Best American Life Poems


Hashtag My Life Matters

#MyLifeMatters

My hands are up don't shoot!!

I'm a black man, with feelings and a valued life,
Please, I've done nothing wrong, point the gun the other way.
At my home, it holds the love of my valued wife,
There's no kids, but we talk of having children one day.

Is my tail light busted, was I speeding too fast?
If so I apologize, may not have been paying attention.
So what made you suspicious sir of me through the dash?
Tell me now, in the future I can maybe prevent it.

Don't want to be a statistic, I will soon be forgotten
After my brief CNN mention of me being shot.
Of me being SHOT, dash cam flashing non stop when
The masses see another man dead by the hands of a cop.

My hands are up DON'T SHOOT I didn't kill 9 members
Of a church, I don't even have a weapon to cause hurt.
My hands are up DON'T SHOOT I'm 3 credits away from my degree
Check my I.D. no history of batteries or felonies.

At my home, it holds the love of my valued wife,
There's no kids, but we talk of having children one day.

#MyLifeMatters

Written on 12/7/2015 @ 6:10am EST

Hummingbird - Joy


Hummingbird..

Hummingbird with light brimming
Sing a song to awaken flowers that are hiding
On the gentle breezes I see you riding
Peace to all you bring
As if by magic you hover in time
The divine quiet of your wings drumming
You remind us to be still but never rigid
Sending us love to open our hearts
Softly you plant a seed in our doubts
When the seed begins to bud 
One by one our doubts fall away
All pain dimming
Resolving lifes contradictions
Imbuing our world with every colour of the rainbow
Filling our souls with joy
Soothing heart and mind
Never wanting to be caged
To always fly free
Teaching us to live in harmony

~*~ 

===========================================
Inspired by Debbie Guzzi's newest blogs..

I like Hummingbird because of their magical qualities, Hummingbird feathers have long been used for the making of love charms. It is said that Hummingbird conjures love as no other medicine does, and that Hummingbird feathers open the heart. Without an open and loving heart, you can never taste the nectar and pure bliss of life. To Hummingbird, life is a wonderland of delight!

If Hummingbird is your personal medicine, you love life and its joys. Your presence brings joy to others. You join people together in relationships which bring out the best in them. You know instinctively where beauty abides and, near or far, you journey to your ideal. You move comfortably within a beautiful environment and help others to taste the succulent nectar of life.

If Hummingbird has flown into your life today, get ready to laugh and enjoy the Creator's many gifts. Drop your judgmental attitudes and relax. Hummingbird will no doubt give you a flash of the spirit, darting here, there, and everywhere. Get ready for a strange new burst of energy which may send your senses reeling.

Hummingbird hears celestial music and is in harmony with it. Hummingbird may invite you to an art museum or a concert. Follow Hummingbird and you will soon be filled with joy and experience a renewal of the magic of living!

The Scorpio

The Scorpio's eyes see all
Ready and willing to lay down his own laws
He's completely focused on his path
And yet no one knows his mysterious task

His emotions are well hidden behind dark shades
Only showing feelings for the ones he loves
His words can be soft blankets or sharp as blades
Movements strong and mighty or smooth like a white dove

He loves his women unconditionally so
Ranking 10s when others rank low
Seeing blessings where others see flaws
Looking for one but attracted to all

His thoughts range from the simple to the complex
Looking for ways to put his knowledge to the test
His mind searches for meaning to his life
Fighting viciously to survive strife

The Scorpio is a deep and interesting sign
A focused being that doesn't like to waste time
He has a love for all things big or small
And he's quick to recover whenever he falls


My Freedom Poem

I want freedom!
I want freedom!
I want freedom!
© Tod Gaines  Create an image from this poem.

Black Butterfly

Here I swing inside my dark cocoon afraid 

to become all that I know I can be... A 

Black Butterfly too scared to emerge into my 

full potential and spread my beautiful black 

wings. I'm so afraid to spread my wings, to worried, 

about what this world may think of me? I'm a Black 

Butterfly that can't seem to set myself free from this 

cocoon that imprisons me. 

I do know how the world will ever see my real beauty 

that hides within me? The love I hide and the pain that 

does consumes me. 

I know this world can sometimes be cruel and rude place to be . . . 

but if I don't break out of this cocoon and set 

myself free? How will the world ever see me for me? 

But I must first set myself free, so that the world 

can see all my true beauty... and when I do emerge from 

cocoon? A beautiful Black Butterfly is what I shall be. 

As I spread my wings and fly into the sky… Fly away fly, 

fly beautiful Black Butterfly. 

Jay Andrew Anderson-Taylor 

Copyright ©2008 Jay Andrew Anderson-Taylor

Premium Member The Soul of Man

The Soul of Man
                        Authored by Chuck Keys


I saw the pond on the water glaring
was it upside down or right side up
either way, it talked to me of changing times
where men of hate saw only a colorless blend
sightlessly accepting any differences
man was still man, the same.
© Chuck Keys  Create an image from this poem.


Premium Member Round and Round

Round and Round     


mans' journey
begins e'day
e'day
to celebrate

birth and life
life of all
who think
or flee

to the love
the love of our ones
loved spiritually
soulfully one with God

to an end
an end that is endless
or to a ... beginning
that never begins

round and round we go
go where to and fro 
limitlessly
joyfully

racelessly as one
borderlessly as one
genderlessly as one
                              ... a people as one, won

           
                                                                      © 2010. Charles H Keys, All Rights Reserved
© Chuck Keys  Create an image from this poem.

Under My Skin

I wonder who I am sometimes, what seems to be a universal phenomenon. As everyone remains looking to be someone other than themselves, because those who are themselves are persecuted and dreams hung on the cross by society.

But as I wonder the colorful atmosphere of those around me tend to judgingly remind me exactly who I am and what I’m capable of accomplishing. 

Because they assume before they even get the chance to know me, my story, why I act, talk, or dress different, why I smell another fragrance, perceive, taste, and feel the world inversely. 

Under my skin they shoot before they ask, a trigger finger itching as the deadly explosion blast piercing the body of another innocent soul. Slavery is illegal now but we still hang.

Hang pictures up of loved ones taken through an unjust act, if you listen closely you can still hear the sound of invisible shackles as I walk and fall to my death…click clack, clic clac, click…a heart beating but dead now the heart no longer beats…

Under my skin if I put my hoodie up I might as well wear a mask, to hide the sinister agenda people assume I carry. Sometimes I just want some shade to block out all the negative rain on a summer day.

And when I succeed they assume I’m cheating, because my plateau has no high point or high ground. I’m a flat line, dead to success, and they put me here.

It’s a little misleading when all your hard work just falls off the deep end, because they look at you as if you have a red hand or you’re the bandit.

And if I bought it I could never own it because under my skin without acting I’ve already sinned.

How can you win when you can’t control the end?

All I can say is never stop praying and keep grinding until the end, because God controls the future. So never let someone else control you through “You cant’s or you’ll Nevers.”   

P.S. I am black lives, THIS IS JUST A POST SCRIPT.

Storm Coming African Tribal Violence

Storm coming, madam
Me-- I’m going up country-- 
Lay low and stay sweet*


*stay sweet--stay alive



Victoria Anderson-Throop
Nairobi, Kenya
November 26, 2012


Note: Political unrest near Nairobi, Kenya due to election strategies. Polish nun told me that she was warned by a local moonshine runner to hide. Too late. She was pistol whipped by local police who wanted more protection money. Didn’t get the money (it was a free clinic, so nurses had no money) Police beat the nurse/nuns and absconded with the very rare and precious AIDS meds to sell to the hospitals.Free AIDS clinic was forced to close.(Kenyan government does not have free health care for the poor)   Nuns are recovering then being transferred to other clinics. Three went back to Europe forced into early medical retirement due to permanent injuries sustained by police and/looters. The care program(education and/or placement) for the children whose parents were AIDS patients is gone. Children have taken to the streets in desperation.  Count your blessings.

Fragment of Truth

(for George Ehusani)

When minority
Threatens majority;
Self-solidarity
Divorces reality,
These in a community
Depict dilapidation of the society
And decadence of integrity
Of humanity
In every country!

Premium Member My Porch

Watching in amazement, as they grunt and grow and cry 
Learning from their mothers voice, as they see and hear and try 

This whole world is new to them, too young to reason why 
Just walking free in safety, feeling sun and wind and sky 

Life is ever changing from the moment of one's birth, 
learning and adapting to their future life on earth 

On this porch, I'm standing watching many kittens play 
As my mind drifts to the future, hoping there will come a day 

As I enter the fall of life, I dream that I will see 
my children grown, with their own, alive and growing free 

As you seek the why in life, take time to have your dreams 
You'll see the greatest joys in life aren't toys or homes or schemes 

The why of things you're seeking may not be yours to understand 
I found my greatest joy in life, playing with grand-children in the sand
© Tom Larrow  Create an image from this poem.

Get Off This Estate

Get off this estate,
What for?
Because it's mine!
Where did you get it?
From my father.
Where did he get it?
From his father.
And where did he get it?
He fought for it.
Well,I will fight you for it!

Premium Member Bourgeois - Please

Who are these bourgeois bees
What makes them better than you and me

Why are their noses in the air
With fake nails and purchased hair

So they wear designer bags
Clothes from fashion mags
Does real beauty come in a price tag

They have attitude for days
Ugly and malicious ways
Expects a man to pay their way
And then wonder why they don’t stay

~ Bourgeois bees ~ Please ~

Stop looking down on the rest
Because you think you have what’s best

Stop driving a Benz with no ends
Always relying on no good men

Stop judging a book by its cover
Turn the page and see what you discover

Stop pretending to live the good life
When you know you’re living trife

Stop being so conceited and vain
It only attracts the fake and lame

~ Bourgeois bees ~ be real ~ Please ~

Lay

Hospital

In the waiting room
The broken clock sits

This Generation

What happened to those days when people were humble and 
didn't mumble behind each 
others backs?

What happened to the women who had pride, dignity, respect, 
and good self esteem about 
themselves?

What happened to kids honoring their mothers and fathers and 
respecting their elders?

What happened to our elders teaching our children right from 
wrong?

What happened to the young men who had accepted themselves 
for who they are?

What happened to the pride, dignity, honor and self respect 
people had for one other?

What happened to education and the rest of the nation who 
teach each other and 
demonstrate for one another?

What happened to education and teachers teaching our children 
for this foundation?

Wthat happened to our Generation?

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