Home » Poems » Best » Black African American

Best Black African American Poems | Poetry

Below are the all-time best Black African American poems written by Poets on PoetrySoup. These top poems in list format are the best examples of black african american poems written by PoetrySoup members

Search for Black African American poems, articles about Black African American poems, poetry blogs, or anything else Black African American poem related using the PoetrySoup search engine at the top of the page.

New Black African American Poems

Don't stop! The most popular and best Black African American poems are below this new poems list.

View all new Black African American Poems

The Best Black African American Poems

Details | Black African American Poem |

Stars and those with Stripes

"America First",
is the worst.
Should not thinking of others,
be your thirst?
Those who are selfish,
end up being cursed!
Soon they'll be last,
instead of first.

Who among you,
prefers guns and war?
Do you really have freedom,
shore to shore?
If most have less,
are you happy with more?
Should the privileged few,
be guarding the door?
Protectionism,
rots you to the core.
In the end,
you won't know who it's for?

What does it mean,
to be "Great Again"?
I'll listen to learn,
try your best to explain!
Were there fields of cotton and sugarcane?
Was it back of the bus perfect,
everyone staying in their own lane?
A pain striped passport,
for those on the soul train.
If you know the truth,
please speak it plain.
I want to find great,
I've wracked my brain.
Whose America are you trying to regain?

Details | Black African American Poem |

Who Am I

I am the ring around Saturn
spinning words as particles of ice and dust
with the power to transcend

I am the original chosen to be right here right now
transmitting verbal frequencies 
through speaking my thoughts into existence

I am the heir of omnipotence,
born with a direct connection to profound abundance 
The one whose words will age, yet still have substance;
since there are no boundaries attached to my pen

I am constant energy
Translating personal experience into imagery 
Vulnerable to tyranny,
yet i continue attempting to share some truth
through this abstract language of poetry

I am the core
I am that I am more
I am the Divine Presence that is the Source of my rewards

I am the green you get when you mix too much yellow with the blue
That shade of gold you get when the sun resides into darkness
and when it ascends in the dawn burning dew
I am the transition between the third and fourth dimension of time;
the love you feel when you realize how it feels

I am the poem that is abstractly direct
because I write beyond limits
absorbing frequencies from 3 to 8 hertz
through meditation for several minutes
I am the one bridging the gap between
the analog ascension and the direct connection to spirit
The one who is love
because I am a descendent  of it

I am the rhythm that the wind blows
I am the beginning and the ending of stories told
about the universe and how miracles unfold
I hold the power to accept judgement from those who will do just that
Not knowing that I am them in the absolute reality of me
Judge that

I am knowledge beyond measure because that is my right
So I continue meeting the different parts of me
when I meditate and write
Who am I?
I AM, THAT, I AM

Details | Black African American Poem |

Each Day Takes its Turn

Standing firm 
we live 
we give 
we take 
we learn 
we strive to make sure 
each day enlightens us 
and brightens us
even as light fades to gray 
may we keep fighting 
with two swollen feet
beneath the body and soul 
experiencing trials 
and intense life lessons 
meshed with stresses 
may we persevere 
turn off  fear's song 
may we stand firm 
as we glide along 
through shifty winds of change 
that may cause things to sway
rearrange
but we hold true
inside the values and morality
we stand for 
we
fall for nothing 
we
may stumble along the trip 
we 
may swerve at the wheel yet 
we 
do not lose our grip
because no one 
can eclipse the sun 
yet
everyone heals 
before they're done

Just when situations arise 
flooding us with pain we despise
and just when it seems like
our tear ducts are dry 
from ongoing cries
we may think 
things are on the brink of ending
then God shows us the ways of faith
by way of love that he's sending

Standing firm 
we live 
we give 
we take 
we learn 
we make sure 
every day enlightens us 
and brightens us 
as each day takes its turn. 

~JSLambert

Details | Black African American Poem |

Oneness

Oneness
                   Authored by Chuck Keys

It had no color,
Lacking shape, size and dimension.
It wasn't moving or breathing.

There was neither aroma nor taste, not here or there.
Touching was useless because it wasn't physical.
It was indistinct and limitless.

Thinking multi-physically
Multi-sensually and multi-psychologically 
It wasn't here or there and it was.

With no distinction, 
It looked like everything else,
Or it could not have looked like everything else.

It never made me feel good nor bad,
Nor happy nor sad
Nor quite nor trite.

In our world of joy and destroy, we sort and distort,
Looking more on the surface and less on the inside,
Ready to judge and be judged from outside in.

The "oneness" of mankind stretches beyond definitions and limits,
From outside to inside and from inside to outside.
We are one distinct and alike world of "oneness."

Differences exist for differences, 
Therefore, differences don't exist.
Only "oneness" exists.

DEDICATION:
This poem is dedicated to Dr. Clayborne Carson and The Gandhi-King Community,
For Global Peace with Social Justice in a Sustainable Environment.  
www.gandhiking.ning.com

Details | Black African American Poem |

Sweetest Love Note

One night a guy & a girl were
driving home from the movies. The
boy sensed there was
something wrong because of the painful
silence they shared between them
that night. The girl then asked the boy to pull over
because she wanted to talk. She told him that her
feelings had changed & that it was time to move on.
A silent tear slid down his cheek as he
slowly reached into his pocket & passed her a folded note.
At that moment, a drunk driver was speeding down
that very same street. He swerved
right into the drivers seat, killing the boy.
Miraculously, the girl survived. Remembering the note, she
pulled it out & read it.
"Without your love, I would die."

Details | Black African American Poem |

The Lady Of The House

It’s siesta, yet one can hear from the second floor of the house the animated sharing of juicy news some visitors have brought to the gracious host, the lovely widow of a wealthy sugar planter. The sound of laughter is carried over the charming veranda bordered by lacy cast-iron grillwork, with its delicate oak leaf and acorn design and colorful, overhanging ornamental plants and flowers.

Three Creole society matrons in their typical 1840s long dress fashion despite the sultry heat are being served their tea and fanned by the owner’s black slaves. They are talking about the strange happenings at what used to be Dr. Louis and Mdme. Delphine Lalaurie’s grand house at 1140 Royal Street, a few houses away from the where they are having an afternoon gossip. Apparently, the last tenant abandoned the Lalaurie house not only because of some ghost sightings and agonized sounds that were heard from within. His furniture business inventory was also being mysteriously destroyed at night.

The lady of the house remembers how Mdme. Delphine Lalaurie used to be a respected member of New Orleans society. After the fire in 1834 and the subsequent discovery by firemen of seven emaciated slaves at the attic with obvious traces of abuse and torture, the couple and their four grown-up children had to flee in the middle of the night, or be lynched by the angry townsfolk.

Were all the stories true? Six years later, no human bones were discovered at the backyard, nor actual records or reports thereof, negating further accusations of slave murders, including that of a young girl who allegedly fell from the rooftop trying to escape her lady’s wrath. If Mdme. Lalaurie was the inhuman monster the press accused her of that time, then all of her contemporaries were also guilty, including all plantation owners, for the practice of slavery was fundamentally immoral and depraved. The lady of the house tells herself it is best to keep silent and let one person take all the condemnation. This removes the attention of the press and the restless community away from her social circle and her own guilt.

privileged mindset
and undue exploitation -
cancer cell takes root

Inspired by A House in New Orleans Contest
27 January 2016

Note: The Lady of the House is a fictitious character, but relies heavily on historical background from:

1. Mad Madam Lalaurie: New Orlean’s Famous Murderess Revealed by Victoria Costner Love and Lorelei Shannon
2. Old New Orleans, a History of Vieux Carre, Its Ancient and Historical Buildings by Stanley Clisby Arthur
3. Mdme. Delphine Lalaurie, Wikipedia

Details | Black African American Poem |

Be Free, My Brothers

Penned like cattle, as if chattel,
     cages rattle, sounds of brattle,
          no more tattle, keen for battle.
Be free, my brothers!

The cause is great, our rights innate,
     not fuelled by hate, we’ll change our fate,
          we won’t be freight, not long to wait.
Be free, my brothers!

Marched out on deck, end of the trek,
     each one they check, from toes to neck,
          the merest speck, is cause for heck.
Be free, my brothers!

As we make land, I rub my brand,
     the time’s at hand, to make a stand,
          with me my band, just as we planned.
Be free, my brothers!

No longer sane, we share the strain,
     endure the pain, it’s not in vain,
          it’s all to gain, I break the chain.
Be free, my brothers!

Accursed whip, my clothes do rip,
     he splits my lip, I smash his hip,
          he’s lost his grip, knocked off the ship.
Be free, my brothers!

We're in the dirt, the words are curt,
     I wield the quirt, then shred his shirt,
          his blood does spurt, he's badly hurt.
Be free, my brothers!

The dock we shun, just feel that sun,
     we’re on the run, but not yet won,
          all said and done, it’s just begun.
Be free, my brothers!

Free of the snare, the wear and tear,
     the vacant stare, the matted hair,
          because we dare, to breathe the air.
Be free, my brothers!

So they give chase, don’t see the face,
     our fall from grace, because of race,
          their motives base, traded for lace.
Be free, my brothers!

More men appear, they mock and jeer,
     the end draws near, that much is clear,
          we hold life dear, so fight your fear.
Be free, my brothers!

At last we’re caught, not been for nought,
     got what we sought, for what we fought,
          to them we’ve taught, will not be bought.
Be free, my brothers!

Out in the field, wounds far from healed,
     blood not congealed, our fates are sealed,
          their guns they wield, we will not yield.
Die free, my brothers!

--------------------------------------------------

Originally composed in 2013, this is one of my longer poems. I was unsure about letting it see the light of day due to the sensitive nature of the subject, but this was my take on a particularly dark part of man's history.

Submitted to the "Go Ahead... I Dare Ya!!" contest sponsored by John Lawless.
(1st Place)

Poem of the Day: 10 April 2017

Details | Black African American Poem |

A SLave's Cry

Stranded in this place
I cannot recognize
Abandoned and lonely
No one hears my cries
AS i walk through this wasteland
Of wilderness and desolation
I am consumed with anguish
I walk this road with hesitation
On every turn that i come upon
The is more pain than at the last turn
Agony and torment spews from my pores
With every step i take more pain i earn
Until i am enveloped with grief
Buried alive on my feet
Dirt in my eyes,nose,mouth,and lungs
I throw up my flag of defeat
Each painful blow leaves behind a deep gash
That is constantly reopened never able to heal
Infection has now set into my heart
Slashes and scars on my body reveals the detail
Of the despair embedded deep in my soul
That tells a tale of a soul so lost
A soul wandering through this wilderness
A tale of what being born black cost

Details | Black African American Poem |

Granny Panty Annie, the Tranny

Lemme tell ya' about a
*ding-bat skit-zo 
bee-hotch* tranny
named Annie...

I met her one night 
under disco lights 
up at Candies

She was 
starin' at me
grittin' her teeth
aimin' ta' see 
if I wanted a piece
of he 
OR
of she 
by way of flashin' granny panties

She was
shootin' pool
actin' a fool
so I 
took a shot
and one tiny glance 
but got caught

So I
lit up a smoke
and tried to play it off cool
but it was too late
she had pulled up a stool

She slurred,
"Hey young felluh, where ya' been all my life!"

I replied, 
"Sorry to burst yir' bubble, but I got a wife!"

"That don't matter kid, what she don't know won't hurt the girl" 
as she fisted my collar and yelled, "I'LL ROCK YIR' WORLD! Annie the Tranny is what they call me. Bet you been wanted ta' bone me since you first saw me!"

Fear and frustration danced on my face
I begged the bouncer to 
"Get this he/she outta the place!"

My pleas were to no avail, 
and that sea donkey lurked hot on my trail
flailin' it's arms and grindin' bar stools with it's tail

Speakin' of tails...
a shiny blue wale tail crept up her back
Her jeans were mean, but couldn't hold her underwear's elastic slack
but at least it beat feastin' eyes upon her crack
then she... 
wrapped her grimy hands around my neck and asked, 
"You n' me, boy, what the heck!?!"

I screamed,
"Look here lady, you seem real nice for a tranny;
but...
ya' see...
ya' need 
to hit the bricks,
you
and yir' Granny Panties!"

At that point the joint started to really heat up
people were glarin' like they really wanted me beat up
I can't recall how the hell I got out of there 
alive and free
it was like a big manly freight train
headin' dead at me

I'm pretty sure I owe the good Lord a big favor
that beast was the devil
and Jesus was my Savior!

It's a night I thought would never end... 
the night at Candies Bar n' Grill
Granny Panty Annie got a thrill 
tryin' to make me her sexy friend!!!

Details | Black African American Poem |

ON THE WAVES OF LOST MEMORIES

    


   ON THE WAVES OF LOST MEMORIES…

These salted memories tell stories
The oceans and seas gave birth to.

Over the tempestuous waters
Echoes from the bellies of slave ships
Ride the tides of history

Spreading ripples over the shores
Of time proclaiming forgiveness
For lost souls.

We sashay along bleached beaches 
Where white sands mask the shed blood;
And splashing waves drown out
The ghost echoes of rattling chains:

We no longer remember
Our beginnings here.

Details | Black African American Poem |

Trayvon Brown

Walk with me,

Don't...SHOOT, 
cuz I don't wanna die young, 
I wanna grow old and have 
a daughter or a son, or maybe both, 
to live a full life is my hope,
but the bullets in your gun 
are a noose around my throat.

Don't....SHOOT,
I promise you I wanna LIVE,
I wanna show the world everything I have to give
and it's a lot, and yea I might smoke a little pot,
but so Bill Clinton and HE didn't get shot.

Don't....SHOOT,
I got plans for my future,
that don't include a cop saying
stop and let me shoot ya

Don't....SHOOT,
my hands are clearly in the air
I start school next week and I wanna
make it there.

But you..... SHOT,
and let me die in the streets,
now my people want answers 
No justice no peace.

Details | Black African American Poem |

A Great Man's Dream

Open your mind as I rekindle an old fire

Of a great man's dream, a great man's desire

Martin Luther King Jr. had a dream he said

An era in which many people he led

He envisioned a new world in his minds eye

Dying for that vision but his dream did not die

A dream of a world where kindness is not brand new

Where loving thy neighbor is the thing to do

All cultures and colors can live as one

No more wars to fight because they have all been won

Different is normal no longer being bad

None fear the unknown, the knowledge is had

No one is perfect and no one feels hate

Each of us is in control of our own fate

Where all men are equal with no more unjust

Transforming all mankind hatred into trust

A great man dreamed, dying showing us how

Only we can achieve his dream for him now

Written on May 18th (posted next day) for the " Any Poem Written On Your Birthday" contest

Placed 3rd in contest

Details | Black African American Poem |

Color Blind

Is it the color of my skin that keeps you from being my lady friend?
Tell me my African American Queen; Maybe I just lack self-esteem.
       I keep your pretty face in every dream.  I desperately want you to 
remain on my team.
       Don't be shy or afraid what others will think.
Please understand you are my hearts missing link.
       I want you beside me, never behind.
               Love is colorblind.

       Who cares if the public sees us hand in hand.
It's not for others to understand.  A black woman walking next to a white man.
       It's annoying when people stare like we are celebrities;
Especially when we attend social events and parties.
       I can tell it's during those times you're uncomfortable with me.
That causes a strain in our relationship, leaving my tank on empty.
       Inter-racial relationships have been around since the beginning of time.
It's those individuals in society that are colorblind.

       We have done nothing wrong.  The feelings of love we share must remain strong.
For so long this situation has weighed heavily on my mind.
       I'm letting the world know that love is colorblind.



Note:  Even after we celebrated our first black President, our country suffers from racism.  
Especially in prison, and it is sad.  I am bi-racial myself.  My father is caucasion while my 
mother is hispanic, and I've never understood racism--never will!

Details | Black African American Poem |

Historic Perspective

Battered
From a dark angry cloud
Beaten
By a storm wild and loud
Splattered
On history's hardest rock
Heaven
Smile at the little flock
For as a drop of water 
Curls to become a river
So I gather my dreams
To trickle like a stream's
First fall
From a leaf, to swell
To haul
The hill down, and tell
My victory in the sea
Tell me history from the sea

This month
Short as wounded memory
I hunt
Myself, stalk their history
To find all I have lost
Just to tally the cost
Of being black
Of watching the clock
For the hour.

Details | Black African American Poem |

The Apple A Pantoum

On this, the anniversary of my death
I am reminded of my horrible crime
For you see it was me who stole the apple
It had belonged to an angel with white wings

I am reminded of my horrible crime
In the moment, I imagined a free heart
It had belonged to an angel with white wings
My true crime was that of being as dark as night

In the moment, I imagined a free heart
It seems freedom came at the end of a rope
My true crime was that of being as dark as night
You see, our child was the blending of two worlds

It seems freedom came at the end of a rope
Yes, I knew one day they would both be with me
You see, our child was the blending of two worlds
All part of a plan to abolish slavery

Yes, I knew one day they would both be with me
For you see, it was me who stole the apple
All part of a plan to abolish slavery
On this, the anniversary of my death


I chose to challenge myself with a difficult form and to use all your word prompts.
For: "Forever Malta's" The Alphabet Letter A Contest.

Also entered into Eve's Pantoum Contest.

Details | Black African American Poem |

TAPESTRY

.........TAPESTRY
Out of time that's long forgotten, 
in a light that's yet unknown,
you could see me in the morning, 
I would be there, but alone,
weaving tapestries from fibers 
of someone who'd never guess,
she is part of dreams and vision,
and somebody's happiness.
    But she would know someone was there.
     I'd touch her now if I would dare.
      And she would know I'm always there.

There's a story and it's Celtic, 
"We must love all things, to see
how a raindrop loves the flower, 
but the flower loves a bee."
In the tapestry I'm weaving, 
I have told this story well,
and the dream she is a part of, 
is the other tale I tell.
    She knows someone has touched her mind.
     I'm always there for her to find.
      And she is always on my mind.

It's a love beyond a question, 
but a love that's out of place,
out of time and out of reason, 
but unable to erase.
In the tapestry I'm weaving ,
there's no differences to see,
she is rising from the ocean 
to a love God's meant to be.
...And she has known a love that's good.
.....Though it is never understood.
........But she'll remember love is good.
© ron wilson

Details | Black African American Poem |

Temptation

Your smile, Your eyes I can't deny that I want to try something that I know I shouldn't. 
I'm tempted to touch, to kiss, to go to another level with someone who doesn't even 
belong to me. It's hard sometimes when I remember that feeling, I'm shy but I can be 
crazy if I need to. I can't let that person escape from my soul because then I might try 
to do something I will have no control over so stop looking my way. I can't control 
these urges, Let alone stop thinking about what I want to do. Your making it hard for me 
to walk away. Easy for me to stop pretending. It's so easy to just say I want you, It's 
a physical attraction nothing more nothing less. So I close my eyes and get myself in 
check. But slowly as I open them you can see temptation on my tongue rolling all over 
me. I want to stop but I also want to go. Please temptation please please let me go. I 
don't want to do this but then I see your face and oh I can't believe your doing this to 
me. I hurry and run the other way, A street where you can't catch me. I need to survive 
but i'm breathing hard, sweat dripping down my neck this is what I crave for so 
temptation is lust. A sweet tasty drip of affection from someone that I shouldn't be 
desiring to taste. But I want this and some how my body slaves for this, I need this. 
Thus begins the chase of temptation a race I might not win.

Details | Black African American Poem |

PART 2 - Earthbound Angels Made of Stone - An Epic


Those evil thorns of bitterness
That couldn't bear to see
This child so loved and so adored
By their father
Captain Lee

Until one day in early May
When she went out to play
In  fields drenched in morning  dew
Above a wind swept Bay
While standing there
Out on a ledge
Above a sea of green 
With eyes cast down
In deep reflection
Upon that ship of dreams

T'was then 
Her brothers 
Only half
Stepped out beyond the pale
And took the life of Amber 
As her father's ship set sail

The child of Rose
And Captain lee
So cherished and adored
Her lifeless body
Found that morning 
On the Ocean floor 
Forever laid to rest in death
Beneath her mother's breast 
Her named refrained for years in vain
Cried through her father's pain

So many times in life
This Rose 
Had dealt with tragedy 
But this time 
She was dealt
A lifetime 
Sentence
Of grief 
Without reprieve

So...now alone with 
Hope and faith 
Nowhere in her sight
She drifted  in a fog of
Endless days 
And endless nights

A broken soul 
With only yearnings
For her little girl
A broken soul
Drifting
Through a cruel 
And lonely world

A soul so deeply steeped in
Endless grief and
Endless  sorrow
Chained to that tragic day 
With no wish
To see tomorrow

Until one day
When Rose laid down
Upon the brink of death
And watched those green leaves
Turn to amber
Kissed by autumn's breath
A breath that set a blazing fire
Deep within her soul
When that mighty tree
Found the strength
To finally let her children go

And...standing there
Before her now
Rose saw a tree 
With empty boughs
And in that moment realized
Those we love 
Will never die

That tree would bear
The cruel sting
That winter's breath 
Of ice would bring
To once again
Give birth
In spring 

So with faith and hope
Now at her side
She found again the will
To rise
To spread her wings again
And fly

~~~

For two more score
Rose closed the door
On that devil Tragedy
Reborn again
Found inner-peace
In spirituality

Loyal companion
And caregiver to
The ailing
Captain Lee
Who no longer had the 
Will to sail
Upon the endless sea 

He died a sad and broken man
Who finally came to understand
It was his son's 
Who bore the thorns
That left his heart and mind so torn
When they with
Greed and  jealousy 
Killed
The sweetest child
Ever born

But... Justice 
In its own strange way  
Had indeed 
The final say
When the sons of  Captain Lee
Went to the bottom
Of the sea
Downed by a fierce
Raging storm
That finally killed
Those bitter thorns
The day their father
Died

Coin and land 
And hearth and home
The Captain had bequeathed  
For she had stayed there
By his side
Long after she was free
In his final 
Will and testament
His one  good parting deed
Signed with a long repenting quill
And by the legal powers that be
He did in deed
In deep repose
Give it all to Rose

Rose now walked 
The streets of town
With grace and dignity
The richest women in the land
Thanks to Captain Lee

For two more score
With open door
Rose lived in tranquility
Her house dedicated 
To the legacy 
Of Captain Cannon Lee
Providing shelter to the poor
Abandoned women
And their babes
So grateful for the many lives
With the grace of God 
She saved

She died one day in autumn
When amber leaves fell from the tree
And was laid to rest
Beside her daughter
And the Captain Cannon Lee
Dubbed the Rose of Savannah
By those who knew her well
They came by the hundreds
To say their last farewell
Rose petals 
In shades of ebony
Were laid upon her grave
Each one in loving memory
For all the lives she 
Helped  to save

 ~~~

We dwell in quiet places
Where mortals sleep eternally
We earthbound angels made of stone
Keeping vigil for thee

Stone angels carved by human hands
In honor of the dead
Giving meaning to the path
Where mortals dare to tread

Written:  June, 2016
Author:  Elaine C. George of Canada

Details | Black African American Poem |

Rosewood

The truth stood downcast in the lie,
and more than one that week would die
when someone’s wife, who feared great shame,
then gave an innocent the blame.

Her scapegoat was both young and shy.
The truth stood downcast in the lie.
Her lover beat her, so she said
it was the young shy man instead!

Her face was bruised. What could she say
to take her lover’s blame away?
The truth stood downcast in the lie. 
The town took up a mob’s cruel cry!

The man accused was black of skin.
They lynched him for the woman’s sin.
The world looked on and asked not why
the truth stood downcast in the lie.


Written Aug. 3, 2016 
for the Truth Stood Downcast in the Lie Poetry Contest of John Lawless

Details | Black African American Poem |

Summer girl

She had the perfect posture, she was an African American girl
Watching as the breezes about her dress did whirl
The warmth of July passed through the air
And there she was just standing there
She wore a fine printed, lime green dress
Where the wind did gently caress
She was summer in a glass mixed with ice
And she walked across the street so precise
Every man observed with a pleased eye 
Every woman wished it were her that the men had spied
She was a summer girl 
Soft and elegant and flawless as a pearl

Details | Black African American Poem |

Black Diamond Child

Black Diamond Child


Black diamond child with hopeless eyes
In your frightful future your talent lies

No worth is greater than watching you grow 
To a world whose wealth you may not know

The street schools you in the ways of hate
And the price of your life’s at dime store rate

Black diamond child with searching eyes
In the rough you sparkle in disguise

Young boy, young girl, you're the toughest stones
Regardless of your precarious homes

Your genes are heirs to our African past
Through you, millennials, our race will last

Grab hold to a dream and pray it comes true
That the doors of this country will open to you

Black diamond child with joyless eyes
Like an ebony phoenix may you rise! 

8/2/16

Details | Black African American Poem |

COLOUR

My first doll
Smelled like chocolate
And her skin
Just as dark
I adored her

Innocent as I was
I could have
Never imagined
Anyone remotely
Resembling
My precious doll
Could have been
Committing
The equivalent of a crime
Punishable
By the worst
Kind of persecution
And abuse

Whoever bought
Me that beautiful doll
Was making damn sure
There would be
One less dirty bigot
In this bizarre world
We live in

Ever so proudly
As I clenched to my heart
My best little friend
I was blissfully unaware
I was making a statement
Back in dark days of 1962



Submitted for contests :

   -AN OCTOBER PREMIERE sponsored by BRIAN STRAND on October 4, 2017

   -WHAT IS WHITE? sponsored by DEBBIE GUZZI on January 11, 2018  -  RANKED 10TH

Details | Black African American Poem |

While You Sleep

While you sleep I tell you all of the things I keep inside throughout day.
Now that you can hear but not listen I find them much easier to say.
My hopes, my dreams, my fears, and everything in between
Your subconscious hears so keen, or so it seems.
My tongue is soft; I speak so sweetly 
Knowing your reaction will never greet me.

Tonight will be different in what I want you to know.
It has everything to do with what I can’t help but show.
I hold no claim to any religion but you’ve given me a place for my faith.
Somewhere it will never stale or lose its lavish taste.
You’ve shown me something I can see, touch, and feel, 
And so before it I choose to kneel.

I know I don’t say it but I miss you every day.
Sitting, thinking of the perfect words to be my choice,
Yet when you call I can’t find any of the right words to say.
I’m just happy to finally hear your voice.
Even just a moment is enough to sooth my heavy heart;
Fearing the ends of conversations knowing we’ll have to part.

I’ll never be too far from you, always within arm’s reach,
And in your days of darkness I’ll be the light that you will seek.
I’ll never let you leave too far from me, I’ll stay close behind you in this world;
Secretly protecting what is mine, you will always be my girl.
I only want the best for you so the best of me I will employ.
Faithfully yours, I will always be your boy.

I close my eyes and kiss your soft sweet lips
And see the very best of you in loving bliss.
I see past the physical which makes you attractive
And focus on the things I can’t see in which I’m attracted.
Your thoughts I’d love to hear them all.
Of the things you speak disinterest never makes its call.

My day will come, I know someday I’ll be the only one.
And you I will pursue viciously,
Because I’ve given you the greatest gift I can give, to love unconditionally.
Yes our day will come, I know someday we’ll be as one.
And you I will pursue viciously,
Because I’ve given you the greatest gift I can give… to love unconditionally.

Details | Black African American Poem |

All Lives Matter

Fear is what they clothe them in.
Fear of losing their life because of one mistake.
Fear of losing their life because an officer is having 
a bad day.

Some say it's not racism;
"It's police brutality."
Whatever you call it, I can't 
help but ask "where is humanity?"

Mothers weeping because they're losing their sons.
Teaching them to fight back with silence
but that is no weapon compared to a gun.

Six feet under, leaving families to fight for justice
over their lives.
Societies getting tired of it all-
starting riots and constructing strikes.

How many more time will history repeat itself?
Or are we still writing [his]tory , using coverups
as help?

All lives matter despite of their race.
All lives matter despite their mistakes.

In times such as these justice will demand to be served.
No matter how chaotic, crazy, or obscured.

Life is a gift, one that we should all treasure.
Because all lives matter and we need to protect them;
no matter the measure.

Details | Black African American Poem |

Get An Education

"The boy's got a broken brain!
- Fix him for me now,
I can't do a thing with him."

     - So I hear you say,
     Though he seems intelligent enough.

After all, he's smart enough 
To know the whys and wherefores
Of every deal that goes down on his street -
Every $ passing hands in the dark,
Summed and totalled in his head.
But Math - Forget it.
And you'll never see him crack a book for study's sake.

Perhap's that's because you broke his heart,
Long ago, though his face will never show it.
Because he bleeds inside,
Though to hear him talk you'd never know it.
You tore his shadoworld apart
Just by never being there -
You broke his proud red eggshell heart
Because he knows you never cared.

Perhaps this is why Rage is his religion,
And he only values Gain,
Why Payback is his Creed,
His only currency Pain.
This then is why he wears the shirt 
That reads, "Never Forget, Never Forgive";
This why he's unafraid to kill or die,
Yet terrified to live.

So go get an education -
 Start with a hard look at yourself -
You that schooled a nation
In the politics of Greed,
Builders of the conflagration
Of burning, unmet Need
Now threatening to consume us
As it climbs into the skies,
As it whispers warnings to us
From his vacant, coldstare eyes.

You broke his heart,
A wound more deep
Than I alone can mend,
I, just one beleaguered horseman.
Cannot set it right again.

You must help put things back together,
If you want our nightmares to end.