An African American Woman Sits With Tea

I try to count my blessings
And compare my life to hers
I try to see that I have so many 
reasons 
to maintain my nerves

But, she is the one that never cries
But, she is the one that never cries

She has been through a war
And yet she prays
She has been without food
And yet she hopes for a better day

Yes, she is the one that never cries
Yes, she is the one that never cries

She looks at me and all my glory.
We both wonder 
what I complain about
what’s my story.
Why I don’t have her strength
to survive.
Why with every waking moment
All I think about is how to die.
Maybe I should fly to Iraq,
Or Africa
Become and untouchable
In India
Sell myself and meet this slave
So we can sit and talk
For a moment
And she can teach me how to be brave

And why she is the one that never cries
And why she is the one that never cries

Copyright © | Year Posted 2014



Post Comments

Poetrysoup is an environment of encouragement and growth so only provide specific positive comments that indicate what you appreciate about the poem. Negative comments will result your account being banned.

Please Login to post a comment

Date: 5/20/2015 7:54:00 PM
Tyshawn, This one shows us some pain that you carry. And also how you admire the ones who are brave. I really enjoyed reading this one! And that refrain leaves an impact.
Login to Reply
Date: 5/10/2015 11:15:00 AM
Sometimes the one without tears has been broken. Continue crying as it is a gift bestowed upon us by the Holy Spirit. Within tears we are comforted. As a man there are times I wish I could have allowed myself to cry more freely instead of holding them so tightly. I wrote a poem called Ripping that depicts how pain expresses itself in one way or another.
Login to Reply
Date: 4/18/2015 10:01:00 PM
Fantastic poem,I enjoy it
Login to Reply
Date: 4/18/2015 7:01:00 PM
Very nice pen Tyshawn!Enjoyed reading your excellent piece.A7!Wishing you a very lovely weekend!In his light!God bless you!:)D.
Login to Reply
Date: 4/12/2015 3:22:00 PM
Beautiful! An excellent poem about comparisons.... Love the repetition.
Login to Reply
Date: 4/12/2015 11:49:00 AM
Beautiful Tyshawn. Well penned. Thus are the beautiful "Black Bridges" that we have been able to cross over on...the stable sable stairways left for us to climb...those ebony souls that we have come from..." Peace and Love, M. Lowe
Login to Reply
Get a Premium Membership
Get more exposure for your poetry and more features with a Premium Membership.
Book: Radiant Verses: A Journey Through Inspiring Poetry

Member Area

My Admin
Profile and Settings
Edit My Poems
Edit My Quotes
Edit My Short Stories
Edit My Articles
My Comments Inboxes
My Comments Outboxes
Soup Mail
Poetry Contests
Contest Results/Status
Followers
Poems of Poets I Follow
Friend Builder

Soup Social

Poetry Forum
New/Upcoming Features
The Wall
Soup Facebook Page
Who is Online
Link to Us

Member Poems

Poems - Top 100 New
Poems - Top 100 All-Time
Poems - Best
Poems - by Topic
Poems - New (All)
Poems - New (PM)
Poems - New by Poet
Poems - Read
Poems - Unread

Member Poets

Poets - Best New
Poets - New
Poets - Top 100 Most Poems
Poets - Top 100 Most Poems Recent
Poets - Top 100 Community
Poets - Top 100 Contest

Famous Poems

Famous Poems - African American
Famous Poems - Best
Famous Poems - Classical
Famous Poems - English
Famous Poems - Haiku
Famous Poems - Love
Famous Poems - Short
Famous Poems - Top 100

Famous Poets

Famous Poets - Living
Famous Poets - Most Popular
Famous Poets - Top 100
Famous Poets - Best
Famous Poets - Women
Famous Poets - African American
Famous Poets - Beat
Famous Poets - Cinquain
Famous Poets - Classical
Famous Poets - English
Famous Poets - Haiku
Famous Poets - Hindi
Famous Poets - Jewish
Famous Poets - Love
Famous Poets - Metaphysical
Famous Poets - Modern
Famous Poets - Punjabi
Famous Poets - Romantic
Famous Poets - Spanish
Famous Poets - Suicidal
Famous Poets - Urdu
Famous Poets - War

Poetry Resources

Anagrams
Bible
Book Store
Character Counter
Cliché Finder
Poetry Clichés
Common Words
Copyright Information
Grammar
Grammar Checker
Homonym
Homophones
How to Write a Poem
Lyrics
Love Poem Generator
New Poetic Forms
Plagiarism Checker
Poetics
Poetry Art
Publishing
Random Word Generator
Spell Checker
Store
What is Good Poetry?
Word Counter