The 5th Poem from MGF's book "The Lover: Love is the MasterPlan"

E: By the time I was writing the Black(w)hole series I had learned before one could love anyone else, they had to first love themselves. I had to come to terms with the fact I was very different from most guys my age.
P: And that if you want people to love for who you are, you have to show them who you REALLY are. People have perceptions from their experiences, your actions and explanation of your character are the only ways to overcome those perceptions
SC: For instance, where im from only 33% of african american males graduated from highscool and were statistically more likely to be in jail than to be in college. So instead of flowering them with such phrases of admiration I chose to give them me- the real me. It was a big step for me. I think before this point I was such a closed person. Not closed in the sense that you couldn’t approach me, but rather I would offer the answers to the questions most women didn’t ask about me. Throughout my life, especially in college I began to get hit with the “ Your so deep” line. I appreciated the notion, so I took it, and used it to explain why I was feeling so empty inside. 
Q:  Which poses my next question, who are you? Who are you when no-one's watching? What makes you feel complete? Do you know whats missing?



Black Whole Pt.3

Black Whole Pt.2

The 6th Poem from MGF's book "The Lover:Love is the MasterPlan"

E:  I wrote this Poem during my time as an intern at MetLife ins. Had to be around my sophomore year so I was about 19. By this time I felt my writing was improving and i had begun to write multiple poems a day, largly around the subject of love. Having been raised by a wonderful mother, and seeing the fruits of a long-lasting marriage I began to want the same thing in my life; A woman that was worth the effort, the struggle.
P:  At the heart of this poem is my notion that at the center of the soul is a need to feel connected/or apart of others, especially someone you love.

SC:  What i didn't know was that about 48 percent of the households in my immediate surroundings at the time didn't grow up watching a healthy marriage, and hence the young women of those households would have completely different views from myself on the topics of love and marriage.
Q: Which made me think, what would it be like to find that person? And in the meantime, what exactly were MY views on love and marriage? What are yours?



Romeo's June

The 7th Poem in MGF's book "The Lover: Love is the MasterPlan"

E: Change’s opening lines were actually from a poem done by Langston Hughes. At this point in my life my thirst to explore other styles and writers was unquenchable. If you were around at that time you would’ve notice some form of literature buried in my bag next to my black leatherback had begun to write in. Also during that time, the love-story of President Barack Obama and his wonderful wife , thee First Lady Michelle Obama was receiving all types of media attention and rightfully so.
P: The image of the african american family was finally receiving some positive light; a change I welcomed and chose to add to. 
SC: For African-Americans, the image of a powerful black couple in love is particularly meaningful. In the 2005 census, 51 percent of American women reported they were living without a spouse. Among African-Americans, this number rose to 70 percent. “With such a high percentage of black people unmarried, everyone is looking for images of black love,” said Michael Perry, 47, a librarian at Harlem’s Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture. “[The Obamas] personify that. It makes people say, ‘Wow, we want to be like them.’ ”
Q: Do you think there's enough mutli-racial images of love in the media?



Change

This is the 8th poem in MGF's upcoming book "The Lover: Love is the MasterPlan"

E: It felt different. The way I felt for this young lady. I remember even telling her I had never felt like that before. The feeling almost drove me crazy, I couldn’t understand where it was coming from.
P: In the pieces proceeding it I had thoroughly described my feeling of being alone ( in spirit and mind), and then all of sudden- I was an experiencing an emotion that made me feel as strong as ten men, and surrounded by an army of millions. The desire I felt to be with her, I likened to the thirst a vampire would have for a human he’d wish to bite. To my surprise, the dilemma I was trying to describe was receiving world acclaim via the fictions series Twilight in which a vampire has a girlfriend he urns to bite, but fights because he know’s the hardship and torment that could come with such a decision.
SC: That initial giddiness that comes when we’re first falling in love includes a racing heart, flushed skin and sweaty palms. Researchers say this is due to the dopamine, norepinephrine and phenylethylamine we’re releasing. Dopamine is thought to be the “pleasure chemical,” producing a feeling of bliss. Norepinephrine is similar to adrenaline and produces the racing heart and excitement.According to Ted Huston at the University of Texas, the speed at which courtship progresses often determines the ultimate success of the relationship. What they found was that the longer the courtship, the stronger the long-term relationship.
Q: As Common would say, You ever had a love like this?



A Taste

The 9th piece in MGF's book "The Lover: Love is the Masterplan"

E: I had always had interest in foreign languages. In highschool, after 8 years of spanish I chose to take french- primarily to influence the ladies. Needless to say its been useful in other arenas as well. But in this instance, I chose to use it coupled with that joyful energy a smile has to reach a broader audience with subject matter
P: We all have issues, and our days where we feel no one’s willing to reach out to give us that boost of energy we need. This piece was about spreading that energy, across our boundaries, personal and national, because someone somewhere, is definitely in need of it. 
SC: In an article entitled the Top 10 Ways to Live Longer at number 3, smiling is posted. I quote " Like relaxation, smiling can work to counteract the effects of stress. By forcing ourselves to smile, we "trick" our body into believing that everything is good, thereby reducing stress. Like a switch, smiling can actually change your mood".
Q: So when was the last time you smiled?



Maintant Vous Soirez

The 10th poem in MGF's book "The Lover: Love is the MasterPlan"

E: The title of the Kast is a play on words on so many levels. First I wanted to allude to the word “ Cast” as in that of a play or a production. Secondly, “ Kast’ was short for the word Outkast, which by this time I had grown acustom to feeling like.
P: However, now, with a “ partner in crime” , I characterized the journey ahead as one shared and injoyed, rather than dreaded and lonely. Companionship is golden.
SC: This, ofcourse, is an allusion to the achitype couple of Bonnie and Clyde. What most people dont know is that Clyde's  goal in life was not to gain fame or fortune from robbing banks, but to seek revenge against the Texas prison system for the abuses he suffered while serving time. 
Q: If you and youre partner were to set out on a mission, a goal, what would it be? Whart could you all accomplish together?



The Kast

The 11th piece in MGF's book "The Lover: Love is the MasterPlan"

E: Pretty self explanatory piece. However, what I hope isn’t overlooked is my appreciation for women of all races. Being an African American male I felt it was my duty to address the devalued attitude many of my sisters had been accustomed to.
P: But as a man, I wanted to bring attention to the fact that we, male and female are inexplicably bound. We cannot survive without each other neither physically, emotionally, or spiritually… naturally. Moreover that we as a people are bound. I know in this book ive characterized love being between a man and a woman, but let me now take the opportunity to support love and happiness in whatever form it comes.  
SC:  In an article entitled "The Study of Happiness: Why not examine the Brighter side of Life?" is was stated that a person's connection others is definitely a source of happiness.  An excerpt from the piece written by Dr. Robert Brooks reads, " Wallis refers to a 2002 study conducted by Diener and Seligman that found that "the most salient characteristics shared by the 10% of students with the highest levels of happiness and the fewest signs of depression were the strong ties to family and friends and commitment to spending time with them." Diener suggests, "Word needs to be spread. It is important to work on social skills, close interpersonal ties, and social support in order to be happy."
Q: So even though it may not be a romantic thing, is there somebody youve been longing to connect with or reconnect with? Is there somebody that can benefit from your love, from you being apart of that life? Well if you know, isn't today a great day to change that? 



Naturally

The 12th piece in MGF's upcoming book "The Lover:Love is the MasterPlan"

E: Love Flow was a culminating piece. By this time I had gathered a plethora of notion’s of what love was.
P: And though I still feel I haven’t truly grasped it, I was comfortable enough to commit to it; to helping it grow, to helping it flourish, to using it to influence the world through a role I had come to love. 
SC: The funny part about this book, is that while trying to find a statistic that pertains to the portion of the world that is in love or believes in love, i couldn't find one. I found everything from conspirarcy theores on world domination, to what percentage of the world population uses astrology for guidance to what percentage of the world smoked cigarettes, but not what percentage of the world is in love or even believes in love. 
Q:  So, im asking you, what percentage of the world's population believes in love? And what percentage of the population of the world is in love? If that number increased drastically, do you think the world would be different? How so?



Love Flows

The title track in MGF's upcoming book "The Lover: Love is the MasterPlan"

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