There are those days…
When my drive crashes
When my self-worth stalls by the side of the road,
My confidence’s “Check Engine” light comes on / mid-hustle
And I find myself at my bathroom mirror / finger to glass
Scratching the word “Can’t” into the hardened steam
But / as I stare at my murky reflection
with these broken down eyes
My reflection sees its refection in me from the other side
And thinks to itself:
Ummmm, I don’t know what he thinks he sees,
but he must not be looking at me, because
I am AWESOOOOME!
So, don’t go wasting my tears
I am more than enough to get through this
And I’ve got a scrapbook of “I can’t do it”s to prove it
For I maintain a level of awesomnity in everything I do
So my awesomation is not speculation, but irrefutable truth
In fact, the Census Bureau just released a report that 2
out of every 3 people are awesome / And if that’s true
Then out of you, and you, and I
The question we must now ask ourselves is:
Which of you two is the one who sucks? Because
I am AWESOOOOME!
Like finding money in dirty laundry / Awesome!
Like parking at that one meter that’s broken / Awesome!
Like that perfect person at that perfect time
saying that perfect thing / Awesome!
Like making a living doing what you live for
Like somewhere, rocking out in New York City, is a dude
whose resume actually reads National Air Guitar Champion
Somewhere, in the Ukraine, is woman
who boasts a trophy for National Sand Art Champion
Here before you, from Los Angeles, is a man
who has earned the title National Poetry Slam Champion
And to most of the working world…
All three of these titles are equally freakin’ ridiculous
But the most awesomefied people on the planet
are we who embrace our ridiculousness
We live what we love / and we love incorrigibly
Which is why I sleep quite well but I go to bed horribly
Always hopped up on a triple shot of purpose
Juggling my dreams like 13 flaming swords
And chasing my aspirations through graveyard shifts
So the world can awake to my awesomnaciousness
…(look it up)
I’ll admit – I used to think “awesome”
Was a word for surfers and smokers,
skateboarders and valley girls,
But I was, like, tooootally mistaken
Awesome is gangsta!
Awesome is stupid fresh!
Awesome is the new “crunk” and the new “cool beans,”
It’s the new “bombdiggity” and the new “bees knees,”
My new mantra that helps me breathe into all I believe
And see that within me is all the might I’ll ever need
Because there are those days
When I’m pushed to the edge where still waters meet earth
And I fall to my knees to look upon the waters surface
But / as I stare at my reflection with these broken down eyes
God sees His reflection in me from the other side
And thinks to Herself: Ummmm, I don’t know what he thinks he sees
But he must not be looking at me, because
I am AWESOME!!
Like the science of miracles and the mathematics of purpose / Awesome!
Like How the mind can always calculate
the What of Who and the When of Where
But the soul must solve for Why / Awesome!
Like the thought of God and Logic
having faith that we’ll figure ourselves out / Awesome!
Like how the moment I truly discovered The Great I AM
is the same moment I discovered how truly great I am
And I am / not perfect
But I’m perfect as I am
I’m not beautiful / like I used to be
I’m beautiful / like I am
Like the scar where a breast was once
Like survival where a death once was
Like the better where a best once was
Every gray hair a trophy
Every wrinkled fold a story
Every pound of fat a challenge
Reminding me / there is always something to pursue
And always something to celebrate!
That’s why I never smile for no reason
It’s a concept I don’t believe in
You aint never without a reason
To show off your teeth a bit
spread out your cheeks a bit
Let your gums breathe a bit
If you can learn to reach deep for it
You can take yourself a piece of bliss
And make yourself a feast of it
Like when you go buy a smoothie!
And they fill it too full
making more than your cup can hold / BUT…
Instead of letting it spill over
They give you that little, extra cup / and you
feel like you just won the smoothie lottery! / Awesome!
Like that perfect day …
When the stretched limo driver picked me up
from the 5 star hotel
to transport me to my first class flight
after my sold out show
And, curiously peering at me through the rearview mirror,
He asked, “What do YOU for a living?”
And with a pocket full of sand,
and an air guitar in my hand
I replied “I am a FULL TIME POET!
Now roll up the damn divider!”
— (And I didn’t actually say “roll up the damn divider”
But it would’ve been awesomer if I had, right?)
Well… next time
And there will be no shortage of next times
You don’t have to guess, just check my specs / I’m
no longer afraid to double down ‘cause I tricked the deck / I’ve
Already seen my future so I’m unfit to bet / S’why
Whenever failure challenges me to Russian roulette / I
rock a waterproof poker face impervious to sweat / Cause I
don’t gamble with my life / I count the cards
So my success is mathematics / So long as the dealer’s God
I can always even my odds
Even on the odd days I can’t get over it
I go through it til it’s behind me
On the days I can’t levee the waves
I just learn to surf Tsunamis
On the days I can’t slay the beast of despair
with a mighty sword of confidence
I can still tuck a razor blade beneath my tongue
And paper cut it to death
One positive affirmation at a time
And when I return from the wild rumpus of my awesome fest
I always vacuum with a smile as I clean up my awesome mess
For there are bits of mountaintop buried in the grooves
of the soles of my shoes
Every footprint tracked on my floor testifies
to the heights I’ve climbed / And proves
I made it back home each time
So I find / that on those days …
When my weary soul can’t seem
to do another single thing,
When the 24th hour threatens to pop my day’s seams,
When the cup of my ambitions begins to runneth over into screams…
That perfect person, at that perfect time, says that perfect thing
And I am handed an awesome little, extra cup
By my friend / who shows up at my door
With a bottle of Don Julio,
4 dirty jokes, and a scrapbook full of
“We’ll laugh about this later”s
A little, extra cup
By my lover / Sipping espresso in a fireproof suit
Who takes over the juggling of my flaming swords
And says “You need to get some sleep tonight baby”
A little, extra cup
By my colleagues, my team,
my family, my fans,
my community / That comes to see me inspire and amaze
But shows up to find me having one of those days
Where I stand on this stage trying to guide someone home
Yet can’t seem to believe the words of my own poem
But they do / They see, in my story, their truth
That they’re perfection in process
That they’re rapture en route
And I stare at my reflection in the audience’s eyes
And they stare back at their reflection my pupils provide
And we shout aloud to ourselves with fire and pride
I don’t know what you think you see from your side
But you must not be looking at me, because
I am awesome!
