Best Evers Poems
Did you say you want to know me?
Which me could that be ...
which of the what-evers that were me when?
The one from way back then
with pigtails flying behind
already learning to hide pain
to become another Me
that no one could see
unless they looked real close?
Looked at the daughter, the sister,
the student, the friend, the worker,
the lover, the wife, the drunk.
The Momie me, the widow,
the divorced me ... twice ..
the divorced from me Me.
Which role to know?
Age brings them to an end,
no more parts to play, no pretend,
no stage or lights, only lines etched by time.
Naked we arrived to life.
Naked we leave emptied
of all the layers of all the Me.
Perhaps we will know
in that other place, that other space,
where souls become We.
Categories:
evers, introspectionme, me,
Form:
Free verse
*** NOMAD ***
(For Ian and Bryan)
The gifts just out of reach…Always?
Scoping the search?
With the contentments
Of peace to be found,
Buried like treasure…And
Hunted?
Beloved nomad
Seeking place
Among the ridges
Of the lost caves your eagles
Scan horizons
To discover, while watching
constantly over you —
Traveling with your long stretch
Of discontented camels,
Snorting and spitting,
Their loads grown heavier than
The darkness near descending;
Their eyes forever looking
Over the empty distances —
Perhaps as feared
As Earth’s edges —
For any, any possible oasis
Appealing to you with
Some hope of settling.
So do
Stop periodically,
To recall all you love. And
Bend, to measure sought ends,
Letting run
Handfuls of unfamiliar sand
Between your fingers — not
Worrying over spent years
Yet to come —
As you watch the grains of sand
Drizzling down, falling
To a familiar dune
To continue their endless rest.
Nomad, continuing the search
For that similar someplace
Of origin, for re-starting on
The pathways to the where-
Evers far from any ends…or
Before finding then truly
What was held all the while.
Consider that the sought ends
Could assuringly be meant
To wait for the journey’s close,
With much to be said for
Actually moving through reality
While the mind, too, may wish
To avoid doubts or deliberations
In stillnes —
Most happy to feel new breezes
Touch past; or to hear unfamiliar
Voices sing out greetings; and
For incongruities to shake
The soul closer to God.
The journey’s progress (surely
With some luck in the going,
Or help from a greater
Force if while staying)
Does occur in the there
Or the here, hopefully to be
Concluded in a spot for
Body and mind, which
Your eagle has eyed
In many fewer than forty years…
For you are loved, your way blessed.
————————————————————-
(c) sally young eslinger 2/25/22
Thanks be to God
Categories:
evers, encouraging, identity, imagery, love,
Form:
Didactic
Social injustice and economic inequality
have always been practiced in our Nation's working industry
Irish need not apply, Hispanics we don't want your kind
and Blacks don't even show your face
this was the typical response to ethnic minorities in America's workplace
nepotism and favoritism were the norm and status quo
as it was not about your knowledge or skill but about who you know
let us never forget the unions and labor laws which evened the playing field
for if it was left up to corporate America economic inequality would never yield
Racism, discrimination and segregation on our Nation's history is a blight
and in spite of all the civil rights laws we still have to fight
for a measure of equal opportunity
for some respect and a little dignity
let us never forget the Rev. Dr. King Jr., Medgar Evers, Cesar Chavez and Rosa Parks
those who stood up against injustice by igniting a socially conscious spark
they did not back down, they would not back off, they took a moral stance
so that every single human being in this country could have an equal chance
We hold these truths to be self-evident that all citizens shall be treated the same
regardless of race, color, age, gender or how we pronounce your name
and as we celebrate Black History Month let us never forget those who led the fight
in the struggle for social justice, economic equality and basic human rights
Categories:
evers, black african american, freedom,
Form:
Dramatic Monologue
The Pride of a Black Man…
is evident from birth
from day one he’s the strongest on earth
It grows in him like a planted seed
giving him the will and fortitude he’ll need
The Pride of a Black Man…
is what makes him unique
giving him that special quality others seek
It makes him stand tall on the darkest days
his mettle never ceases to amaze
The Pride of a Black Man…
is what makes him whole
embedded in his heart and soul
It’s what drives him to be the best
enabling him to withstand any test
The Pride of a Black Man…
is a wondrous thing
passed down from African Kings
It has survived slavery, apartheid, and segregation
Manifested into id and Kwanzaa celebrations
The Pride of a Black Man…
is Evers, King, and X
Mandela, Farrakhan, and whoever steps up next
It’s a Panther struggling, fighting for a cause
dying for his people not applause
The Pride of a Black Man…
is all he has at times
but its powers are sublime
It’s what allows him to be
at once imprisoned and free
Categories:
evers, black-african amerpride,
Form:
Couplet
ain't it a shame
when hate lynches
a 14 year old Colored boy
in 1955 Mississippi
and blows away the dreams of
four innocent little ***** girls
in 1963 Birmingham, Alabama
yeah
bus that to your segregated thoughts
as I interracially walk you
through Little Rock, Arkansas
with Daisy Bates & nine Black Children
to march along side the National Guard
on their way to a lily white school
as the message of this
un-segregates & untangles
the history of hate
attackin’ ******* in 1957
whose only desire was to be educated
and schooled too
racism & hate
doesn’t try to guide
the white citizen council back
to their good senses
‘cause racism
don’t care ‘bout nobody
being Jewish or Colored
when it needs to
fire-bomb
***** churches with ******* in them
or feels the need to hang someone
from a tree out of existence
racism even devours its own kkklan
as the innocent
pay the ultimate price
racism doesn’t care
if your church is the 16th Street Baptist
and 14 yr. old Addie Mae Collins
is one of the four black Alabama children
killed in attendance
racism ain’t concerned about
you being white either
or your last name being
White
Black
Brown
Till
Schwerner
Evers
Liuzzo
Mandela
Martin or Rodney King
and so many other names
that we’ll never know of
that racism wounded or buried six feet
under hate
racism doesn’t care about
what kinda NAACP dream
you’re having
or concerned about your last name
being "Parks" in 1955
when it attempts to guide you back
to the "Colored" section of the bus
where you know your
civil-rights will be denied
every time you allow
" segregation & discrimination"
to collects its fare
racism & its hateful followers
have no regard at all
for one’s race / religion
or sexual persuasion
especially when racism peers
into its discriminating mirror
century after century
time after time
day after day
and tells itself in 2006
"it’s better than you"
because you’re "cultured" different
from them"
yeah
racism stirs an ugly pot of soup
that no one should ever have to taste.
Categories:
evers, angst, care, old, care,
Form:
Free verse
Tinker Evers and Chance
their double play romance
Ty Cobb terror on bases
also with many faces
if Babe Ruth played today
can't imagine his pay
a D-H for sure
his homeruns were pure
baseball and fantasy
for me it is easy
baseball's my desire
my juices on fire
Categories:
evers, baseball,
Form:
Couplet
Me, Myself and I
One day Me, Myself, and I thought about conquering
the world.
Me, wanted to get a map and start immediately.
Myself, wondered if we should go to a Travel Agent.
I, thought he'd think about it later.
Me, Myself and I wanted to learn to ski..
Me wanted to buy skies right away,
Myself wanted to wait for a discount sale..
I, thought sledding might be the better alternative.
The trio decided to get "healthy".
Me wanted to join a gym and work out.
Myself thought a walk in the park would suffice.
I swore to give up give up Starbucks Mocha-Late-
Calorie What-evers... next week.
Me, Myself and I went back to bed and thought of
Scarlet O'Hara. We'll think about all that stuff
tomorrow..or next week.
Categories:
evers, funny, people
Form:
Free verse
Li Na Tennis Champion
Asians in general sat up to take notice when from the vastness of China arose a tennis great…
Never mind it was a she, and at an advanced chronological ripe old age of almost touching 30…
Li Na from China was one well travelled tennis star, her world accolades coming in very late…
When many a famous players were thinking of retiring in fatigue, she upped her game to the level elite..
First and only Asian to win a Grand Slam Singles title, she was a ripe old 29 when it happened…
Many more illustrious tennis professionals have long gone to pasture before reaching 29 or after…
But not Li Na the most famous professional tennis player from China, the most illustrious too..
2011 French Open Champion at age 29 followed in 2 years later , 2014 Australian Open at age 32…
Now , if one were to check up on China’s most famous tennis daughter, Wikipedia has it all …
It chronicles in fascinating details the checkered career of this badminton reject since she was small…
An astute coach suggested she had best switch from the ever popular racket game called badminton…
In that big nation of badminton crazies all over, it must have hurt to be ejected from badminton…
But her excellence in tennis was astonishing to say the least, by 1997 she was in the national team…
Incredibly, she was then only a teenage at fifteen when China drafted her into her National team…
Two years later, in 1999 following a 10 months stint sponsored by Nike, Li Na turned professional…
Her rocky path to be a successful professional was camouflaged by her many ITF numerous titles…
However, she quit the National team in 2002, going on to complete a Bachelor of Journalism in 2009..
This was another cap in her journey to tennis success, an academic complement to her tennis prowess…
From the barrage of numerous first evers for this Chinese tennis phenomenon until her retirement..
It is obvious she was a tennis prodigy who happened to come from the far east to tennis fans' amazement...
For further readings of Li Na, the most famous Chinese phenomenon in woman professional tennis …
Do a Google search and feel amazed at the massive write up about China’s most famous daughter in tennis..
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Li_Na
Or Look out for Li Na Superstar Part 2
Categories:
evers, appreciation, celebrity, community, dedication,
Form:
Narrative
“F Bomb”
By Nate Spears
I got the heart of a man name Malcolm
The visions of Martin Luther
The tongue of Emmett Till
The brains of Medgar Evers
Can I get a window seat
Away from defeat
Can I get park for the kids to play
Next to the spot
Where Rosa refused her seat
Langston in my pen
Proud, young, and free
Handsome and intelligent
The government targets me
First,
In a second
My history is a blessing
The court system in racist
Society shows the traces.
Categories:
evers, black african american, courage,
Form:
Lyric
often in the grand scheme of God's desires
He will use mankind to do what He requires
His providential purposes God's master plans
will utilize any and all types of man
the Pharoah declared a most horrendous decree
of infanticide on Jewish male babies
to put them to death to keep their numbers down
fearful of having too many Jewish males around
but history has a way of repeating itself again and again
as the young Black male populations today hangs by a fringe
with incarcerations, police brutality and killing each other
we're on the verge of eradicating our young Black brothers
a supposed threat to society that same old racist mentality
yet all it takes is for God to send someone to be bold
one person unafraid to break away from the mold
over 400 years of praying and keeping hope alive
a people once in slavery but today they now thrive
from Moses to Jeremiah to the Rev. Dr. King
to President Barak Obama God can change anything
One Bold Black Soul to say what needs to be said
One Bold Black Soul whose life is spirit-led
don't let the world compromise your moral integrity
let prayer be the tool you use to claim the victory
you need some solitude to simply reflect
on that which God desires of you and what of you He expects
God will be what you want no matter what you need
and He will do whatever is needed to help you succeed
so walk in the spirit and just wait for your time
and be ready to act when God gives you a sign
to be called into place with God's saving grace
Jeremiah told the people of the prophecy
about their demise if they confront their enemy
he was then thrown into a pit full of mud and slime
his death to be a certainty in a very short time
but One Bold Black Soul stepped up to the plate
and told the King to save Jeremiah before it was too late
One Bold Black Soul an Ethiopian man
told of the soldiers diabolical plans
to be bold, to be risky, to be resilient in your resolve
to step out of your comfort zone until the problem is solved
from Rosa Parks to Medgar Evers to Malcolm X
to do what is prevalent and not what society expects
creative in courage, inspired with innovation
by any means necessary to change the situation
One Bold Black Soul willing to step out on a limb
to stop history from repeating itself once again
Categories:
evers, black african american, faith,
Form:
Narrative
Crimson lace and black tie bows; afore this moonlits reflectless stained glass....
Laboring breath while untying yesteryears negligee to reveal; their vanilla lips
Rubies reaching for my palms; with trembling hands; placed atop times heart
As wanton she stares; gazing deep within evers eyes; amid these silent songs
Desire pulling her close; their neck to bare; bossoms on fire; quenching this....
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
...."Thirst; BloodRed Silk" *
Categories:
evers, inspirational,
Form:
Poet: Ken Jordan
Poem: Freedom
Edited by: Sparkle Jordan
written: March/2013
I grew up
in the
south,
where
spanish
moss
hanged
heavy
from
oak tree's -
Where
hound dogs
roamed
dirt roads
tracking
down
a race
of people,....
Black people,
America
said
were free -
We were
not free -
America,
was
"Segregated
America,"
Whites
on one side
and
Blacks
on the other -
Signs
posted
told us
where
we could
sit
and eat -
And
"For Colored
Only"
signs
pointed,
to
restrooms
that we
could use -
Water
fountains
were
prohibited,
except
the ones
outside
in the park -
I grew up
in these
times,
where folks
with black
skin,
were called
"colored,"
and
a few other
words
that lowered
our self
esteem -
A time
when we
were lynched,
and
hanged
from
southern
trees -
A time when
brutal
and
ruthless
killings
of
many black
family's
became
routine,
and
the perpetrator's
were never
brought
to trial -
America
said
we were
free -
We were
not free -
I grew up
in these
times -
When
a black
man
couldn't
look
at a
white
woman -
They
called it
wreck-less
eye balling,
which carried
a sentence
of death -
I've seen
the vicious
dogs
attack us
in the
street
on
command
from
police -
We had to
fight
for our
civil rights,
through
protest;
boycotts,
And
when we
gathered
to march
the police
beat us down
in the streets -
I grew up
in these
times -
When
they
assassinated
Civil Rights
Activist
Medgar Evers,
in 63 -
A few
months
later
they bombed
the 16th Street
Baptist Church,
in Birmingham,
killing
four little
black girls
as they
sang
and
prayed
in a place
of peace -
I grew up
in these
times -
I watched
on T.V.
Dr. King
deliver his
historic
"I Have A Dream"
speech -
He had hoped
that someday
all men
regardless
of ethnicity
could live
together
in
harmony -
Sadly,
he was
assassinated
in
68.
I've seen
the million
man march
on
Washington
D.C.
to promote
unity -
I grew up
in these
times -
America
said
we were
free -
We were
not free -
Categories:
evers, racism
Form:
Light Verse
what if one man died to stop world starvation?
what if one died to end racial segregation?
what if one man died for social justification?
what if one man died so we could have eternal salvation?
what would you do? what would you say?
would you get on your knees and for them pray?
what if one woman stood up for gender equality?
what if one woman refused to stand and give up her seat?
what if one woman served all her life trying to save lost souls?
what if one woman took a stance to help empower woman's roles?
what would you say? what would you do?
would you stand and applaud them and give them their proper due?
throughout the history of mankind
many have stood up and many have died for a cause
men and women who were fearless in their quest
willing to died without pause
Ghandi, Dr. Martin Luther King and Medgar Evers
Rosa Parks, Susan B. and Mother Theresa
they all took a stand in this world to make a sacrifice for us
but the one who died to set our souls free was Christ Jesus
Categories:
evers, faith, history, hope, inspirational,
Form:
Dramatic Verse
My first amendment right was never fought for overseas! It was Martin Luther King who was beat to his knees! It was Fanne Lou Hamer who gave me permission to speak! It was a war on Sunday but only in American streets! It was four little girls bombed in Birmingham that fought for me! It was Jimmie Lee Jackson killed by a state trooper, it was Recy Taylor raped by 6 white men that were set free! It was Claudette Colvin who wouldn't give up her seat before Rosa Parks wanted to rest her feet! It was Ruby Bridges and the Little Rock 9 but no US solider died for me! It was Mose Wright who said “their they be!” Black soldiers segregated begging to fight to give blood for rich greedy white, but not me! Returned home and couldn't get a bite! Separated on the battle field and in Georgia latrines! It was Red summer when white soldiers pummeled blacks in the streets! Negros hung for wearing uniforms and you say you fought for me? Meager Evers shot down in the streets, Emmet Till till today crying out I can't breathe! How arrogant of you say you fought a war for me! You fought 3 wars before I could even vote! my people had to take to the streets being beat by ex-military who turned cops with sheets! No war over oil benefited me! In the words of Brother Ali, I leave this "Listen I'm in no position to judge a young stud Tryn'a use the military to come up Cos self preservation is the first law of nature" just stop saying you fought for me when my ancestors blood cover American streets! They the only people that fought for me! How can you fight for some rights that was supposed to be Naturally given to me?
All Rights Reserved by Man-o son of Afrikka Redemption!
Categories:
evers, africa, america, black african
Form:
Begins with an appreciation of ledgers,
Clear, true and definite in appearance,
While a long journey through the never evers,
Finding fallacy in every reverence.
As much As I can I try to never,
Subdue that darkness within, such pain severed.
Sweats and strength wasted as it recur,
Anguished in thoughts of constant repeats and anger.
Truth be told of tales so epic in yawns,
A few incantation of deceit. A Fraud!
How can I expect the precision when I am fabricating pawns,
Selling axiom like lush apples hiding all the rot.
The sanctimony of speech hassling for honesty.
Cage it in. Suppress with overflowing control,
Never again a lie or any casuistry.
In hopes to speak rightness and be bold.
An inventor. A story teller. A fictional character.
The emphasis of unjust letters that story unworldly.
Never a point of view. Always an actor.
Only the point from you. Yours Sincerely,
Clutching the premise of these various words and thoughts,
Baptising the impurity within thee,
For only I will know the the battle raging in from GOD.
My truth. I will always try. Believe me.
Categories:
evers, self,
Form: