Ryan Blustone Bennett

Ryan ‘Blustone’ Bennett

Blustone/Blu is a poet and photographer. He loves exploring nature and spirituality.

Blu, gifted poet and artist, joined Fortune’s Creative Arts program in 2019 and quickly became a beacon of joy and the embodiment of service and generosity in the community. He passed away in April, 2024. Blu was and is cherished and deeply loved. We miss him terribly but his essence and memory are defiantly present.

With Poetry

Poetry is blank.
And full of everything.

Poetry holds back.
And exposes everything.

Poetry
Helps me be a human.
For free.

The physical world is very restrictive.
A lot more listed as what ‘who’ can’t do,
Versus thin files of those who got through.

To the other side.

Where you assume,
Inside,
Won’t drown in tears,
As higher earnings,
Replace feeling divided.

Poetry, or Creative Writing.

Freestyle, Auto-Pilot.

Through many drafts,
Rewrites, new “eyes”
New “I’s”.
I developed a craft.

Poetry for me,
Is a reality check.

It helps me say,
What I’m unable to scream.

I found real happiness,
No signs of ‘Beware’.
A family of writers, Poets,
Best of the best, to me,
Commentators, improv,
Acting team.
Dancers, actors,
Listen to me,
This is my paradise

Through poetry,
I found my excitement.
To share.
To think.

To be where, there’s no fear,
describing a wink
From customer
To the bartender, “what do you drink?”

Should the villain be
Him-or-her?
Or elegant owls
Who can’t wait to
Stop learning.
Yearning to sleep.

With poetry,
I am always me.

It’s amazing.
Even when I’m tired,
Writing is never lazy.
Jot down two lines,
Surrender to sleep.
In the morning,
Something’s written,
Before I make tea.

Music, writing,
Singing, or dance,
I’m for the arts,
There are no demands.
Moved by inspiration,
Emotionally devoted,
Through Poetry,
Nothing is left sugar coated.

From Blu’s book, Paper. Read. In Black, (2024).

Blustone Lane

(Don't describe to people,)
How I stand.
That's not who I am.
I wake up, and choose to continue.
That's the first step.
The first step.
It used to take a lot for me
to get up.
After using all the energies of
"New Game"
Forgetting pre injuries-
Worth pain.
Dodging knee sympathy
I went down lyrically
Touch down in zones
Four Corners,
Death to M.E.
Not 'Lace-Dosage Taster'
Which is me.
Swerve the coin paste(r)
I paste "hooray, I think
I found space for
Lines with patience".

Servings.
Yes I'm deserving.
The Merging is chasing
Deserting,
I now get up.

(To prove things.
Locked against
Mood swings.
New bling.
Shining like New Bling.
Except The B.S.
Was not made to
Hold down the necks-)

Man.
Here I am.
70-something-
Thousand grams.

Listening to preferences
Of the next man.
Dense dam.
Sealed up by
"Next is the dressing.
Look how it flows,
Pleasant."
Stress-in.
What a possession.
Limited times I'll accept
Such position.
Swiftly.
Then My "I signed..."
Will slide to find mention.

I'll sign- out depression,
While Smiling.
Even if it means
Back To The Filing.
A single team
Call us all RY &
Pass the ball high.
That's my 'N.
A real solid fact
Of a mining-
In tact.
Tolerance has been
Jiving.
I'm that
Black Waldrobe Lining.
Volumes
In my days.
Sounds like,
Different faces.
Reverse back to basics.
Filter the steam
As it rises,
Not waste it.
Breathe, cause the
Moments can turn into
Basic,
Young Black Man
Steps
Inside The Faceless.
Seen By All Faces,
Even The Greatest "We,
Will Show Hands
To Beat "What They Gave
Us"".
I trust the plan, then
Sleep. Repeat daily.
M.R. I think comma,
Peach gravy.
Chill,
"The Doctor said...."
"da streets played me".
Never seen a rave
Yet life's crazy.
Try to not feel a way
But that just ain't
Me.

Four corners.
Palms, dim faces.
For a time without
Raceless "I made it"s.
"Face it"
After that I
Embraced it.
Check the lines
For out of place
Laces, go,
Then stay.
Woah, I say I
Do, Okay.

With- or With-‘Out'

Staring at a spare remote.
Meant to do one thing, control.
Motionless,
Meant to be controlled
In order control.

Pictures dance repeatedly
. (period)

Staring at a spare.
Who's to be aware
Of the now absent
Original, spins.
Who's to care?

Staring at a
Reason to be from
A part of
This one I'm part of
This one,
I'm part love to
Run to park fun.

Staring at
Screens.
Amazing vaccines
Parading through streets
No sidestepping feigns,
Who know your
Free 5 and still
They want 3
To point out
The rooks that
Hold up hard dreams.

Staring.
Directly.
Not liking what I see.
Yet still I carry on
Cause none of it's for me.
I see a pair of eyes
That I might not live to see.
Eyes that don't deserve
"Yo daddy's like his daddy"

I don't know how to love me..
Noone has ever explained that..
They said "I Love You"
I learned "Okay".
An eventful flip book
Of going against
'Trapped'.
Growing, keep track.