This is My World My Life If you could see through my eyes How would your world change? What would remain? When we learn new things a part of us stays the same That’s our heart But our brain Can imagine anything If we aren’t afraid To try We can create anything We can fly Through multi-coloured skies On wings made of wind We can sink Into a dark sea Remove the blackness and find peace In the vivid patterns beneath. Each of us has our own story Our own place That can’t be occupied by anything other than ourselves So we must be ourselves We see our world In a way that no one else can Take a look at my life And through my eyes See your world In a new light RAWZ

Home Is this place Where I am I always come back here When I’m done The world is out there Dangerous But I am inside Safe The gate Squeaks It’s unique squeal Just to let me know When someone is coming to visit I can let them in Or not It’s my place People know me here But more importantly I know myself When I’m here RAWZ

The air crackles Something tangible Soothing spirits Reassembling What was once dismantled Try to hold it And it slips Away It sits Just out of reach But it's there A buzz in the air A taste on the tongue tip A memory on the lips An energy Felt Never seen Save on the faces of others The heart The whole place tingles Vibrates Pulses The colors more vivid Every particle brings forth art Never to be captured in a photograph But it’s there A buzz In the air Prickling Tingling Tickling Forearms And necks Next Rippling up and down the spine A thread Connecting all time Past Present Future Gone too soon Impossible to forget Playfulness Connection Flow A glow that can’t be Illustrated with 1000 words A sound unrecorded But it’s there A buzz In the air RAWZ

Backpacks and maps Camera phones or long lensed, long legged tripods Eagerly standing in line to see the next attraction Queuing in an all too British fashion In picturesque sunshine or with rain lashing Socks pulled up to knees and short shorts Standing on tippy toes to catch a glimpse Of the action Here for a thousand years or more For an afternoon excursion Searching Desperately Not to miss that thing that must be seen To tread on the same streets As someone important once did To grasp that thread And follow it To that life changing epiphany Before the bus leaves So pretty It must be seen to be believed Use a zoom lens to get closer It looks just like the postcard Architecture and artefacts captured And placed in cases Presented for the glory of church and crown Take only photographs home To the nation of origin And don’t touch Buy a souvenir bag that says I love London And add an aluminium miniature Big Ben for the mantlepiece as a bonus You have been to Oxford! Just remember to Respect our local customs Please don't feed the homeless. RAWZ

Powerless Done to Not with Devoid of the ability, Influence or resources to create meaningful change “They wont help me so how can I help myself?” “If they don't care, why should I care about my health?” “We’ve been waiting for so long for somebody to do something we’ve given up asking” We’ve Given up trying And the power And the buck just keep on passing And the power And the buck Just keep on passing by How can we do things differently? A lack of power means no hope Hopelessness is my friend’s neck In a rope Hanging from a tree Feeling like he had no power To decide who he was going to be Power Is an opportunity An opportunity rarely Truly afforded to my community Is power given? Or taken? Is power given? Or taken away? How can we do things differently? Devoid of strength A powerless victim Lacking the capacity or authority to act Seeing someone in need and being powerless to help Anger Sadness Disgust and Mistrust Of power Who can give me power? If I ever had power, Who took it away? I know That my power is hidden Concealed By those that claim to hold it on my behalf By those that would give out fish everyday Before they would issue a permit To cast my line in waters owned by no one And only cared for by me My power is the basis of their authority Their power is my community If I refuse to let my power be used Their sovereignty becomes defused Illusory Useless Ineffective Powerless Is power given? Or taken? Is power given? Or taken away? How can we do things differently? I have power The power of speech The ability to do The ability to say Whatever I choose The ability to act To help To nourish My community Power is time Power is resources Power is truth And influence And support Power is mine to give Power is mine to receive Who can give me power? Who can take my power? Greed is hoarding power Holding power Withholding power Controlling power Spending no time Wasting resources on ticking boxes Giving out tins of sardines When there are bigger fish to fry Wasting time Bending truth To keep the illusion of power At the top of the tower Out of reach Behind a screen A screen to cast shadows on Shadows of hope How can we do things differently? Who can give me power? Is power given? Or taken? Is power given? Or taken away? Power is mine to give Power is mine to receive Power is knowledge Knowledge is power Honesty Knowledge of self Knowledge of the power we hold in ourselves Trust Not needing a permit to improve Or to feed each other When help is needed, who can we turn to Who can we trust? If not our brother? Or our sister? Our grandmother? Who knows us better than us? If we have knowledge Of ourselves If we have time For ourselves If we have resources For ourselves If we have influence And support And truth Then we have power Now How can we do things differently? RAWZ

Don’t get caught up in Tactical Hell; Feeling like you need to constantly defend or attack to win battle after battle. This will only distract you from what is important. Instead take an elevated view of life and analyse your emotions. A good way to do that is to simply take a step back now and then. Connect with the Cosmic Sublime; the limitlessness of time and space, the inevitable creation and destruction, the infinite possibilities of thought and imagination. We are all here. Beginning, learning, mastering, deceiving and being deceived, believing lies and disbelieving truth. Winning and losing. Living. One day this chapter will end. What will the next one teach us? RAWZ

A secular sabbath A cathedral in time Not space A place To mediate meditate Reason and resonate Internal Silent in my chamber Retired From the circuits and wires required by this predicament Some call productive Disconnected From the hectic Head splitting Reckless presenteeism, I find A window in time to fit me in A place to just be in A cathedral In time Not space A place to meditate Mediate A second away from the madness At last A secular sabbath RAWZ

Shattered a glass cage Took the fragments and Rearranged them to create New patterns No longer afraid Brave No longer framed As a slave to the damage caused by the chains The shame of not being the same Now take ownership of the name To explain What was taken away And placed in a cage to be looked at Remarked upon as strange Quaint How they used my blood as paint To tell stories about my face Without my face But now I claim my place I own this space No one can take My pride My power This is my hour to shape My tower to shake My power no cage can contain Proud of my name Proud my family came through Made do And did what we had to Blood sweat and tears in untold battles Watched the road unfold as we traveled And riddles unravel Til I emerge from the cave stand in this place Amongst the fragments of my shattered cage Broken chains I name myself King Of my future My kingdom is universal You are welcome to walk with me RAWZ