Qualia

We are Qualia.

One Couple. Two Perspectives.

Poetry & Short Stories.

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  • Featured

    Liter Bug

    Maturity forming when emulating greatness…

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    Have you ever unintentionally broken the law?

    I was manifesting my own metamorphosis without even knowing
    Through the thoughtlessness I was showing
    When imitating a great in his prime
    I must admit I’m…
    Not as great with tossing balled up paper in the trash bin
    As Kobe had been
    So I carelessly littered til the pavement became familiar with my writing
    And all of the troubles I was fighting
    It responded by building blocks
    That’d shield me from the bottom of rocks
    And it provided squares to declare that shot clocks shouldn’t be around
    Intent was implemented when tales rose about the cracks in the ground
    No harm would come to my mother
    No chalk should outline the image of my brother
    And no shots would be took
    My pages would stay in my book
    To provide reflection for the soul within
    Now I refuse to liter again

    – Gotti

  • Featured

    Fanon’s Theory

    Desiring Change…

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    After demonization is identified
    And you realized that plenty lied
    Where they were supposed to be in good standing
    It’ll be time for some rebranding
    Same playbook
    With a different look
    Will you be fooled again
    They once pulled you in
    From the neck
    Then with the materials in a check
    Now they got you dancing and romancing
    The substances that’s enhancing
    Your chances of fitting the roles they made for you
    So what is one supposed to do
    Instead of staying the designed course
    Perhaps it’s time that we fight back with force
    Don’t lean into a “resource” that threatens to cripple you
    It’ll only increase the weight by two
    Take some time to moonwalk
    Away from the bean’s talk
    Come up off that high
    Let the party die
    Organize your time away from your nine to five
    And gather those who want to live instead of just survive
    Meet at community centers to discuss
    The importance of us
    Without the accent of holier than thou
    Speak on the flaws that we possess now
    And address how it can be fixed without a hypothetical
    Fears of heads and bullets that might show reticle
    Scopes from a distant trajectory
    Has led others to lecture me
    To stay silent
    Stay still, while they stay violent
    Stay complacent, so they can adjust the strings of your torso
    Instead of being branded by names buy name brands and don’t let the poor show
    Gamble here, gamble there
    Show that you have no fear
    To risk it all
    Buy those extra rounds before the last call
    Argue in circles with orchestrated talking points that don’t mean anything
    Just fall for the temptations that they make many sing
    To dictate your next steps
    Til you realize you’ve slept
    The American Dream
    Where the game is a well disguised scheme


    – Gotti

  • Featured

    Character of a Callus

    When love calms the angry heart

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    Are there any activities or hobbies you’ve outgrown or lost interest in over time?

    Aches and scars

    Were the stakes for stars

    To take in order to orbit around the heads of those

    Who chose to oppose

    The bruised knuckles I carried

    But now that I’m married

    The only ring that I want to see

    Is the one that Firefly has accepted from me

    So let the stars rotate the earth

    While I study the worth

    Of my open hand

    As it upholds the vows declared with its wedding band

  • Featured

    Equilibrium

    The first poem I’ve written in a long time

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    Do you need a break? From what?


    Firefly and I decided to let the ink dry
    While appreciating precious moments that we’d once blink by
    Lately, I’ve been hearing the scribbles of my pen
    Asking to be held again
    And I hesitate
    Not certain if I can bare the weight
    Like I once had
    But then I hear the flicks of the pages in my notepad
    Screaming to connect
    With whatever topics I select
    I shall fear no judgment from eyes that aren’t my own
    There were promises that I’ve shown
    And intend to keep
    But even if I end my sleep
    My family’s dreams will be nurtured and cared for
    Therefore, I hope that you’re ready hear more
    And share your time with me
    Because there’s so much more to see

    – Gotti

  • Featured

    La Colombe

    Tracing the lines from within…

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    Who are your favorite artists?

    As vain as it may be
    I think it’s time to acknowledge that my favorite artist is me
    I need someone to vouch for my dedication
    For creating safe spaces that feel like a house one could hold without hesitation
    Like cityfheps
    Finding rhythm in words, where they lack in my steps
    Allowing my pen to gain new ink off of my palette from tears I’ve wept
    It shows more promise than the ones I’ve kept
    Showing shades of beauty in where others have shown neglect
    Hoping to protect
    The young one’s sketches of ideals
    Until they’re personified into something real
    Heal and feel
    What it’s like to reveal
    The final piece
    That’ll turn you into the master of your own peace

    – Gotti

  • Featured

    Clearance Sacrifice

    The responsibility of simple pleasures

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    What is your favorite hobby or pastime?

    Lately, I’ve been getting back into chess
    To alleviate the stress
    Of decluttering the mess inside my mind
    It’s been difficult to leave dark thoughts and ideas behind
    When yesterday’s fingerprints can be seen on today
    I’ve been planting seeds in hopes of finding a new way
    To experience growth
    And honor the oath
    I took to bring about peace for tomorrow’s adults
    I need to teach them how to counter the assault
    Aimed at their individual being
    And when to unite against the tyranny we’re seeing
    Maybe some already know
    Maybe some are desperately looking for someone to teach them where to go
    I’m uncertain, but I’ll stick to my self assigned role
    Of providing safe spaces for undefined souls

    – Gotti

  • Featured

    Soul Possession

    With what’s lost comes new discoveries

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    What would you do if you lost all your possessions?

    Through fire, homelessness, deception, and multiple life lessons
    I’ve lost hold of all of my material possessions
    And what did I do?
    I had started anew
    My purpose was resurrected
    My practices on what I preached was perfected
    …At least, that’s what was reflected in the way I gave motion
    Morals intertwined with emotions
    But they wouldn’t waver
    Dangling what I may favor
    For the price of me to break my beliefs
    Only led me to find relief
    In knowing who to sever ties with
    There are times when my mind paints pictures of “what if”
    What if I broke this vow?
    What if I still had those materials now?
    Would I know how to be humble?
    Would the foundation of my principles crumble?
    I’m unsure
    But as of today, there’s nothing I’ll bend my principles for

    – Gotti

  • Featured

    Nostalgia for the Wicked

    Innocence in death…

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    Smile with me
    Before I become your topic of envy
    Praise who I appear to be
    Before questioning my character, when others can not see
    I’m sure that I’m so much more wicked
    Than you ever predicted
    How else can I laugh
    After pruning in the bloodbath
    How else can I smile with such glee
    When I had not one, but two, corpses fold beneath me
    Turns out that the most horrific violence
    Can be witnessed in silence
    Screams, of course, were had
    But they weren’t nearly as bad
    As the cries that never came
    From the ones who’d only have their names
    Carved on stone
    You may see me on your phone
    As stunning, fabulous, the one everyone must be jealous of
    Thank you, cause my reflections show me no love
    Only guilt
    From the life that I built
    After my grasp was torn
    From the twins that arrived stillborn

  • Featured

    Lost Tapes

    When a home loses a heart

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    Tell us about a time when you felt out of place.

    If it wasn’t for the roaches
    I’d probably be able to approach this
    New home with at least the dust from my old one
    But, of course, I had to spray and wipe down my VCR to make the bugs run
    Ejected from the place we’d both cling to as an escape
    Through rectangular tapes
    That’d produce images of otherworldly things
    Who would’ve thought that I’d hold onto it more than anything
    Now that I’m here
    Just around the corner from the last laughs that my family would share
    As a collective
    Should’ve known when my father was being deflective
    When I asked about my mother’s sudden absence
    That he referred to their love in the past tense
    What now?
    Am I supposed to allow
    This new strange woman to fill a hole
    In the parental role
    That she helped dig
    I’m as fragile as a twig
    But I will not break
    Eventually, my father will realize that he made a mistake
    That this woman’s smile is fake
    And that she’s just a venomous snake
    Waiting to strike in this green dyed grass
    Time will pass
    And I’ll discover a way to find
    Some peace of mind
    Maybe I’ll find it in the when I press rewind
    To remind my father of what we left behind

  • Featured

    Our Twisted Fairytale

    A false narrative on why we shouldn’t care about nature

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    Trees with the experience of carrying both depression
    And those who fell victim to oppression
    Speak on the ropes that turned them into murderers
    Disgusted by the lack of verderers
    Who failed to appear when they were needed the most
    Now, these trees are forced to claim each ghost
    That swung their necks on its branches 
    Maybe those who seek financial tranches
    In the land
    In which they stand
    Is karma in a way
    To give spaces for new life to stay
    Where nature deserves to decay
    And technological developments can display
    A Fairytale we’ll believe
    To be better than the keeper of blood-soaked leaves

  • Featured

    Jupiter’s Revolution

    A life one can’t compute

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    Your life without a computer: what does it look like?

    Like a jailer with all of these keys
    I’m looking to see
    Who’s on board, looking to escape
    Daydreaming about what it’ll be like to function in a different landscape
    What if some learn to bring print to screens
    Should I find a way to intervene
    Pause their interventions
    In hopes that it’ll break the spirits in detention
    If we insert harm into homes through miniature clones
    From page up to page down, we’ll have them doom scroll on their phones
    But that can’t be the end
    I know of some who’ll delete apps just to defend
    Their mental
    If they take back spaces that’ll hold us accountable, we’ll say it’s accidental
    Or coincidence
    Before we receive a vote of no confidence
    We’ll shift the narrative of the control we’ve obtained
    To one that detained
    A bigger alternate beast
    That’d enter through their windows just to feast
    On their souls, as if it’s the best thing on the menu
    We can create a safe space bar venue
    Where we’d open up a tab
    To get them addicted enough to need rehab
    And have them pay for their sins
    Of being locked in
    They should’ve known better
    And now that they do, they want to send letters
    To the number of people we’ve yet to fool
    We can’t have that when everyone must be our tool

Firefly’s Poems

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Gotti’s Poems

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