Today, another memorial for our brotherfriend, singer-songwriter / National Poetry Slam Champion, Blair, will be held in his hometown of Newton, New Jersey. I wish I could be there, but have family obligations here in Detroit. Here are more haikus and poems I wrote after I heard that Blair died. Hearing such tragic news while out of town makes one realize what makes a city a home. I love and miss you, Blair. Thank you for everything you did for me, our family, and our world.
.
Haikus for the Haiku Champion, David Blair (9/19/67 – 7/23/11)
© by Emily P. Lawsin
Monday, July 25, 2011, Del Mar, California
In Exile in Del Mar
.
most would enjoy this
self-imposed exile at the
foot of the ocean
.
thousands of miles
away from where they found you
in the Corktown Inn.
.
Sir Duke belted on
my phone; i thought it was Grace.
the news numbed, threw me.
.
i locked myself in
the bathroom to cry all day
humming “no, no! why?”
.
.
Lost South of L.A.
remembering your
last visit here to help your
friend, queen of type keys.
.
.
Blair Had a Fear of Flying?
despite your fear of
flying, you soar far and wide
above all others.
– – – – – – –
There’s No Room at the Inn, Blair (Or, Anger is the 2nd Stage)
© by Emily P. Lawsin
Tuesday, July 26, 2011 2:43 AM Pacific Time, Buena Vista, California
for David Blair (9/19/67 – 7/23/11)
.
for the second night in a row since your sunset
i sit in a strange motel room
struck with insomnia amidst the inquiries of your passing
.
a man cussing, paces drunk outside my window
i can hear his voice above the rumble of the a/c
ten minutes past last call
.
i want to scream back at him,
throw the spikes of my high-heeled shoes at him,
show him how we would take care of this problem in the D
.
i imagine lighting his foul mouth on fire
with the stench of the incinerator
just a few blocks from your many homes
.
i wonder what has wounded this stranger
that would allow him to crash my private pity party:
afraid to lie down and innocently rest like you did
.
just to catch my breath.
– – – – – – –
Blair, You Made the Earth Quake
© by Emily P. Lawsin
Thursday, July 28, 2011, 4:55 AM Pacific Time, Culver City, California
for David Blair (9/19/67 – 7/23/11)
On the night you left this earth,
The ground shaked,
While everyone else in this Crowded House slept.
.
A 3.3 earthquake centered near Gardena,
For just the length of an Urban Folk verse,
Jolted me awake.
.
I searched for a news report
To see if anyone else felt it,
Or if it was just the washing machine in the garage,
Or my imagination, spinning.
.
On the radio, Purple Rain played.
.
Tell me: when the soils shook this sunbelt sliver of our shores,
Was that you
Trying to find us to wave goodbye?
.
Or the angels
Lifting you up to your violet colored sky?
.
Or the gardens of bees rumbling
Because you had not yet bid them Farewell?
.
Or the ancestors’ spirits, trying to ground you,
Who knew it really wasn’t your time to leave?
* * *
For my other poems/blogs about Blair, click HERE https://divadiba.wordpress.com/?s=blair
The New Jersey Herald just published an article on Blair, HERE.
To read the cover story Remembering Blair in Detroit’s Metro Times, click HERE.
To read the article by Scott Kurashige eulogizing Blair, in The Michigan Citizen newspaper, click HERE.
To read The Michigan Citizen article about Blair’s funeral in Detroit and the text of his “Detroit (While I Was Away)” poem, click HERE.
To see videos of Blair performing songs and poems, see his manager Serious Artists, HERE.
Thank you to David Lewinski, for the beautiful photographs of Blair: http://www.thebestphotographerindetroit.com/davidblair
Donations for Blair’s family and a healthcare fund for Detroit artists are still welcome at www.dblair.org
Rest in Peace and Poetry, my friend.
.
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Comment by Attitude Whatsapp Status — November 22, 2015 @ 4:45 am |