LOUD VOICES

space is the place/an ode to Sun Ra

Just past midnight on New Year’s Day in 1980, I witnessed a performance by the late jazz composer, bandleader, pianist, synthesizer player, and poet Sun Ra at D.C. Space in Washington, D.C, under the influence of acid.

This is a tribute to that memory.

Sun Ra
Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay
space   		is the place
oh 		        Sun Ra
	                and your Arkestra
where  	        jAzZ	
	               BloWs the truth
teach me TRUTH.
Sun Ra Arkestra: NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert
where	             your RhYtHmS
	                     ViBrAtE
	                     with 	joy
teach me JOY.
Morning ritual
Image by antonio pedro ruiz
where 	your     fingers
	                      MaSsAgE
	                      that piano 
	                      with	love 
teach me LOVE.
Sun Ra
Image by Михаил Серебреников from Pixabay
space 	               IS THE PLACE 
cruise 	               for     answers
	                       for	wisdom
teach me WISDOM.
Sun Ra
Image by Ylanite Koppens from Pixabay
sail 	              into SPACE
	                      the tinsel sparkled robes 
	                      the egyptian motif
	                      the space-travel headdresses
		                     you wore 
		                     on your way home
		                     to SATURN
	                      teach me 
how to find HOME.
antonio pedro ruiz Avatar

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antonio pedro ruiz
My life has been a rollercoaster of experiences, from The Bronx to Washington, D.C., to Hartford, Connecticut, and Los Angeles, California—first as a seminarian studying to become a priest, then as a local and national community organizer, a radio host and producer, a journalist and producer in both radio and television, a government bureaucrat, a youth mentor, and a small business consultant. Besides those roles, I’ve also tried my hand at being a jewelry vendor, a motorcycle courier, an airport shuttle driver, and a bartender in a German alpine-themed bar. I am currently working on several writing projects, including a hybrid creative memoir about my time in Washington, D.C. This project serves as a personal and psychological exploration of addiction and trauma, offering an honest look at how someone can fall into a bottomless pit of despair, losing all judgment and moral clarity. Told through flashbacks, the memoir explores a complex theme: the physical and emotional experiences that shaped my struggles with addiction, ending with the scandal that would forever haunt me.
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