My Poetry turned into Song

 

My desire to write started out as poetry, writing the lines of my life since I was in the Fifth grade.

 

Poetry was my love and the love grew into songs and I like to sing them. I am a poet at heart. I try to write on a daily basis but most importantly, as much as I can with who I am and with what time I have.

I had the opportunity to try applying a piece of my poetry to music while listening to a musical melody created by my friend, John Mueller.

I took the track, added my poem, sung harmonies and some piano riffs to Mueller's booming bass and guitar riffs, and it became a poetic song entitled, “Funkalicious.”

 

It is about letting go of your doubts and fears to come into who you were meant to be. I do not know how many will agree with me, but often times, when we are in the season of hopes and have aspirations, it is a common thing for naysayers to speak a tongue of doubt into your spirit to turn all your hopes into fears. The bigger idea is to not let things come in the way of who you are and instead, to live with a sense of hope in the things that you aspire to do.

The poem turned to song, “Funkalicious,” is all about that. Check it out for yourself and maybe you will be inspired by the words: https://soundcloud.com/stephanay-jnote/funkalicious-by-stephanie-jeannot-john-mueller?si=d3c21fdb1f4d45f68060dfb5fbb405c1

Stephanie Jeannot · Funkalicious by Stephanie Jeannot & John Mueller

Poettues: And Then There Was the Music

It’s poetry Tuesday and today my cognitive load seems to be on poetic works.

As we celebrate the black history of America and the world, today I want to honor such poets as Melvin B Tolson who said, “When the exceptional historian comes along, we have a poet.” Some other notable poets who were iconic and left behind a wealth of works for the world to enjoy are Alice Walker, Langston Hughes, Sojourner Truth, Maya Angelou and Paul Laurence Dunbar, just to name a few.

Alice Walker was not only a poet but a civil rights activist who participated in the march on Washington in 1963 and volunteered to enroll persons of color to vote in Georgia and in Mississippi. She felt that “activism was her rent for being on this earth.”

SPEAKING OF POETRY . . .

What better day than today to announce that for the first time, my second book, And Then There Was the Music; Musical Poetry and an Essay is available on Amazon. 

And Then There Was the Music

I didn’t think I had 100 pages of writing in me until I saw the hundred pages unfold before my eyes. I didn’t think I had as much focus as I did to complete a work like this until I decided to sit and just let the words flow. But thank God for the joys of writing and sharing some historical data about music and how it has been used as a political voice since the beginning of time, as well as other fun, music related poems that I included.

Here are a few poems that you might see in the book. Hopefully you will take the time to read them and if you like them, please consider purchasing a copy of my book for yourself.

  

Lessons in the Blues

Don’t let hate, interrupt the rhythm of the 24 hours you’ve been given in your day.

Don’t let the rocks that slingers throw blind your vision and get in your way.

Don’t let lack of love from your brothers cause you to feel shame.

Don’t let the prejudicial system make you lose you’re A-game.

Don’t let the denial of true education stop you in your mental growth.

Don’t let bad news keep you from opening the newspapers to get in the know.

Don’t let the sound of the 9:30 bell discourage you from earning your own dough.

Don’t think that little you, can’t make a difference because you can glow.

We all got bills and baggage and things to do before the day is done.

We all got bills due that we must pay off to someone.

We all got lives worth living and no the blues need not apply.

We all got means to see the truth for ourselves with our own eyes.

We all got to sit down to defecate regardless of color.

And we all take off one pant leg at a time, whether a sister or brother.

And we all have a song and dance and a rhythm of life we keep.

It’s learning that we are all not that different that mostly makes me weep.

Why are we blind to this truth of the world in which we live?

And why is the blues the only means that some people live?

And why is it that some don’t even have a real reason to give,

to explain why they hate based on color, sex or religion?

Charles Pulliam

Listen to the rhythm of the tumbadora.

Hands beating its wood;

Sounding the heartbeat

between scat chorus you hear the throb

taking you to another place like the turn of a door knob.

A quartet of songs

with an application of beautiful hand drumming along

met by a huge cheering crowd

and Charles Pulliam, all decked out, smiling out loud.

IPod

When these headphones are plugged into my ear, I tune out the world

and hear nothing else.

Even if I come and ring somebody’s bell and they say, “Who is it” I can’t tell

because my song be on and that’s all that matters when my IPod is on play.

Just make sure you hear sirens ringing if they are speeding your way

or the conductor saying the train is skipping stops and yours is one of them;

even if the song currently being absorbed is a hit from an iconic gem

Indie Artists

Independent artists of the planet.

Charles Mingus, Max Roach and 21-Century artists.

Music makers, dreamers coloring the day with their art.

Bohemian rhapsodies they play in the day and in the dark.

We bring social influence to light.

We push our music because our message is our why.

We sink like the Titanic into the work that needs to be done.

Our music is the magic we use to try to affect everyone.

We flood our thoughts, share them and leave a little sparkle.

Our life is our canvas to wake up and be-you-tiful.

Hope that you enjoyed the read and if you did, please check out some of the other poems featured in this book. It is available in both Kindle and print version. You can check out my author page on Amazon here: Stephanie Jeannot's Author Page

L is For Lady Sings the Blues

L is for . . . 

Ladies that sing the blues

Like Lena Horne and Lady Day

Like it’s golden

And in their own lucid way

Locked in the groove

Locked in the flow

Love to listen to

Them rock and roll

L is for . . . 

Loving what matters

And looking for things that

Makes you smile wider
Despite the things that sadden you up

And living your life

One day at a time

And loving yourself
unlimitedly
despite your falls
And your scrapes
And the errors you make

As the days move on by

L is for . . . 

Longing for cures
Longing to be sure

Looking for solutions
Longing for better conclusions

To the problems knocking on the door
To the issues that seem more
Like they tie knots in our gut
And make ushave the blues

Longing for unity
And Longing for love to be
The thing that changes the world
And longing for better ways day and night

And for different ways of life

And for all To live like a kid story

Ever after happily

L is for . . . 

Life could be better

But to remember that we have endured

And lived and fell and to be sure
That there is so much more to see
And so many reasons to love and let it free
Because despite our different dances and songs

We've lasted strong 
And until this moment we stand

We rise and try again

To see the things we want
Letting passion be the force
The booster up the rungs to see

That drives love to home court

And the inner joys to present themselves

Unlimitedly

L is for the blues music that tend to bring us some sanity

Poettues: World Day of Poetry

It is World Day of Poetry and also Poetry Tuesday and so today, I share with you a poem. Hope you enjoy what you read. This poem is entitled World Day of Poetry.

I am an able-bodied woman of Haitian descent

who has shaken off fear and now able to present

genuine affection for the world which I toil free;

I unfold for World Day of Poetry.

Here I am; the tiger burning bright.

I’ve lived under the thinnest of moonlight.

Stains of ragged footprints of time that changed the lamb.

The fuel that keeps me alive like that of William Blake’s hand.

Learning from every conundrum, abuse and stains left on my skin.

Reason bursts like a volcanic eruption and here we go overthinking.

Google maps can’t look inside my heart to see the lava.

The lively Shakespearean madness in me, some consider all drama.

But my past however does not encapsulate my individualizing.

Creativity and Poe-ish passion make this caged bird sing.

An early morning dream; lit torches that unearth a laugh.

Necessary maintenance help me grow on this writing path.

And the special circumstances that make me focus on my lot.

Each person’s song and dance; the work that makes their hearts stop.

I sing of the world I see around me like Emily Dickenson wrote her logs.

It’s world poetry day, so here is a poetic throb.

Some may have been hoping to see rants of politic trump.

Some may have wanted to read a movie thumb.

“Sing”, yes I loved it! “Get out” was a great view.

Some of Langston Hughes works still read to me as brand new.

Nikki Giovanni and Wheatley pieces bring peace to me too

like a long island iced tea over ice soothes.

But here I am with this song and dance echoing nothing but music

and then I see a firetruck in the ocean that brought on some amusement;

trying to put out the fire that was burning inside of me;

trying to extinguish the passions that make me breathe.
Trying to rescue me from the icy pond on which I walked
Trying to stop me in my path from lyrical talk. 

Now the spring is here and my journal is out
and I'm writing about the world, love and the boycotting of winter a lot.

I’m sizzling still and world poetry day just added to the furnace.

I’m a poetess and any form of writing gives me purpose.

About writing

When I write songs, I write it somewhat like a poem, counting syllables and trying to make words rhyme to make it fit. Shakespeare made me love to write. Hughes made me love to read. Music gives me wings to fly. I sing because I’m happy and free. I wrote songs because my poetry gained flight and became a butterfly. 

“You Loved Me” is one of those songs. Lyrics by Stephanie Jeannot and music by Mike LeShore. Check it out here: https://soundcloud.com/stephanay-jnote/stephanay-jnotes-tracks-1

Poettues: Sometimes You

Sometimes you have to step into your power

and be the woman that you were born to be.

Sometimes you have to swim with the sharks

and be not afraid of your own vibrancy.

Sometimes you have to make your mark on the world

With in the moment experiences.

Sometimes you have to take a chance

And unravel your wings with good intentions

Sometimes you have to carry more than just a suitcase of pain

‘But also a truck load of confidence.

Sometime in the grip of emotion

You might spiral into success.

And then there are times you celebrate

And rave about something good.

Beer, chardonnay, a cup half full.

A mustard seed is finally understood.

Cheers to the moment and the memory.

Hooray for the knots that didn’t jail me.

Thanks to the wishing on shooting stars.

Thanks to you, Wherever You Are.

https://youtu.be/JLXptTgUBDA

If you liked the song, the full length original track is available on CD BABY here:
You can doenload it for $.99 at http://bit.ly/2mpdIMh

Poetic Invitation

Poetic Invitation

By Stephanie Jeannot

Music makes the world go round.

So beautiful is the sound.

When you listen and let it hit you,

Bob Marley says it’s the only thing that won’t pull you down.

I think he meant it would be absorbed.

Like water sprinkled on a lawn.

Or like salt in a big pot of liquid.

Or like a hot meal to a hungry mouth; delicious.

With that grub in mind, hope I grabbed your interest

to divulge into my world and inspect

my youtube channel: SJ1and0

where you’ll find music and videos for one and all.

 Please check it out, watch and like if you may

Then why not go to my facebook page:

Jnotemusic is where it’s at.

Spice up my page with a chit and a chat

and let me know that you checked me out.

If you dig it, that’s cool because that’s what this is about.

From my heart to yours, thank you for stopping by.

This blizzard in NY, 2016, got me writing blind.

 

Peace!!!

 

 

P.S.

 

Let's connect on social media. Here's my links. Let me know yours!!!

 

Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/sj1and0

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/jnotemusic

Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/musiqal1

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/musiqal1

ITunes: Jeannot or Stephanie Jeannot

Reverbnation: http://www.reverbnation.com/stephanayjnote

Soundcloud: https://www.soundcloud.com/stephanay-jnote

Medgar Evers College Radio: http://www.wmecradio.com