Best Harriet Tubman Poems
A Woman's Self-Worth, is highest among all, for it was a woman, God created, in thy divine holy image. Friendships, relationships, and holy matrimony, was God's blueprint, for all women.
Eve, the first wife and mother to all, was herself a motherless child, of God! God could have created children for Adam, but he chose to create a woman, to nurture his children.
Mother Teresa of Calcutta, (a religious leader), the Virgin Mary, (the mother of Jesus), both witnessed miracles, through spiritual divinity; And let us not forget the women of Galilee, who bared witness to the Messiah resurrecting.
First Lady, (Lady Bird Johnson), a great teacher, a humanitarian at heart. She was known for her gracious personality and hospitality, and she also campaigned against poverty.
First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, I have to give mention, the first presidential spouse to speak at a national convention. She also advocated for civil rights of the African American people, as well as others. I thank you, from the bottom of my heart, America's great mothers.
Harriet Tubman, Rosa Parks, Angela Davis, Maya Angelou, and First Lady Michelle Obama, just to name a few, had unbelievable courage, intelligence, beauty, and power too.
Young women be strong, handle your throne, A woman's self-worth is more than a thong, a short skirt, twerking in dirt. Mother Teresa, was a teacher, a missionary, a mother to all!
Don't lower yourself, stand tall.
"A Woman's Self-Worth"
for such a time as this of political upheaval and economic uncertainty
how does anyone go about determining what is their God-given destiny?
what is our purpose in the grand scheme of God's desires?
what is it from us that the Lord Our God requires?
God gave each of us life for a reason
and will call upon each of us in due season
there will be some sacrificing and moving out of comfort zones
just remember that whatever God asks of you, you won't have to do it alone
for the battle is not just yours it also belongs to the Lord
and God won't let you write a check that you cannot afford
God will move you to a place and then give you an obstacle to overcome
but through Jesus you have the victory so consider the battle won
just trust in God to give you all that you will need
so that His set purpose for your life will come to seed
like Queen Esther, Harriet Tubman, Sojourner Truth and Rosa Parks
women destined for greatness who were beacons in society's dark
they did what was necessary for the greater good
to put the needs of others before their own as we all should
they stood up and confronted the so-called powers that be
in righteous indignation in order to save humanity
so let God position you where you'll prosper and be strong
and then use you as a vessel to make right a wrong
it might not make much sense to you and you might even disagree
but God knows what's best when it comes to determining your destiny
so just say yes to any and all that of you God does ask
and believe unconditionally that He'll equip you for the task
and as long as you remain resilient in your resolve
between you and God the situation will get solved
destined for greatness as mothers, mentors, lawyers or teachers
destined for greatness as activists, doctors, scientists or preachers
it matters not the capacity nor the career for you that God did choose
we're women destined for greatness and as children of God we cannot lose
She Goes Back
By Lillian J. Jeffrey
Whispers flow like a river
she will be sold
sold or rented like a cash crop
Born on a Maryland plantation
her mother works the big house
Harriet runs barefoot in the woods
side by side her brothers, nursemaids
her younger brother, childhood ends at five
She is rented, sleeps on a cold, cold floor
shares food scraps with dogs
wounds yarn slow they say
checks muskrat traps in marshes
barefoot in icy waters she looks
Her lungs fill, fill with fluid, her body burns
she is sent back coughing, coughing, holds on
fights off bronchitis and measles
her mother helps nurse her back
Rented to take care of a baby, clean house
the baby cries, she’s whipped, whipped, she runs
runs like the wind, tumbles into a pig pen
pig fights for potato peels
Her stomach empty, rumbles, she
returns to her mistress, the whippings set
her back on fire, she is sent back.
Rented, rented to load lumber
hears Nat Turner led a revolt
losses fighting for freedom
rebellions spark hope in her heart
whispers spread she will be sold
Her master dies, the new master
rents her to a local builder
the builder permits her to rent herself
she makes money, saves, saves, runs, runs
bends with the wind.
Empty of fear, full of dreams of freedom
doors open, slips of paper lead her way
through the Underground Railroad,
a network of shifting safe houses
Her heart skips a beat,
beads of sweat roll, roll down her cheeks
she crosses, crosses the Mason-Dixon Line.
Free at last, lonely, life stands still
like a still life of shells and bones
she is cut off, she longs, longs for her family
The sounds of rattling chains, cracking whips,
echo in her ears, she hears her mother’s
cry, hears her mother's cry, she goes back,
helps her family, friends escape, escape
on foot, through cemeteries, swamps,
around hills, she never losses a passenger.
A will as strong as a rock
a will to endure, persevere
a will to help others
nineteen times she goes back
Shoes worn, spirits strong
more than three hundred slaves escape
Harriet Tubman is nicknamed “Moses”
for her fearless bravery,
thump, thump, thump
bounty hunters on her trail.
“Tubman”
What colours a heart
courage?
What colours a mind
belief?
What colours a soul
unity?
Underground
we carry torches
from station
to station
We are the Light
We Lead
No colour
No religion
No epic
delusion
Where is the race?
The race to confusion?
We are One
You and me
We are One
We all bleed
Underground
we carry torches
from station
to station
Poets grieving
Vigilantes seething
Electric conductors
of Love
punching tickets
elevate the fire
Light rises
out of the numb
sacrifice the smallest
midst mountains of Moriah
signals waking
signals waving
Freedom
Glowing
Colours are All
Colours
Ultraviolet
magnetic to spectrum
silent tapping, unheard
sometimes seen
no snake doctor lectern
truth burns
souls bound to each other
all grieving
in one way or another
we all learn
Hearts beating
Lungs breathing
signals waking
signals waving
platforms all crowing,
now eyes open
listening,
debating
all signals waking
new story weaving
Souls searching
Souls kneeding
Light now is calling
Light now is leading
Tubman is not
dreaming
(LadyLabyrinth/ 2020)
“Any cause needs speakers and organizers.
Any mass movement requires
women and men of great ideas.”
Tubman, Harriet.
Harriet Tubman is sometimes referred to as the Moses of her people because of the way she led them out of slavery. The Underground Railroad operated at night. Slaves were moved from "station" to "station" by abolitionists.
Courage is when . . .
any person - like the crucified Christians in ancient times - take upon themselves certain death standing firm to their convictions.
Courage is when . . .
any person - such as Harriet Tubman in the 1800's or the Freedom Riders of the Civil Rights Era - take up the fight for human rights either for themselves or for others at the peril of their lives.
Courage is when . . .
any young person - such as Malala Yousafzai, puts their very life in danger by speaking out against rights being denied for reason of their gender, even to the point of taking a bullet to the head.
Courage is when . . .
any person having harmless but non-traditional behavior or sexual preference endures persecution for simply being themselves and showing their authentic selves to the world.
Courage is when . . .
any person - such as the front line doctors who stepped forward this summer in Washington DC to bring valuable knowledge to the public based on their many years of expertise - risk being mocked by the press or even losing their jobs.
Courage is when . . .
any person of any age or of either sex risks their reputation or puts themselves in a situation where bullying or shaming is certain to ensue, by speaking up for what they strongly believe to be just and true.
These are the more meaningful examples of what courage represents for me. By my own definitions, I don't suppose I possess very much of great courage.
Sept. 8, 2020 for the Courage Poetry Contest of Chantelle Anne Cooke
Harriet Tubman was free; finally. Free to do what she wanted.
Free to stay out of the south, and free to not ever be a slave again.
But was she satisfied with her own freedom? No. She was not.
She gave up her own peace of mind and safety to help others.
She went back to the south not once or twice, but nineteen times.
Risking her freedom nineteen times.
NINETEEN TIMES!
I cannot imagine risking my freedom one time.
She brought three hundred slaves to the north, and successfully.
I can see why President Obama honored her by putting her on our money.
She stands for everything we say is great about this country.
Integrity. Peace. Selflessness, duty, and courage.
Nineteen times.
There is no way to imagine it.
I cannot.
Can you?
The Dilettante Diaries: "All Roads Lead Home"
All Roads Lead Home
Poems
Stories
Detours
Stepping Stones
All Roads Lead Home
(Lovejoy-Burton/October 2018)
"Where we LOVE is home -
home that our feet may leave,
but not our hearts".
About Inner Strength
"I will love the light for it shows me the way, yet I will endure the darkness because it shows me the stars". Og Mandino
"The world breaks everyone, and afterward, some are strong at the broken places". Ernest Hemingway
"He who conquers others is strong; He who conquers himself is mighty". Lao Tzu
"There is a saying in Tibetan, Tragedy should be utilized as a source of strength.' No matter what sort of difficulties, how painful the experience is, if we lose our hope, that's our real disaster". Dalai Lama XIV
"Character is higher than intellect. A great soul will be strong to live as well as think". Ralph Waldo Emerson
"Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world". Harriet Tubman
"Strength does not come from physical capacity. It comes from an indomitable will". Mahatma Gandhi
"What we achieve inwardly will change outer reality". Plutarch
"In the depth of winter, I finally learned that within me there lay an invincible summer". Albert Camus
All Poems/Stories/Quotes in the pages of this - "Book" -
for my much beloved daughter Georgia.
Land of the free
Home of the slaves
The blood, sweat and tears of my ancestors resonate
Amongst the soil where they were slain
I’m hearing their struggle
I’m feeling their pain
I can’t imagine being forced to part from my family
All for massa’s gain
So I pay homage to those who promoted change
People like every slave who tried to escape
Nat Turner, Ms Carlotta, Harriet Tubman
And the safe houses who were in accord
And peg leg Joe with his song
Follow the drinking gourd.
People like, the disregarded - those thrown overboard
And who was dismissed and defamed
The ones who were stripped of their soul, their pride, their names
The list could go on
The full will never be told
So I pay homage to others who were bold
Like John Brown, The Freedom Riders, Sojourner Truth
Ida B Wells, Phyllis Wheatley, Maya Angelou,
Langston Hughes and Charles Drew
George Washington Carver, Ruby Bridges
Booker T Washington and Mary McCleod Bethune
Charles Houston, Ralph Bunche, Fredrick Douglass
WEB Dubois, Paul Robeson, Ralph Abernathy
Benjamin Banneker, Marcus Garvey and Crispus Attucks
Who’s death by the way
Symbolized the American lie
You cant declare the rights of all men
While the people of African decent rights get denied
But still we rise
Thanks to Dr Martin Luther King, Malcolm X,
The Black Panthers, the Buffalo Soldiers and Tuskegee Airmen
None who were showed any love
Yeah it’s an uphill battle,
But obviously greatness can be done.
We can rise above this stigma
That blacks are lazy and daunting
That our worth is null and void
And in essence minus nothing
And of all the names mentioned
And the greatness of their successes
No one has been able to erase the evil transgressions of a racist mind
And once you have experienced just a taste of it
It changes your perception of time
The oppression beats like the drum on the chariot
Of when it was finally time to escape to freedom
It's mine
You see I had lots of respect
NOW you are begging for attention
and a reality check, so try me,
Try me like satan tried jesus,
Your trying to unleash all that steam
but you only sound like a tea kettle,
you claim to be the rock of Gibraltar
but your only a pebble,
didn't your mother tell you not to play with fire,
now I must burn you for pulling this dragons tale ,
no one wants to hear your fairy tale, its very frail,
you can speak and speak until your face is pale
but flattering your self with your words is of no avail.
Keep checking your mail because karma is on it way,
I hope you can eat all that is on your tray, and when you
stuffed with your own hatred ,I hope you get on you knees
and pray, not every thing in life can go your way,
didn't history teach you that
dictating,
manipulating,
belittling,
lack of peace making,
heart breaking,
lack of loyalty,
unjust,
disrespect,
neglect,
self indulgence
hatred
lies
and bias
is not the way,
well I am going to teach you today
Adolf hitler ,
Maximilion,
Malcom x,
Martin luther king,
Rosa parks,
Allen Ginsberg,
Jesus Christ,
the little rock nine,
Mahatma Gandhi,
Fredrick Douglas,
Harriet Tubman,
Rodney King,
Elie Wiesel,
Sean Bell,
DOES any of this ring a BELL,
or your self you continue to smell,
are you still under the devils spell,
how DARE you be unjust,
teaching a child like you is a must.
Your whole approach and appearance is stale,
but HEY
I guess you don't see that
because a donkey can't see its tail.
A Turning Point In Life Is Equality
Writings in a Black Perspective....
The day will come when all will be the same color
The mingling with the neighbor
Just like it was in the beginning
No one will have a rainbow blinder
Harriet Tubman, born a slave
Devoted to save
Those that wanted freedom
Not sold or enslave
Jackie Robinson was given a rough time
For being black in all white baseball teams, in his prime
Couldn’t not sleep or dine with his teammates
At anytime
Rosa Parks sat in the front
Of the designated black section, indignant
She refused to give her seat to a white passenger.
She was arrested for the incident
I went through life suffering racial discrimination
So I harden my soul because of rejection
A turning point in life is equality
And our salvation
3/16/2015
Harriet Tubman helped free slaves
Determination gave her the strength
To break the law
And have slaves crawl
Through tunnels to make their escape -
She risked her life every day
3/12/12
Added additional line at end
Erma Bombeck, Words of Wisdom.
Coretta Scott King, Peace and Reason.
Rosa Parks, Stood Victorious!
Betsy Ross, Our Nations Seamstress.
Mother Mary, Bore Jesus in Bethlehem.
Harriet Tubman, Lead Slaves to Freedom.
Queen Ester, Saved her Nation.
Amelia Earhart, Gave all to Aviation.
Cleopatra, Queen of Egypt.
Joan of Arc, Martyred Standing the Test.
Florence Nightingale, Healed Soldiers Wounds.
Fanny Crosby, Blind but wrote Gods Tunes.
Madame Curie, Discovered Cures.
Mother Teresa, Fed the Poor.
Annie Oakley, World famous markswoman.
Harriet Beecher Stowe, Author of Uncle Tom's Cabin.
Dear Abby, Averting Trouble Big and Small.
Eve of Eden, First Woman and Mother to us all....
International Woman's Day March 8, 2008
Deducated To John Heck
This will all end
As Jane Kenyon said, “Let evening come”
Let it come to unite some
The evening when racism will end
It’s so much better when the two blend
Martin Luther king, Rosa Parks
This is how it all starts
Segregation, discrimination, unfair education
And yet, I thought we were one nation
“They’re colored, them *******” they declared
While sitting in their living rooms with stories they shared
They don’t know what they really meant
Or how “them *******” truly felt
Oh them *******, they will dream
About how someday, they will be free
Harriet Tubman was the one
Who helped the slaves that were on the run
Harriet held her head up high
Helping helpless slaves survive
While guided by the Northern Star
Their freedom awaits them afar
They whip their lashes, but I aint afraid
‘Cause he had a dream that one day
We will be united with no shame
‘Cause blacks and whites are all the same
Letting light skins lead the way
Leaving lonely blacks gone astray
They’re free here, they’re suffering there
Let’s come together, everyone, everywhere
Let freedom ring, let the caged bird sing
Our journey together will begin
Let’s wake up, let’s not pretend
And let’s not worry, this will all end
I want to lead you to safety like Harriet Tubman,
While we are on our way,
I want to stop traffic like Garrett Morgan,
Before we get there,
I want to right all wrongs like Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall,
While we are here I want to ensure that our minds and spirits are in the
right place and then we will get our hearts pumping like Dr. Daniel Hale Williams,
So that we can run through fields of gold like Jesse and Wilma,
And dance to the beat of a thousand drums like Katherine
Dunham and Josephine Baker,
I want to be the first up to bat like Jackie and Hank,
I want to resound through your ears and your memory bank,
Like Mahalia, Marion and Billie,
I want to fight battles like Muhammad and Joe,
I want to take a stand so that others may sit in comfort,
Like Ida and Rosa,
I want to give of my time, life, heart, mind, body and soul so that future generations
won't have to sit in the dark and sit on the sidelines like
Martin and Malcolm,
I want to soar through the bluest of skies like the
courageous Tuskegee airmen and Dr. Mae Jemison,
I want to be the first beauty you recognize like Vanessa Williams,
I want to undermine and backhand stereotypes like Althea, Venus
and Serena Williams,
I want to paint broad presidential brush strokes of the
the First Lady and her beau with hues of justice like Simmie
I want to act like kings and queens like Harry,
Sidney, Lena and Cicely,
I want to live on through the pages of your memory,
Like Maya, Zora, Lorraine, Langston and James,
can't you see?
Did Harriet Tubman ever cry?
Did she ever bow down on her knees
And ask God, Why?
Or even get upset because she couldn’t read
No, she only stood up and gave a speech
Did Harriet Tubman ever weep?
Did she ever scream when she had that bullet wedged in her teeth?
Or was the moment too mundane
When the doctor dug his scalpel through her determined brain
No, the water dripping down her face
Is only sweat from saving slaves
We all need that “Harriet Tubman kind of faith”
Did Harriet Tubman ever refuse the call?
Decide she will surrender freedom after all?
Or did she grab a pistol and dared to shoot
At anyone who leaked her sacred route
Though her fate seemed dim
And the odds were against her
“Every great dream begins with a dreamer”
For those who need hope or encouragement
Please never forget
to stand tall
and summon Harriet Tubman’s strength