Oakland

Edited photo. Art by Jeff Pierre.

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You won't have Oakland

all for yourself;

I will never give it up.

I'll take Piedmont Avenue;

and Broadway

On the other side of MacArthur;

and Grand Lake too.

There is no Switzerland in

our one-mile distance between;

I won't save you space so

you can re-discover our Oakland

With someone better.

Since you left me

I've been paralyzed;

Confined in a box;

afraid to admit that the

Colors of Temescal changed.

I once said that your hand

fit perfectly in mine;

That one night in Uptown.

It's all but a musing now

and The Estuary can devour it;

I'm braving torture

without the thought of you.

So I'll own the Rose Garden;

and run up and down

The Cascade Steps;

Call my friends

from The City

And reimagine The Town

that you almost

Took away from me.

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It's so apparent that this poem was plucked from a heartbreak. But what I love about my experience is that it created beauty and fortitude, and eventually it brought excitement and courage to create this poetry blog.

There are a few aspects of this poetry that I'd love to share with you: The play with the city's landmarks; the inspiration from a song; and the emotions of an experience.

I never expected to live in Oakland but when I found my first apartment, I felt the Town's courage grow inside me. I became happy (and still am) - I felt complete (and still do).

I live in Grand Lake. It sits right on top of Lake Merritt, also known as Oakland's Heart. I'm a quick walk or bike from some of the few personalities that The Town has to share. It's not a surprise to me that I wanted to incorporate these personalities in my poetry because they encompass my alter ego.

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The Rose Garden. The quiet jewel north of the Lake;

Chinatown. The remembrance of one of the painful diasporas in America;

Uptown. The center for Arts, Music, Fancy Taquerias, and where you meet your friends after a stressful nine-to-five;

Temescal. Uptown's twin sister, the happy hour pitstop for BART commuters living east of The Bay;

The Estuary - the border that never discriminated between the son of a hard-working porter and the granddaughter of a Navy sailor.

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If I haven't caught your attention yet, here's the underlying story of the poem fueled by personal inspiration.

In 2019, I finally understood what loss felt like. Gravity chained me to my bed and I was unable to move. I'm still thankful up to this day that I learned to surrender to God because I probably wouldn't have escaped the pain if I didn't look forward to every breath that was loaned to me.

You know that voice inside you that you constantly ignore; because you think it's crazy that you're actually hearing voices even if it's not audible? I had the chance to visit New York City for work and for the very first time, I felt so much closer in spirit with my favorite gal, Sara Bareilles. Riding the Jamaica train, I got to see the graveyards she spoke about in one of her songs where she felt an energy of gratitude and courage. When I got to my hotel that looked out to the World Trade Center, My Apple Music was playing Manhattan by Sara Bareilles. And if you've never heard it before, it's a song about giving up. Here are a few snippets of her song:

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You can have Manhattan

I know it's for the best.

I'll gather up the Avenue

And leave them on your doorstep.

And I'll tiptoe away

So you won't have to say

You heard me leave.

...I know it's what you want.

...I'll bow out of place...

...Hang onto the reverie, can you do that for me?

...I'll settle for the beach.

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In an angle, it's a beautiful and kind exit filled with love and forgiveness. But I'm from California and this kind of dance is not how we see life - especially not in Oakland.

As I walked around the World Trade Center and around Tribeca, I asked myself if moving to Manhattan might heal my soul. Just like a real Oaklander, my subconscious immediately said "OH HELL NAW!" and told me I cannot wuss out like that. "Just because dude moved to Oakland doesn't mean you can't live in it. If it counts, you got there first."

My experience may be relative but that's too distant for me to even encourage. Here in Oakland, things are done differently. People here do not fold up shop and call it a day. Folks fight back the oppression and prejudice. Here's an example:

A jogger by the lake decides to release his stress on a houseless Oakland resident (it's what we call folks with no permanent homes here). Dude bullies the man and throws all his possession in the Lake. This was completely against an Oaklander's vision of peace and compassion to the helpless. People sided on the weak more than the shirtless jogger. Sure, the houseless had a lot of stuff and it's a nuisance. But that is not how we treat humans here in Oakland. We all have colorful stories to tell and every human is significant here.

Our society makes it seem that the world is such a small space to live in. During my period of loss, I was afraid to walk around my neighborhood because I didn't want to bump into this person randomly. Fast forward two years later, our paths have never crossed. My fears were totally childish.

It's a beautiful, big, open world! Walk your neighborhood and know every character it has. Know your postman's name (or postwoman). Count the steps you take to your favorite coffee shop. Memorize the names of each pet in your block - 100K bonus points if you know every person's name too.

Fight for your happiness and don't settle for the next best thing because that doesn't make you complete. People are people. Don't let that get in your way to a life full of love.

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