements in mental health that anyone can seek out help.  No one should feel like things are hopeless and death is the only salvation.  If you are reading a fellow poets work, and you see signs that this person may be struggling with mental illness, try to reach out to them.  Get them talking about their problems, and encourage them to seek out help.  If you are a poet who is dealing with mental illness, don't feel alone.  You have friends who want to help you, and all you need to do is reach out your hand so we can pull you back up. 

Mental illness is nothing to be ashamed of, but if you can't confide in someone you know then try calling the following numbers to find help:


National Suicide Prevention Lifeline  1-800-273-TALK (8255)

Depression & Bipolar Support Alliance  1-800-826-3632

Drug and Alcohol Crisis Hotline  1-800-521-7128

Get Paid to Write Poetry

As a poet you probably are posting your poetry anywhere you can online, in the hope that your work will be recognized.  While any exposure to your work is good exposure, there are a million sites online where posting your work is a waste of time, because the sites have been abandoned for years.  There are also scam sites that offer you all kinds of rewards, but only if you purchase them.  Finally there are social networks like Facebook where thousands of poets publish their work, and you really have to work to get noticed. 

It's not easy to build a fan base when you don't know where to go, but hopefully Random Madness Poetry can help steer you in the right direction.  Imagine a site with a large community of people who enjoy reading the poetry.  Now imagine this site will post advertisements on your work, and split whatever revenue they make from that advertising with you.  It might sound too good to be true, but sites like this do exist, and Random Madness Poetry will stake its poetic reputation that the following sites listed will pay you to write poetry.


Triond

At Triond, you will not be paid as much revenue share as the other sites on this list, but we are listing it because of the amazing community of writers this site has.  At Triond your poetry can be read by people all across the globe, and they will make you feel truly welcome once you network a little on the site.  Triond also has the lowest minimum payment requirement of all the sites listed.  Their minimum payout is 50 cents as long as you have a PayPal account.  Triond is by far the easiest way to get paid for writing poetry. 


Yahoo Voices

Yahoo Voices makes this list of online sites because currently they offer the highest rate of revenue share, and a very low minimum payment requirement.  It will be tough to network to other writers on this site, but you won't need a lot of views on your work to start earning revenue.  Yahoo Voices will also recommend certain popular topics you can write about that should generate traffic from search engines. 


Experts Column

The last site to make this list is Experts Column, because they give you the best of both worlds.  They offer you a generous rate of revenue share, and you will also have the ability to network with other members on the site to start building your readership.  At $5 their minimum payout requirement is higher than the other sites on this list, so the better you are at promoting your work the easier it will be to get paid with this site.  Another benefit of Experts Column is they don't make you wait a whole month to get paid.  As soon as you hit the minimum payout requirement, you can request your payment which will be sent to you in a few days.


Well fellow poets, now you have our recommendations of the sites you should publish your poetry on.  All of these sites will pay you to write poetry, they don't offer ridiculous minimum payout requirements so you will eventually see the money your work generates, and they all offer the convenience of being paid through PayPal.  If you want to sign up for one or all of these sites, you can do so at the links below:

Join Triond

Join Yahoo Voices

Join Experts Column

Recap of Open-Mic Show 10/15/2012

This weeks Random Madness open-mic was phenomenal.  Featuring guest host Black Phoenix from the Lyrical Assassin's Brotherhood, the show ventured into some good old memories when poetry was a big deal on MySpace.  We had a stimulating performance from co-hostess Ryem, and we had some poets do their thing on the mic.  All in all it was a great show, and I'll recap some of the highlights.

Black Phoenix kicked off the show with an untitled piece and afterwards he gave us some insight on where his poetic inspiration comes from.  Ryem gave us a spicy number called "When I Dance" which is a must hear for all you erotic poetry enthusiast out there.  After Ryem did her thing, we took a trip back into time listening to an old track by Maiyah The Lady of Rage and G-Roc General, from the blood money poets.  Black Phoenix gave us a bit of a history lesson on the origins of Lyrical Assassins, and then we turned it over to Robby Baby Poet D'Amour who provided us with a bit of dark poetry.  Wing Dog helped spread the awareness of domestic violence month with an amazing social piece, and then we had Black Phoenix close out the show.

If you weren't there to catch it live, then you need to listen to the archive, because this was an awesome show packed full of poetic madness.  Amazing poetry was heard all across the board, and you will definitely crave more after hearing this show.  Catch the show on the widget below, and I hope you enjoy.

Listen to internet radio with Random Madness Poetry on Blog Talk Radio

The World of Undiscovered Poets: Black Phoenix

In this world of Random Madness we are always being reborn.  Trials and tribulations shape and mold us until our final moments when our spirit transcends the physical realm.  This constant cycle of rebirth is much like the story of the legendary Phoenix, a bird of fire that bursts into flames at the end of its life and is reborn from its ashes.  How many hardships have you faced?  After experiencing them, did you feel like the same person you were before?  My guess would be no, because every time we are thrown into the fire it's impossible to come back the same.

In the world of poetry, hardship is a poets eternal companion and best friend.  Through hardship a poet learns how to harness the power of emotions and spin out words of gold.  Poets are the masters of evoking emotion in people, and the best poets have inspired nations.  The poet I have chosen to feature this week has allowed hardship to fuel his pen, and through his pen he has spun the following words:


I Am Still Here
by Black Phoenix

These cold streets have made me weak
But I've pressed on like Harriet,
Leading slaves to freedom in the night.
Searching for my own inner success
Letting the stars be my guide and hope my light.

My road is tarnished.
I've seen more failures in my days,
Is it that the choices I make are not safe, nor sound?
It is hard to pick ones soul up,
When your face is consistently,
Facing a cold, hard, and dirty ground.

I have to keep climbing
I have always heard that Paradise is surrounded by difficulty,
Whilst the hellfire is surrounded by ease.
If this is true than I'm Paradise bound
Because my life has only been filled with difficulties.

It's a hard knock life
You see, my life ain't been no crystal staircase
And I know you've heard that story before.
But you have never heard a story like mines
This shall be the first time that I've really opened that door.

My secrets out.
I never knew what manhood was.
I was raised by a woman who did the best to ease my pain.
My tattered existence only needed love,
But its hard to give that which you never learned or gained.

No love lost.
I traverse terrains where only morbid souls could survive,
And lived through broken promises of love that never lies.
Cursed by infatuated thoughts of hope that would never cry,
What is left is a heart that will no longer die.

Love never loved me.
I know I'm not winning the race for success
But my dreams are still determined like its some type of challenge, a dare.
So I rise and fall, I get up, and fall again
And no matter what turmoil I face I won't give in, I am still here.


Black Phoenix is a Philadelphia native who has been writing since the age of 7 years old.  He learned he had a gift for words in second grade when his teacher read some of his work.  Since that time, whenever he was faced with hardship he just picked up a pen and wrote until his heart no longer felt discontent.  His writing style has been influenced by poets such as Pablo Neruda, and another Philadelphian by the name of Edgar Allen Poe.  With the influence of these two famous poets and his own internal struggles, Black Phoenix has won many poetry accolades.  He has dedicated his time to a working with a children's poetry group, and is currently working on a collection of poetry on CD.  If you would like to find out more about Black Phoenix you can see more of his work on Word Press at:

https://themysteriousword.wordpress.com


Black Phoenix will also be a guest host on Random Madness this Monday, October 15,2012 at 6pm-6:30pm on Blog Talk Radio.  If you would like to see this undiscovered poet do his thing than click the link below:

         

Poetry Challenge: The Propaganda Machine

We are in the midst of a very brutal political battle here in the U.S.A...  Our leader Barack Obama is duking it out with Republican Presidential Candidate Mitch Romney, and the propaganda machine is firing on all cylinders.  We've heard everything from the scary to the ridiculous in this election year, and I thought it would be a good idea to lighten up the mood by poking some fun at some of the ridiculous stories we've heard on the news. 

This week's Random Madness poetry challenge is all about showing support for your presidential pick by making fun of his opponent .  It doesn't matter who you are backing in this election, all are welcome to participate in this challenge.  The idea is to create some hilarious poetry that everyone can laugh at, so if you think you have the gusto to accept this challenge, here is what you need to do.

Guidelines for challenge:

• Read some of the most recent political stories involving Mitch Romney and Barack Obama.
• Find an interesting way to poke fun at these exhibits of propaganda.
• Create an original poem and share it in the comment section of this blog post.  

Election day is right around the corner.  There is no doubt that the propaganda machine will only get bigger and bolder as the time draws near.  This challenge will remain open as long as there are poets who want to share, so feel free to take your time and wait for even funnier stories to come out about these presidential candidates.


          

Welcome to Random Madness Poetry

Attention all poets! Are you tired of posting your poetry on different poetry sites and not getting any love for your hard work.  Well, it is Random Madness Poetry's mission to put as many unknown poets in the spotlight as humanly possible.  Random Madness Poetry is using the combined power of written and spoken word poetry to change the way the world thinks about poetry.  We also want to make it  possible for unknown poets to make a name for themselves in an ever growing online poetry world.  Random Madness Poetry hopes to accomplish these lofty goals by creating forums on the internet where poetic enthusiasts can gather and share their poetry with the world.

Random Madness Poetry has created an online open-mic poetry show where spoken word artists can verbally express themselves, called Random Madness.  The shows hosts are Forever Poetry and Ryem two experienced poets with hundreds of poems written.  They encourage all poets to be brave and give their poetry a voice.  Showtime is every Monday 6 pm-6:30 pm on Blog Talk Radio.

Random Madness will also create poetry challenges to give poets new ideas to expand themselves creatively.  Poetry challenges will be posted here, and all poets who participate are encouraged to tune in to the open-mic show and share their work.

Lastly Random Madness Poetry will feature an unknown poet every week.  Each poet featured will have the chance to be interviewed in an article and be a guest host on the open-mic poetry show.  Any poet who wishes to be featured need only submit an original poem they would like featured in the Random Madness Poetry blog to Foreverpoetry@Yahoo.com.

Random Madness Poetry welcomes you to this new an exciting poetry forum, and we hope all who follow us will share any ideas or suggestions to help make this blog the best poetry blog online.  Any way we can help spread poetry to the masses we will do, and we hope you will be a part of this new movement.