King of Pop’s words still reverberate
Michael Jackson. AP FILE PHOTO
Has it already been six years since my idol, Michael Jackson, moonwalked into heaven on June 25, 2009? For MJ diehards like me, it seems like he never really died. The King of Pop’s music still reverberates in my heart.
To pay homage to MJ on his sixth death anniversary, allow me to share with you some of his personal musings.
These words are from the rare book he wrote, “Dancing the Dream: Poems & Reflections,” which is part of my collection.
It was published by Doubleday in 1992 and reissued by Transworld after MJ’s demise.
The book is a must-have for every MJ fanatic. It contains fabulous photographs of the King of Pop and it will give you a peek into his private world.
I will never get tired of reading the book over and over again.
It feels like MJ is whispering his deepest secrets to me each time I skim through the pages. “Dancing the Dream” makes you privy to MJ’s vulnerable side.
Six years, 60 years or even 600 years after his death, the world will still mourn, but it will also celebrate MJ’s incredible legacy.
No other artist can keep the music scene alive the way MJ does long after his passing.
The King of Pop will never be dethroned in our hearts.
‘God’
“It’s strange that God doesn’t mind expressing Himself/Herself in all the religions of the world, while people still cling to the notion that their way is the only right way. Whatever you try to say about God, someone will take offense, even if you say everyone’s love of God is right for them.
“For me, the form God takes is not the most important thing. What’s more important is the essence. My songs and dances are outlines for Him to come in and fill. I hold out the form. She puts in the sweetness.
“I’ve looked up at the night sky and beheld the stars so intimately close, it was as if my grandmother had made them for me. ‘How rich, how sumptuous,’ I thought. In that moment I saw God in His creation. I could as easily have seen Her in the beauty of a rainbow, the grace of a deer bounding through a meadow, the truth of a father’s kiss. But for me the sweetest contact with God has no form. I close my eyes, look within, and enter a deep soft silence. The infinity of God’s creation embraces me. We are one.”
‘Courage’
“It’s curious what takes courage and what doesn’t. When I step out on stage in front of thousands of people, I don’t feel that I’m being brave. It can take much more courage to express true feelings to one person.
“That takes real courage, the courage to be intimate…It’s being accepting and true to your heart, whatever it may say. When you have the courage to be intimate, you know who you are, and you’re willing to let others see that.
“It’s scary because you feel so vulnerable, so open to rejection. But without self-acceptance, the other kind of courage—the kind heroes show in movies—seem hollow. In spite of the risks, the courage to be honest and intimate opens the way to self-discovery. It offers what we all want, the promise of love.
‘The Elusive Shadow’
“Even though I traveled far
The door to my soul stayed ajar
In the agony of mortal fear
Your music I did not hear
Through twisting roads in memory lane
I bore my cross in pain
It was a journey of madness
Of anguish born in sadness
I wandered high and low
Recoiled from every blow
Looking for that stolen nectar
In my heart that long-lost scepter
In all those haunted faces
I searched for my oasis
In a way it was in a drunken craze
A cruel hysteria, a blurry haze
Many a time I tried to break
This shadow following me I could not shake
Many a time in the noisy crowd
In the hustle and bustle of the din so loud
I peered behind to see its trace
I could not lose it in any place
It was only when I broke all ties
After the stillness of the shrieking cries
In the depths of those heaving sighs
The imagined sorrow of a thousand lies
I suddenly stared in your fiery eyes
All at once I found my goal
The elusive shadow was my soul
Fresh music
I can’t get enough of the song “Pagka’t Ikaw” by Jacob Benedicto. The velvety smooth voice of the “Pinoy Big Brother” alumnus has been echoing in my head for days now.
Jacob was launched as one of Star Music’s newest singers on the compilation album, “OPM Fresh.”
It is available to download or stream on iTunes, Spotify and StarMusic.ph. The album is also available in record stores for only P199.
Simply ear-esistible!
