One couldn’t exactly say that/ Daddy was a man of peace/ But I think he was tired and weary/ of fighting for his humanity/ as a Black man/ he retired to defend his house and land/ wife and children/ having seen the world by boat/ the last movie he ever saw was the day/ President Kennedy was killed/ it was announced in the theater/ he took his small daughter home/ and refused to see another movie/…
http://IMG_20150725_185739117_HDR One couldn’t exactly say that/ Daddy was a man of peace/ But I think he was tired and weary/ of fighting for his humanity/ as a Black man/ he retired to defend his house and land/ wife and children/ having seen the world by boat/ the last movie he ever saw was the day/ President Kennedy was killed/ it was announced in the theater/ he took his small daughter home/…
One couldn’t exactly say that/
Daddy was a man of peace/
But I think he was tired and weary/
of fighting for his humanity/
as a Black man/
he retired to defend his house and land/
wife and children/
having seen the world by boat/
the last movie he ever saw was the day/
President Kennedy was killed/
it was announced in the theater/
he took his small daughter home/
and refused to see another movie/
never went to restaurants/
sat by the window on the porch with a bat by the door/
and defended the neighborhood/
I watched him shout at some guys carrying a TV looking odd/
they had robbed an apartment/
dropped the set and ran/
he saved some things/
he may have saved some lives/
but he was tired/
weary of defending his humanity/
and sad/
always sad/
The Jordan River/ Chilly and Cold/ Chills the body/ But not the soul/ Our children frightened/ They face consequences/ three strikes you’re out/ yet have to tolerate swallow bow and scrape around/ hatred nullification being cursed and scandalized/ sexualized put down/ locked up/ they are frightened/ stunned/ in danger of abandoning their dreams/ depressed in despair/ while other children get free…
The Jordan River/
Chilly and Cold/
Chills the body/
But not the soul/
Our children frightened/
They face consequences/
three strikes you’re out/
yet have to tolerate swallow bow and scrape around/
hatred nullification being cursed and scandalized/
sexualized put down/
locked up/
they are frightened/
stunned/
in danger of abandoning their dreams/
depressed in despair/
while other children get free passes for brutal behavior/
grown people threaten my child’s life for being/
let’s face it/
uppity/
and what can we say/
say love/
say truth/
call somebody’s child/
hold them in prayer/
time for the care packages to be/
filled with action/
not mumbling incoherent impotent/
when our ancestor’s sang/
it was a road map to freedom/
not a panacea a paean to inaction/
Jordan River/
Chilly and Cold
Children/
chill the body/
not the soul/
I forget sometimes/
that alongside achingly hard work/
there is beauty/
then I remember stories of my grandmother/
we never met/
except perhaps in the ether/
before and after/
life/
but still/
she taught me strength/
and still/
she teaches/
beauty
I forget sometimes/
that alongside achingly hard work/
there is beauty/
then I remember stories of my grandmother/
we never met/
except perhaps in the ether/
before and after/
life/
but still/
she taught me strength/
and still/
she teaches/
beauty
View from my window with cancer: OR Sickness Unto Life
Just imagine/ my perennial failure and refusal to/ inhabit God/ I don’t mean go to church/ or lead church/ or dictate spirit/ I mean/ indwell/ and dwell in/ the Living/ Loving God/ Maybe my failure to do so/ Invites God to inhabit my life/ and the only way to get/ my full attention/ because I just won’t be/ still/ with God/ the only way to make me/ stop and look/ is a form of something/ I once…
Just imagine/
my perennial failure and refusal to/
inhabit God/
I don’t mean go to church/
or lead church/
or dictate spirit/
I mean/
indwell/
and dwell in/
the Living/
Loving God/
Maybe my failure to do so/
Invites God to inhabit my life/
and the only way to get/
my full attention/
because I just won’t be/
still/
with God/
the only way to make me/
stop and look/
is a form of something/
I once called affliction/
until I realized/
the holy version of life/
is that every crisis/
sickness/
betrayal/
disaster/
failure/
is God’s best opportunity/
for a new life of love/
a golden sun setting last chance/
all over again and again/
to begin all over again/
There are days/
when we remember/
that we have been loved/
by giants/
and such love/
is sustaining/
no matter where/
how far/
or long/
or harrowing/
our /
way/
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