What's in a name,
what say you man of the high mountains
Euro pleasing
I am not who you say that I am
Elohim my first Father my true love
My bridegroom He created me
But yet you have renamed me
You have chosen to call me out of my name
You stolen my name but I know my name
You call me so thoughtless out of you mouth this through United States census
*****, Colored, Black, African-American, Afro-American
back to *****, Brown Skin, Darkie Boy, N*****
More too come???
What's in a name?
12/14/23
Written words by James Edward Lee Sr © 2023
A tall Afro-American Customer
probably around 40 years old
with strong appearance
Came to my shop for keys.
When I was doing his bill,
I laugh and said is funny
You owe my $6.66.
“666”
With a little terror, he exclaimed
oh no, I don't like that number!
don't you know, it is the devil's mark!
I told him but only if I give it that energy.
I rather take no chances, he said.
Please, add this keychain.
“Fear is always more expensive”
Believe me - I am not the best Jew in the world
I have read AJ Heschel though
Who marched with MLK
Nice to have peace between the black and Jewish communities
One of my first girl friends was an Afro American
She pretty
But we were both only 16
Recently I was "dumped " by a Jewish chick
Well, she is not into poetry too much anyway
I am not Bilbo Baggins
Don't live in a hole in the ground
Perhaps I can find my soul - mate here is the Big Apple!!
Or perhaps not
Keep writing verse all you out there in the darkness!!!
(APROPOS OF THE MANY OF US: THE GREEN VILLAGE)
PROLOGUE:
Some don’t quite get it…
Life will reveal it to you:
Mothers are of God.
A
Keeping hope alive…
Strong stalwart sable sisters:
These are our mothers.
B
Ebony beauty…
Sustaining us in all things:
God bless our Mothers.
C
Beautiful sable souls…
Audaciously bold in faith:
Praise God for Mamas.
D
Ploughing up our hope…
Tears nourishing our courage:
Moms cultivate men.
E
God’s labouring wombs…
Moulding navels of His love:
Mothers…God’s angels…
EPILOGUE:
Happy Mothers’ Day…
Queens of our eternity:
Navel giving souls…
The first time
was with a pretty
Afro - American woman
out of doors in a park
We were both 16
and she seduced me (thank goodness)
The others in the park called out
"He's going to make you into a slave"
didn't intend that
The summer ended
as did my experiences with sex
Now I sit in Union Square park
watching a man feed the birds
I would rather call them rock doves
Pigeons on the grass alas
while my mind drifts back to
THE FIRST TIME
I got a lot of thoughts
rolling around in my head
Idea marbles,
colored black, blue, white and red
That’s very Afro-American of me
to be thinking this way
This ol’ noggin’ got a pocketful of idea marbles,
do you wanna play?
Let’s build something, what do ya say?
It gets pretty noisy upstairs sometimes,
adults sure love to fuss and argue a lot
So lets go to the playhouse
of our dreams
and tinker around
Gonna piece together a lightning quick social go-cart,
fastest dispensing of charity you ever did see
I love seeing compassion take the last lap of victory
What else can we build swiftly before dinnertime,
how ‘bout a love kite that flies higher than cloud nine
Let it get caught in the tail wind of a mighty breeze,
watch all the hatred disappear beyond the trees
I’m so glad you wanted to play
with my idea marbles today
Colorful thoughts that every adventurous child
should have, I pray,
as their 24th century learning toy
Curiosity that’s never put away
by any daring girl or boy
On my computer
I
play
songs of the late 1970's
My seed time
as it were
ELP, Yes, and King Crimson
Perhaps I will pick up a recording by
Nice
they did a great version of "America"
from West Side Story
or perhaps I shall return to the fold era
or flip on some Dvorak
Music and poetry
enables us to touch unreality
but only if we let it
Some recommend Beethoven and Bach
Others Chuck Berry and James Brown
Attempted to play the French horn when I was younger
what a gorgeous sound that instrument can make
The Beatles and the Rolling Stones used ti
So did we at Midwood High
AS we marched down the football field
Cool autumn days
remind us
of leaves turning color, football
and the beginning of the school year
I remember those days
As age creeps in
I attend poetry
readings
and volunteer at Poets House
read a lot of verse
Poets House has Israeli, Afro - American, Chinese, Puerto Rican poetry
and much more
The world needs poetry and song
And so doe we , friends
Only when lions have historians
will hunters cease being heroes
we are one nation, one family, indivisible
for us, divorce or separation are not options
Though Blacks first stepped foot in the Americas, in 1518
"racial barriers broken" time passes, but love endures
racial rifts, "tearing at the heart of America"
"clean your house of racism", "America"
racism is a sickness, that may never go away
there's no color in love
the ship has weather'd every rack, the prize we sought is won
the port is near, the bells I hear, the people all exulting
Afro American history; the record of a race
of indomitable people surviving the diaspora
where do we go from here!
we move united into the future
Sitting at my table
Waiting for students to arrive
Nearby an very smart Afro American
is teaching science
A friend walks by
and we discuss
comic book characters
Moslems, Afro Americans, Israelis
walk by
Nearby a student arrives
She is a Buddhist from Tibet
We discuss the Dalai Lama and the intractable problems
there
Later an African student comes by
She is a model and actress
and has worked with Woody Allan (!)
She wants to be a director
I just want to finish my day
Prayer for our First Lady-Michelle Obama
Heavenly Father in the sky continue to give the
First Lady strength to be by the presidents side.
Even when unpleasant situations
tried to reside.
Continue to have her be the rock
of his foundation that gives him
aspiration to clean up this nation.
Bless her with the role
to uplift her husband’s soul.
Allow her to hold
your godly wisdom firmly and bold.
Grant her to be a reflection
for every woman who is seeking
a positive direction.
Permit her intellect to be an inspiration
of every ethnic girl’s educational determination.
Let her complexion be a symbol of
success for the female race
to show them they can achieve in any high place.
Give Michelle wisdom in
This First Lady position
so she can carry out your divine mission.
Keep her safe from harm
and protect her in your lovely arms.
Allow her supportive years to create a lasting
impression on every future generation
in becoming the first- Afro-American
“First Lady” elective collaboration.
“Amen”
Michelle Obama 2008
(c) Naomi Johnson
I am black and I have the ability to glorify the King
I am great and in believing in him, I have authority over all things
I am the Father and Mother of past, present and future
Peacemakers, Educators, Scientists, Musicians, Scholars, Kings and Queens
I am John Love the sharpener inventor
I am Mae C. Jemison the astronaut
I am Martin Luther King the peacemaker
I am Toni Morrison a contemporary novelist.
I am Muhammad Ali the boxer
I am Wilma Rudolph the Olympic track and field champion
I am Tiger woods the golfer
I am Lucy Laney the educator.
I am Jack Johnson the heavyweight
I am Rosa Parks the segregation leader
I am Jesse Wilkins the physicist and mathematician
I am Serena Williams a tennis player.
I am Isaac Murphy the great through-bred jockey
I am Bessie Coleman the first licensed African American pilot
I am Chester Burnett the blues singer
I am Eleanor Holmes a politician and civil rights activist.
I am Thomas Dorsey the father of gospel music
I am Chadwick Boseman the famous Black Panther actor
I am Barack Obama the forty-four first
Black Afro-American president, we are the future.
We are the hope for the lost and forgotten generation.
I'm a prisoner
A prisoner of statistics & polls
Things I said I would never be
But it all took a toll
On the way I live my life
You see I always said that I
Would never be that young lady
Never turn into that type of Afro-American
But now a days I'm feeling less Afro-American
And less futuristic
Now I'm feeling more pathetic
And more like a statistic
How do I fix it
I'm becoming what I've been fighting for so long
Those rights that are wrong
Those things that I know
Those things that I saw
Those things that I wrote
About and the people that I swore I would never be
I've been fighting these statistics for so long
That they have statistically trapped me
-Lyric-