preface

Once, a friend asked me, "Why are you trying to glorify Rodney King's name?" I assumed he was questioning my penname, and my simple response to him was, "I'm not." However, in my opinion, Rodney King is the epitome of the great social injustice thriving within our society today. One would be hardpressed to argue that King wasn't wrongfully beaten at the hands of the LAPD, regardless of what he was doing at the time. If the truth be told, a vast majority of us are guilty of the same crime King committed, void of getting caught by the boys in blue. Though the crime itself was wrong, it simply pales in comparison to the beat down King suffered in '93. And as we all know, the LAPD would be just as happy to beat anyone who may wear similar shoes. Though most of us wouldn't dare to wear those shoes, on a more philosophical level, we all unwittingly wear similar shoes and suffer a proverbial "beat down" in life by one situation or another. Life is replete with stumbling blocks and milestones, both of which serve as "officials" to guide us through our journey. Stumbling blocks, in particular, can be as unmerciful as the LAPD in an attempt to set us on the correct path. For all, there is affliction in one form or another, establishing itself as the common bond that ties us all together. Philosophically, we are all victims, just the same as King, by events that seemed unfair or unjust. If you have ever cried aloud about being treated unfairly, it was your way of saying, "Can't we all just get along?'' To me, these beat downs mean absolutely nothing if one's cries fall on deaf ears.

Throughout the years, I've had the pleaure of composing some poetry and sonnet that have inspired me, as well as the many readers who have been granted prior access. I began writing as a way of sharing my feelings and emotions about various topics and issues from matters of life, love, loss and laughter. The desire to express myself artistically, whether in drawing, painting or writing has been alive since my youth. Of all my hobbies, and there are many, writing seemed to truly capture the way I've felt about specific issues. It gave me the freedom to create images of life through an eccentric use of words. The unimaginable had become fiction at the hands of a novice. I would create characters on occasion, from friends

Preface

and their quirky ways, or commemorate a moment in time with a few personal words that somehow seemed fitting. As time marched on, I began to share my poetry more and more with whomever took the time to read it. Almost everyone was encouraging. Once, as a school project, I was assigned the task of creating a portfolio based on any current event or life experience that I wasnted to share. Of course I waited until about a week before the project was due to begin working on it, primarily because I felt I could sum up the task very easily in poetry. As I began the project, there were many stories about the diverse facets of life, love, loss and laughter. When I turned the portfolio in, my teacher was impressed. She knew I worked on it with limited time to spare, and she had no porblem failing a student. I only earned a "B" on the project, but what fun I had creating it! All along, I was honing a skill that would allow me to become more inventive and charismatic. I was always writing and willing to express my point of view with pen in hand. some good, and some bad, but all had a premis that seemed promising. I began to collect my writing in 1981, and most of them needed revamping, but the idea of the time is what I enjoy today. The innocense of youth and its grandeur create plateau's of invincibility, even immortality. What's more, all of this life was captured by the hand af an unwitted poet.

All of the experiences and emotions I wrote about would eventually haunt me, however, as readers began to think they wre reading about my personal life. It is true that some of my poetry was derived first hand, but the majority of them were composed from lessons learned while observing others. In either case, I wanted my readers to focus on what was being said, and not the person saying it. If the experience was truly captured, I wanted the reader to ask themselves, 'How do I, or don't I identify with what was read? What is this poem saying?" And more importantly, "What does it mean to me?" I needed to break away from the figure my readers knew, or my words would read like a diary. Therefore, I adopted the penname, King. It was originally give to me by my little brother, Roger, as he possessed the uncanny knack for giving alias' and making them stick.

yes, it is humorous to say the least, but noble in a right all its own. I hated being called King at firest beause of the Rodney King stigma that came along with it. I fought painstakingly against it as it symbolized a personality that I felt I had nothing in commong with. Soon, it became the joke of the town, and apparent that getting away from the name would never happen. I had already endured being called Rodney Dangerfield and rodney Allen Rippey, now I had to contend with being Rodney King as well. But as I began to reflect on what i enjoy doing most, I began to see how i could finally accept being called, King.

The King's Royal Crown jewels of Poetic Life are the collective writings of Rodney King, the poet. Originally published within The King's Castle, the Crown jewels of Poetic Life glisten because of the wisdom they yield. In all aspects of life, love, loss and laughter, each jewel takes common situations and hones in on their practicality in the same fashion, perhaps, as a parable. If you look deep within the message of a given jewel, you may find reflections of yourself, a friend or maybe even a loved one. Not that anyone is measured by a Jewel, but that the Jewel itself reflects many of the emotions and resolves that make up the human condition.