You swore an oath you don't
Acknowledge anymore-
And the neighborhoods are
The ones paying for your amnesia.
The oath you forgot still
Remembers you-
And it follows you like a
Shadow that refuses to lie.
You broke the oath before
You, ever spoke it-
And we're the one left living
In the fallout.
There was an oath once-
But somewhere between the
Badge and the power, you
Misplaced it.
Your oath didn't fail-
You did-
And the community carries
The bruises.
I remember the oath better
Than you do-
Because I've lived every
Conclusion of you forgetting it.
Maya carried fire in her
Throat.
And elegance in her traverse
The kind of woman who
Could
Burna truth into the world
And still leave the room
Sensing like grace.
She didn't raise her voice-
She raised her standards,
Made people checked themselves
Before they nudged her name.
Her words walked in heels,
Her presence walked in purpose,
And her silence
Could humble a whole
Assembly
Without breaking a sweat.
Maya taught us
That class isn't softness-
It's Discipline,
It's dignity,
It's knowingwhen to speak
And when to let your legacy
Do the talking.
She lit fires
Without burning bridges,
Told truths
Without losing poise,
And rose
Without stepping on
Anyone
Who wasn't trying to hold
Her down.
And me?
I honor her every time I write
With backbone and polish,
Everytime I let my fire
Show
Without it scorch my class.
This is my ode-
Street rooted,
Fire forged,
Class carried-
To Maya Angelou,
The woman who proved
That rising
Is an art form.
[Poet’s Note in Comments Section of Poem ]
two companeros sorting revolutionary literature
in spirit’s gap unwrapping gifts knowing fresh
labour ! sabre cops might have followed us hot
cops never come on Saturdays — they watch rugby* remarks she blithely
work births experience dissolving glib speak
stealthily arrived contingent of state security police stalking
books, pamphlets, writings, ephemera, poems
confiscated not lovingly touched again
never say never self-assured confident
Dock of the Cosmic Bay
Did Sun Ra think in holographic time/
past and future turning on one wheel/ Saturn ringing like a cymbal beneath Marshall Allen’s horn and its cosmic cry/
The Arkestra boarded freight trains of sound/ smoking rails through midnight skies/
robes bright with Egyptian constellations/ saxophones splitting the dark into day gigs of wonderment/
Then Otis rose from the Georgia gospel/
His voice is rough as rope/ warm as bread/
singing from the Dock of the Bay where silence waits/ and every wave remembers the dead/
One built a vessel out of thunder and space time/
One made heartbreak a soulful testimony/
Both knew Earth was only a classroom/
Space is the place/ Soul time music was the reason why/
When time has officially ended/the stars lean close to hear what/
Sun Ra's Arkestra drifting across the water, a cosmic chord dissolving fear/
Space is the place/
Otis Redding's Soul music is the way/
And love/ the oldest spacecraft/
carries us beyond today.
You waited in line
Cause your we're
Next
That's an idea
l situation I am told
What shiney ain't
For me me
Cause I am dull
And spent
Excuse me Sir
Is that gold
I reckon I 'll
Just mossey
Along quote'en
Them words to
That cuss word song
By the way
All that glitter ain't gold
What want from me
Cause he so po'
Get his checks from
His chore
That ain't no money
That's tween me and you
Talking rich and acting poor
Got your Gal out acting like-ah
Whore: talking bout
place we go knee high I q!
Ya'll know the sequence y'all
Meet her in spring
She pregnant in fall
Pappie someone's else's
Niegh I go I ate ooh ooh!
That's how it is
Ain't nothings changed
Oh the ancient
Still arrange
Talking in tongues when
Sunday morning comes
Freaking fellas
By the time the service
Is through
Snitching in like gals
Current and future bride
Tryna make everyone say
Quasi motto neigh IQ
From childhood
To adulthood
Many things we faced
Before we overcome
Emerging who we are today
Some mistakes
We don't want to repeat
Because it keeps us in the pit.
Mistake repeated
Are lessons forfeited
Mercy after forgiveness
Is not useless
All we practiced
Because we ain't perfect
Rapid growth our goals
Always finding a way to be on top
We don't want to be
A result of our society
Because it comes with insults
Standing out wasn't easy
But we always hold
Tight to our dreams
Steadily believing even when
The odds are against us
That one day we'll triumph.
I do the washing
i don't say anything
I half to cook
& I wont talk back
The mom
mame'
the wife
Ms. Sheila
I do it all
every night
everyday
it never gets old
when I'm nervous
I take pills
he hits the wall
It never fails
He's dad
He's mad as hell
He wont stop
he is a husband
I carry the rings
I needle alone
Where are the kids
in the rom?
We must accomplish more
We are never separated
when will it stop
when he is gone'
That's when ill be gone
gone home with my mamma'
The Last Poets
“When the revolution comes,”
Politicians whispered sweet lies,
promising dreams that were never theirs,
while streets echoed with dreams denied,
and voices drowned in blood-stained hope.
Economies built on the backs of the weak,
wealth for the few, while many stayed silent,
coins of gold pooled, but hearts went cold,
hands reached out but never united.
The Last Poets rhymes like Hymns
echoing in alleys,
fingers snap,
feet tap,
words meet the pulse,
the Congo thump lifts hearts,
raw and real,
hip-hop’s roots grow deep—
But what has changed,
in this swirling maze?
Do we still speak the truth,
shout over sirens,
dream beyond the neon flash,
with wide eyes,
still fighting, still asking,
for justice in our sound,
each voice a note,
every story a song?
This is a message to the next generation
Take it slow now, one step at a time
But don't remain stagnant
There's always the right time
To do anything
When the time is not right, you have to wait
That's why patience is the key to success.
Whatever you're doing
Take your time
Don't let pressure, push you out of line
When you rush it
You might be depressed or you'll live in anxiety
Those you're trying to impress
Won't give you a dime, so take your time.
I'm talking out of experience
To react is not to act
Things forced, are forgery
They never last
If you no endure, you no go enjoy
Isaiah 60 vs 22
When the time is right
I the Lord will make it happen
Be patient; take your time.
OF DRIED AND TIRED SEEDS
Having failed
To turn
Our vineyard
Into a graveyard
Of raisins in sun,
They now
Seek to pluck away,
Ripe black plums
To grave the soil
With wrinkled,
Laden prunes:-
(Guess
they
failed
the
watermeleon
lesson):
Earthly green;
Blood-red flesh;
Multiple black seeds:-
Indeed, we are
Children of
The Father
Of the sun
And the Son:
Fertilized
And energized
By the
Cosmic spirit–
Resurrecting
Generations
Of dried
And tried seeds–
Germinating
Liberated
Blooming
Freedom flowers
In the sun:
Bouqueting
Thanks
To the
Son:-
OF DRIED AND TIRED SEEDS
Having failed
To turn
Our vineyard
Into a graveyard
Of raisins in sun,
They now
Seek to pluck away,
Ripe black plums
To grave the soil
With wrinkled,
Laden prunes:-
(Guess
they
failed
the
watermeleon
lesson):
Earthly green;
Blood-red flesh;
Multiple black seeds:-
Indeed, we are
Children of
The Father
Of the sun
And the Son:
Fertilized
And energized
By the
Cosmic spirit–
Resurrecting
Generations
Of dried
And tried seeds–
Germinating
Liberated
Blooming
Freedom flowers
In the sun:
Bouqueting
Thanks
To the
Son:-
The Pride of a Woman
The image of cruel could not conquer,
While an alienated air could not imitate,
Like the alpha filled with amber
Of the whispering of the wind,
We whose wealth we wish like worn wolf.
Hour? cruel and human heart is bitty-bitty,
The cruel stood forth hand in anger,
Like the white against blacks.
The pride of a woman,
Black women face agony of wrath
And especial agony of motherhood.
The pride of a woman,
African women face the race of rewarded.
Grace,
The tear of infertility behaved like sword
Of chanting trees.
The pride,
British women wandering for fame
Whose fame end up in flames of blame,
A regretting rain,
Like a winnable hour.
The pride of a woman,
Women of fate find face at the end of grace,
Even in the midst of beheaded sword.
The pride of a woman,
Like the [saw] island in the midst of [raced] river.
A tremor of war in cave,
And in thing which is no autism,
Tears.
The pride of a woman.
an angry
alliterated agony
ferociously flowing
the treacherous
tenacious trumping tactics,
tell truth tales,
of our outrageous
pompous, pontificating potus,
holding hungry hostages,
hanging hopelessly helpless;
weary worn warriors, walled
by bigotry’s belittling:
pitiful poor panicking people,
lingering like lynched lackeys;
veiled villainous vampire
dictator, dooms
democracy, demanding
america accepts asinine,
audacious aristocracy;
when will we wake
and audaciously approach
regaining revoked rights;
evil envy, eventually eviscerated?
infectious ingrained idiocy,
can’t continuously control
conscious citizens,
purposely propelling
people power,
to triumphantly
trounce this
tainted tyranny:
pretty please,
look…listen…learn…
legal legislation!
778.
The 2 Black Widows
May 2 ama…
Na naglahong parang bula…
Parehong namatay sila…
Sa eroplanong sakay nila…
At dahil doon, may 2 biyuda…
Na naghangad maging reyna…
Oh kawawang Kambal na Agosto…
Nabahiran ng dugo…
Nina Ninoy Aquino…
At Jesse Robredo…
Upang iluklok mga asawa nito…
Ang 2 Black Widows na yellow…
-02/22/2020
(Dumarao)
*EDSA 1 Anniversary
Where will I go for someone to listen to me
hear my cries, feel my tears
screaming inside blank stare on my face
wanting to scream for someone to hear me
living in a world in my four cornered room
wondering why i converse with the walls or the pages of my book.
thats where I go for someone to listen to me
no mis-judgements or comments made
why do i do this to myself its all that I know
wanting to break the silent cycle of isolation
misunderstood, labeled helpless, still I scream inside
Sub Categories
Looking for the formal definition, structure, and history of this poetry form? Visit the Poetry Dictionary entry below. Then return to explore how PoetrySoup members bring the form to life through their own poems.