Levi MacAllister, also known as Levi The Poet, is a storyteller, Christian musician, and spoken word artist with a distinct sound, who resides in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He has successfully toured many countries, written many pieces, and found a way to reach the hearts of his listeners, simply by expressing a single, profound thought. Problems are universal, and the main areas of contention is derived from a lack of... A lack of communication, a lack of understanding, and a lack of love, but that’s what Levi tries his best to restore. The ‘MONOLOGUES EP’ released November 2011 only consisted of five tracks, but contained 41 minutes of beautifully delivered poetry.
The track that seemed to have the most affect on me was Kaleidoscope, which address the idea of sexual assault on women, and a thought process of one woman, whether it be fictional or not. There are lyrics on the track that keeps you focused on the storyline, and keep your emotions heightened because you feel so strongly.
Kaleidoscope
If you can get past the intensity in his voice and the deep shallow breaths he takes, this performance can make you aware of the thought process of women who have dealt, as well as continue to deal with sexual assault. Although Levi speaks specifically, this performance can and has stretched its description among the masses. Women with and without children, women with and without families, women who feel as though they must conceal the truth in order to protect others, and everyone else who suffers, it still applies. Here's to the hopes that many have when trying to find light in a dark situation.
There were more than a few lyrics that stuck out to me and made me more painfully aware of the situations, and it makes you realize how much you want the world to be a better place.
Favorite line #1:
"She says, “You’re talking about me like you know what I mean,
but you know nothing about leading that kind of life."
This shows you exactly how there will always be talk of the situations, whether it's behind closed doors, or to the other's face about a situation no one truly has clarity on. There will always be rumors, and rumors do nothing to help those who are victimized by the situation.
Favorite line #2:
"I keep bitterness in these cabinets next to all my bad habits –
you either find faith, or lose it – you either had it or have it –
Well I have had it!"
It is said that there are moments of collapse within the mind, and I believe this line showed it. The victim is keeping her bad thoughts and habits in a part of their mind. There used to be faith within this person, but after everything she's been through, she's lost it, as well as lost her mind. It seems as though all she has is bad thoughts and no direction that she would usually find from her faith.
Favorite line #3:
"She says her daddy didn’t want her, so she squanders to be the mother/father figure for her daughter.
A piece of clay recreating herself as a beautiful basin from the situation that she was placed in –
build for retaining life –
a feat manufactured without the proper water or the potter…
And her heart… it cuts like a knife! It’s priceless and it’s as hard as a diamond,
but she’s been selling it for nickels and everybody’s been buying.
So now there’s cracks in the basin, the way there’s cracks in the basement –
the one that daughter’s daddy beat her in when she’d dare to face him…
the way there’s cracks in the cement that she can dig her high heels in
while she waits for another customer to pour his water in."
Although, this is rather long, this is one part that truly touched me. You can recognize the sexual abuse, and the fight for a different life for her own child. There's a strong feeling to reverse this lifestyle, and you can tell that the woman is damaged but trying to continue on with her life, while constantly dealing with flashbacks from the childhood that made her into who she is today. The words are touching, as well as heartbreaking, because you recognize that there are situations like these that no one knows about.
Favorite line #4:
"I think you’re still loved, I still think it’s true.
I still there’s more hope out there for you.
Yeah I think you’re beautiful. I think you’re lovely.
I think you could know love that loves the unloving."
Levi's character tries to show the woman that she's more than what her life created her to be. She deserves happiness and love. It's a turn around in the performance because it goes from the woman believing she deserves the lifestyle she's adapted, as well as hearing it from others, to someone who sees the worth in her being, and the hopefulness in her eyes.
Levi The Poet tries to achieve an ending that seems to be similar to real life. He leaves us with a sense of uncertainty because life is open-ended. Answers to life's hardest questions are never easy, nor do they ever come in the way we want them to. He leaves us with a feeling of longing and hopefulness, but it's up to us to interpret it in the way we chose.
