I see them look up to where
they cannot be.
I feel their wishes collide
with the magnified need
of their wandering, pagan hearts.
The spirits of their departed
float past in silent cloaks of dust,
reflecting our own futures.
They send up their
rockets and space toys,
cluttering their sky
as we watch them
implode.
We will grieve the day
they go dark forever,
and all they knew
floats silently past us
into the past.
There’s reason to go on, they say.
Just take it slow and day by day.
But see, I know I’ve lost my way.
And no, my friend, it’s not okay.
Good intentions, noble hearts.
No avail, my life’s in parts.
Some are missing, some are old.
Tarnished is the burnished gold.
With a rueful smile I see
There’s no getting back to me.
So with what remains, I’ll go,
Hat in hand, a so-and-so.
What’s that, friend?
You’ll say a prayer?
Does my heart good
that you care.
Thank you for that.
Leaving now.
God don’t answer
why or how.
Still, I won’t say no.
You pray.
Say it as I
walk away.
Love you too friend,
don’t you cry.
Don’t think I’ll be back
to try
starting over,
learning new.
Time is short,
and days are few.
Gonna watch the sun go set.
Come with me, and pray, and let us
share that moment,
knowing why .
And when the sun sets.
So will I.
And these, my hopes,
now come to stillness,
spent in small and looping
hopeless, frothing eddies,
broken on stones
upon this lifeless shore.
The angels weep on me.
Their sobs are thunder.
They snap their saddened sodden wings
to the rhythm of
my racing, raging heart
and sear the sky
with lightning.
And out there, my dreams…
There! Floating on the rising tide,
are sailing far and fast,
eluding me forever
with full-wind sails,
but a
cracking mast….
They do not know.
Let them drown adrift,
as my sorrow
in my cups.
For now, though despairing in black,
beneath black clouds,
by black water, in black mood,
I yet await
the shining sun,
and
the turning tide.
I see you
Black Woman
in the armor
we forced you
to wear,
so you could
fight
when you would
Love
I see you
Black Woman
a sad and weary
patience
in your eyes
waiting for
the next
bone-wearying
Battle,
challengers
coming from
everywhere at once
I see you
Black Woman
your smile and laughter
as distant a memory
as the hills
that
surround you.
I see you
Black Woman
the song
in your heart
now the moans
of winds across
a desolate, bleak,
and wretched
landscape
I see you
Black Woman
looking across
the widening chasm
as your champion
turns to become
your opponent
I see you
Black Woman
wiping
the tears
from your armor
lest the salt
dull its shine
as it rusts
your soul
I see you
Black Woman
standing alone
in your own
cold shadow
dreading
but
living
to fight
another day.
I see you
Black Woman
Beautiful
Looking into
the distance
her eyes
contain
the vision
of herself
On stage
in front of
thousands
But now
the working through
the struggles
and failures
the pain
and the waxing
desire to quit
and leave it all
behind
Until tomorrow
when the
echoes of
thundering applause
and the phantom scent
of
bundles of flowers
And the
smiles and tears
the fruit of her
labor of love
will generate
will one day
no longer
be only
echoes
and phantoms
So, my people,
Let us strive
Together
toward the reality
of our dreams
Lifting not only
our voices
but our
Souls
No thermostat heat
No central air conditioning
No storm windows
No waxed floors
No cafeterias
No new books
No shiny desks
with compartments
for your stuff
No high tech lighting
No cell phones
No smart boards
No desktops
No laptops
No gaming consoles
No wi-fi
No bullies
No nonsense
No cheating
No missing homework
No disrespecting teachers and elders
No smartass remarks
No sagging your pants
No midriffs and cleavage
No smoking to get high
No cutting class to have sex parties
No baby daddies
No baby mamas
No drug dealers
No gang bangers
No dropouts
Just say Know…
Know technology
Know reading
Know math
Know science
Know history
Know music
Know mechanics
Know carpentry
Know electricity
Know geography
Know your brothers
Know your sisters
Know your purpose
Know your future
is in
your hands
You do know that, right?
Back then
the shovels,
picks, hoes,
rakes, pitchforks,
axes and scythes
were held high
on tired shoulders
that had to make it
through
one more day
to eke out
a hardscrabble
living
under people
with hardscrabble hearts
They sang and joked
and laughed between
the grunts of effort
that went into
breaking ground
Their sweat brought
the flies and mosquitoes
Their existence brought
bullies carrying violence
But their thoughts were
on their wives and children,
who knew that when their men
left them
it was to make the
best life
they could until
they could do better
There was hope in their toil,
and love in their hearts
and it hurt them to see their women
standing with the children waving, sad smiles on their
little faces, and his wife with
worry in her eyes even though
she smiled too
He might run into the wrong man today…
Coming home tired,
to a cooked meal,
and children on his lap,
and a warm bed with
the love of his life
holding him close.
So
Now that the chains are off,
Now that you’re free
Now that you can dream your own dreams
and lift up the next generation
Why you leaving now, daddy?
Why you in jail now, daddy?
Why did you shoot that other Black man?
Was he a daddy too?
Why you don’t come by to see us?
Why is mama crying?
Did you hit her again, daddy?
Don’t you love us anymore?
Daddy? Daddy?
Don’t go…
Why you leaving now, daddy?
3/5 of a person?
Property?
Stripped of dignity
No sense of civility
To the brink of insanity
See, the white man wears no placard
to identify himself.
He marches, but he is
separated,
to prove the point that
his species
is not in question
He will never be called
‘boy’ ‘Charlie’
‘nigger’ ‘coon’
‘savage’ ‘monkey’
He will not need to be protected
by the anti-lynching law (there had to be
a law, because lynching was addicting…)
and
Jim Crow doesn’t peck away
at his humanity
We would have our humanity back;
Not that it went away, but the effort
to remove it was prolonged, intense,
and relentless
And even now, still flares
like solar arcs
So yes,
we would take our humanity back,
and whether you like it or not…
We don’t need
your permission.
He will rise to lead
his nation
to greatness
He will serve
his queen and heirs
by standing firm
keeping his word
and controlling
his spirit
He will guide his people
through wisdom
with knowledge
only he may
possess,
for kings do
not deal in
common things
Secrets revealed to him
are on a higher plane,
a riskier level
War is ever at his gate
Strife sniffs at his table
Death watches his bed
and yet, his people
love and honor him
for his integrity
and fairness
they delight in
the peace at their borders
and their countenances
reflect his prosperity
Long is he revered
and with bittersweet
Mourning he will be
remembered
such is
the legacy of
strong, wise
kings
Author’s Note: This photo was taken at the Slave Museum. As the little girl’s mother was explaining what happened, she hugged the statue and said, “Everything’s going to be okay.” This is a poem that reflects that faith…
They sure tried:
To strip us culturally
To bend us spiritually
To break us physically
To give us second best
To question our humanity
To question our intelligence
They sure tried:
To stop us from voting
To stop us from organizing
To stop us from demanding
To stop us from marching
To stop us from praying
To stop us from fighting
To stop us from protesting
To stop us from singing
They sure tried:
To deny us access
To reduce our numbers
To convince us we don’t belong
To tell us we had nothing
they didn’t give us
To stop us from voting
To erase us from history
They sure tried:
To tell us to get over
the very history they
imposed
on us
They sure tried:
To tell us we’re violent
Ignorant
Beastly
Savage
Sexual predators
Dopefiends
Whores
and Pimps
and
Criminals
They sure tried:
To keep us illiterate
To keep us afraid
To keep us unaware
To keep us drunk
To keep us in vice
To keep us down
They sure tried:
To keep us enslaved
We tried too:
To be patient
To be non-violent
To suffer
To fight through the system
To die on our feet
But we got tired of trying
because they mistook
patience
for weakness
So we said
No,
and we said
No longer
And we said
No more
And we said
Our lives matter
And now they try
to say it’s our fault
they have to kill us.
And now, in 2016…
We find that
the
Tryal
is far from over
But if we stand
and work
and build
and teach
and love
TOGETHER
the verdict
is
Victory.
Beyond Panic 