The Toli Theme

My Things Fall Apart series has taken on a life of its own
Sprawling, the variations continue to surprise me, plays and even poems
This is as it should be, and I am determined to carry on the journey
To map out the tributaries no matter where they lead me

Sometimes, though, they plunge me towards dark matters
And I share personal tales of these close encounters
While I often highlight whimsy, and aim to keep things cheerful
I cannot deny those determined to make the road fearful

Strange bedfellows - observe the gremlins and parasites
Caution, take heed of their insatiable appetites
There are only people behaving, and sometimes behaving badly
The tale of the lost stories describes the human bestiary

The hope is that the bite-sized victories can overcome despair
To stay the course against these reversals is my duty of care
Good trouble, I hold fast to the strength of my conviction
That modern travelers can achieve a quiet revolution

But it was always my intent to to weave the strands and bring them home
And talk about how things come together, for no one stands alone
To cite the lyric I often quote: social living is the best
So goes the antidote: Things Fall Apart beats Heart of Darkness

Determined as I am to have a seat at the table,
I continue to write my folktales and fables
For want of a bolt, contra this season of isolation
It behooves me to enjoin in the global conversation

I turn these thoughts over with no fear of repetition
The code of the streets does confer some protection
I'm comforted there will be better days ahead if I resist nostalgia
Finding the joy in small things as I narrate these lost chapters

Even so, this scribe keeps adding to the catalog of unanswered questions
In the torrid zone, we learn humanity's curriculum of painful lessons
While I'm starting to see the outline of my soul's accommodation
For now, I can only acknowledge that my theme is dislocation

Discerning a Theme, a playlist

The Theme punctuated the performances of Miles Davis's first great quintet, they would return to the riff time and again to relieve the tension in their playing. They never played it the same way, a testament to their inventiveness. A soundtrack for this note (spotify version)

• The Theme (take 1) by Miles Davis Quintet
• Unanswered Question by Amel Larrieux
• Go-Go (Theme And Announcement) by Miles Davis
• Social Living by Burning Spear
• Go-Go (Theme And Announcement 2) by Miles Davis
• Traveling Miles by Cassandra Wilson
• The Theme (take 2) by Miles Davis Quintet
• Soul Investigators Theme by Nicole Willis and the Soul Investigators
• The Theme by Miles Davis
• Searching by Roy Ayers
• The Theme by Miles Davis Quintet
• Season for Change by Ronny Jordan (ft. Guru)
• The Theme by Miles Davis Quintet
• After Hours (The Antidote) by Ronny Jordan
• The Theme by Miles Davis and Sonny Stitt
• Better Days Ahead by Gil Scott-Heron
• The Theme - Miles Davis Quintet

I nominate this note for The Things Fall Apart Series where things come together.

File under: culture, observation, poetry, perception, displacement, immigration, identity, exile, Africa, Observers are worried, Things Fall Apart, toli

Writing log: March 11, 2021