I am an African-American poet who exists in search of life's purpose, forgiveness and enlightenment. I was fortunate to be housed in my living Hell known as the LaGuardia Projects on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. I was nurtured by my mom who was a naive and hard working woman and my broken step-father a crack addicted High School drop-out and Vietnam Veteran. They were both products of Jim Crow Louisiana. As a child I day dreamed (especially at school) about a better life, every waking minute. It was my only escape from the child abuse, the mundane, and the dysfunction. I didn’t dream of being a poet or a writer: my dream was to become a Priest. I ran away from home at 16 to escape the physical and mental child abuse. I dropped out of High School and existed on the streets on New York as a con-artist, hustler and thief. This was the journey that shaped my writing. To educate myself I would spend my days in the Library reading Shelly, Dickens, Poe, Hughes, Baldwin, Byron. I loved the classics, mainly the rhythm of the cadence. In my early twenties I was listened to Screaming Jay Hawkins, Tom Waits, The Last Poets, and Captain Beefheart. I was captivated by spoken word over music. I put a band together and started performing in the East Village: Sidewalk Café, CBGB’s, Knitting Factory, ABC No Rio, anywhere and everywhere. If you want to influence and or inspire you must first live it. I could care less about a poet’s words who hasn’t experienced firsthand what he is writing about. Live it, survive it, analyze and then write. I continue to live a debilitating life with no regrets. I am a single father of a 7 year old daughter who gives my life love, purpose and meaning. I named her Maya after Maya Angelou. I am a Poet, I didn’t choose this life, this life chose me.