Saul Williams

  Then I would like to thank the inspired spirit of beat poet Bob Kaufman. His legendary ten-year Buddhist vow of silence that began with the assassination of John F. Kennedy in 1963 and ended ten years later when he decreed, “All those ships that never sailed …,” has resonated very deeply within me. There is, perhaps, no greater discipline than that of a channeling poet who chooses to remain silent. His silence was in response to death and assassination and, thus, I must also thank those who have died and those who have killed for playing their role in the unfolding of the present. Their many spirits are cargoed in this pen/man/ship.

  I would also like to thank Allen Ginsberg, who kissed me three weeks before his death and told me of the power of chanting OM. His voice, along with the voice of Imamu Amiri Baraka, echoed through my mind as I wrote this poem. So, to all of the poets of the Beat Generation and the Black Arts/Power Movement, thank you for your voices and canon.

  Another great inspiration was the Persian Sufi poet Hafiz, whose commitment to God and poetry was beautifully blasphemous. His work is a gift to us all. Thus, I also extend my thanks to the translators who have made works such as his and Rumi’s understandable to me.

  Then I would like to thank all of my closest loved ones and friends simply for being my closest loved ones and friends (if you’re someone who knows that I am actually very silly and not at all as serious as one might think, I am talking to you). I am thankful for all of the different realities that you have all brought into my life. Some of us don’t talk as much as we used to, but I still look forward to that big commune where we can all get together and laugh and dance and tell all the wonderful stories of how we got from there to here and what we learned on the way.

  And I would like to thank you, the reader, and whoever or whatever directed your attention to this book. Thank you for allowing these words into your mind and possibly your heart. Thank you for every kind word or thought. Thank you for the patience that it took to figure out what the fuck I was talking about on page X. Thank you for the discussions you may have and the people you may open. To inspire means to breathe in, to inhale. We are of common breath and purpose. I am inspired by your existence. There are many deities crowded into your flesh trying to get a glimpse of this world through your eyes. Upon meeting some of you I have felt them crowd into my being, sometimes elbowing and jabbing each other for a momentary glimpse of you through mine. I see your beauty and reflect it. I honor the GOD in you and pray that your prayers be answered in kisses.

  May these words bring worlds,

  saul williams

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