Best Spirituals Poems
Today's Sounds
Music rolls off the banjo, bluegrass
Active cheery sound, gland it’s around,
Folk music in little town passed down by word of mouth;
Family remembers and other people too, and songs abound.
Symphony sounds dynamic notes through the grand hall,
Aria Nessun Dorma rapturous great joy emotion,
Opera transports to a lofty feeling, heavenly classical,
Piano music and classical guitar uplifting feeling locomotion.
Listen, echoing 14th century chant cathedral music,
Hymn captivating, baroque music alive to this day,
History’s not historical, it’s not even past; and organ rolls on,
Waltz smoothly wafts across the air through the dance hall bay.
Ice cream parlor music cheerful tunes with hot fudge sundae,
Oldies music reminiscence rock ‘n’ roll, jazz, country and western feeling,
Big band dance music, rhythm and blues, brass band thrill,
Gospel music, spirituals, and blues, highland healing.
Motion picture music score jumps high fidelity positive
Enjoyment, touching stereo button to instrumental music roll,
Relax in the day, easy listening music comfortable rest,
Sound waves motions ear drums, people listen alive soul.
I am dipped in burnt sage
smudged with black skin
Choctaw infused in my DNA
Creole seasoning the roux
in my bloodline
I slow simmer
for I am daughter of
strong warrior
Too powerful to
give up
cause surrender is
an unfamiliar name
to my lineage
My hair kinks just right
Bones and muscles designed
to balance the
world on my back
I can birth a generation
and feed it plentiful
from the milk and honey
that flows from my breast
I smile warm sunshine
my ancestors bathed in
Old ***** spirituals
vibrated from their vocal cords
as blood from fingertips
stained massa's cotton
I walk upright
with square shoulders
head held high to God
I've time traveled through
lifetimes before me
My black is not for
barter and trade
My woman is not to
be negotiated
You can't experience
my being without
being in my experience
You take the sweet meat
and leave the rotten
Not knowing I turn rotten
into witches brew
that strengthens
my inheritance
the parts of me you
wish pain for
I'm not worried about
you robbing me of
my ethnicity
You can desire to
be like this woman
but you could never be
woman enough as me
My black be God given
The elements of my woman
be everlasting
You thief in night real well
but what you know about
me and my kind
You can never represent
the meaning of Full lips
and wide hips
made for bearing
breathing life when all
your lips and hips are good for
Is delivering white lies
3/8/2020
Over 200 years of oppression
Now days are we paying for our transgressions
Doing slavery we used our bravery
Breaking the chains doing the inhumane suffering and pain
While being disrespected by being called ambiguous names
Tubman took us through the underground
Old spirituals and praising the Lord was our sound
Douglass reformed abolitionist as he became free
While up North he read poetry by Phillis Wheatley
Sojourner was all about telling the truth
While W. B. Dubois taught us about our history, is that enough proof
These heroes and activist trail blazed the way
They put their faith and trust in God every day
When racial tension became too extreme Father God gave us Malcolm X and Dr. King
Why doesn’t it feel like that the freedom bell still rings?
America has an unapologetic past
A dark cloud of racial hatred has been casted
There is no respect for what has been done
Our ancestors raised their voices and fist, while our youth has loaded their guns
From our past history we were showed how to lead
But we have to encourage with God’s love to our new techno-media breed
In unity and peace on bended knees we have to constantly pray
So come together as one, “Let’s Lead the Way”
“He who cannot be a good follower cannot be a good leader.” -Aristotle
My ancestors walking in the night
using oil lights and moonlight for guides
while being instructed to Wade in the Water
to camouflage their scents like disguise
The Sweet Chariot awaited
so they could ride away
Harriet was a soldier
and it wasn't an option to be caught during the day
That's the same mentality Nat Turner had when he sang
Steal Away
They would follow the drinking gourd
so all were in accord to go north
The Gospel Train was coming
and at the end of the journey
was a fine reward
Freedom was coming
and it was a long time coming and
they walked until they heard freedom bells ringing
and I still hear their tired footsteps running
Thinking of My Darling Nelly Gray
Stolen from my arms a random September day
and eliminated our chances to run away together
No family ties, no love, no strength says the oppressor
Then I hear the drums beat in the darkness
giving me the hope of finally being free
Maybe I'll follow them this time on faith
on bended knee
There must be a place for me among the light
of this darkness
Among oppression, thieves, evil-doers
no thought on their conscience
Thank goodness for the safe houses that
supported our traveled distances
and for the conductors who bore witnesses
and may God have mercy on the souls who
were against this
and on those who chose to forget this sh@!
I still hear crying in quilts of safety
because I know that the burden was heavy
to be at the mercy of nature and patrol men
catching run-away slaves for money
Some did it bare feet with freedom ahead of this
loved induced journey and they made it
So all that bull about how your life is hard
just stuff it in an envelope and save it
From East to west enslaved in chains
To work the fields, make tracks for trains
They sang their song antiphonally
To dull their day, hide misery
Those blues notes hit in wailing tone
And words about the heavenly home
Their doleful sounds had paved the way
To blues and jazz in later day
Rhythms and chords became complex
Joplin’s ragtime was a great success
For well practiced piano on old upright
Those old time rags are still a delight
New Orleans was where it began
In ghettos for blacks with time on their hands
From morning to night they developed their skills
On trumpets, sax, it staved off their ills
Mastering their instruments with deft virtuosity
Jazzy riffs marked by smart improvisatory
The Mississipi paddle boats chugged their way
Aboard, the sounds of jazz in full sway
Entertaining, with a sense of pride
Scat singing, cross rhythms, boogie and stride
And took their art to far off places
Strutting their stuff, no airs and graces
White bands were now beginning to swing
Inclusion slowly becoming the thing
With time to go, but heading that way
In church, brilliant gospel helped them to pray
Spirituals continued to highlight their plight
Fair treatment becoming within their sight
Jazz continues to wow one and all
In different forms to really enthrall
Miles Davis and Matt Dennis both just the same
With jazz in mind, they played the same game
Blues and jazz have impacted new sounds
As popular as ever its music abounds
A World without God is like a kick in the mouth
A World without God is like having no hope, but doubts
A World without God is like a place of sin
A World without God is like death without end
A World without God is like no bright sunny days
A World without God is like dark clouds won’t go away
A World without God is like pain and suffering
A World without God is like gaining nothing
A World without God is all violence, no peace
A World without God is the Devil’s yard to say the least
A World without God is Horrific and Scary
A World without God is Crazy and Unbearing
A World without God is like no Christians, just sinners
A World without God is just losers, no winners
A World without God is a Nightmare, No Dream
A World without God is bad as it seems
A World without God is No Church, No Sunday school
A World without God is a world full of fools
A World without God is No Forgiveness
A World without God is No Patience
A World without God is like having No Faith
A World without God is like Prayer never exist
A World without God is like No Old ***** Spirituals like
Down By the Riverside, Going Up the Yonder,
My Mother Prays for Me, and Blessed Assurance
A World without God is like No Ending to Wars
A World without God is just nothing to live for
A World without God is a world without Jesus
If there was no God, where would you be?
If Jesus hadn’t died on the cross, we wouldn’t be set free
If There was No God, Then There’s No Salvation
Look Up, There’s God, Under him, We’re one nation.
There are no words now But I Was there Twice In the presence of the first cause The consciousness of eternal love The golden light they sing of in old spirituals And more than this I was welcomed home joining and becoming a part of that light My emotions and thoughts were with me but my body was not Beleave this or not It dosen't matter to me but in heaven we are one in God And it was good And our fully aware consciousness knows everyone and everyone knows us Because we are all Gods children the color of light Once from a bloody road in Viet Nan And then from a bloody auto accident on highway 27 In Lake Walse Fla I took a detour to Gods house And this is What God told me God Said To love each other in the highest form of love we know And everyyhing would fall into place .To love with all our spirit and soul and mind wouldn't leave time for anything negative.Beleave what you will ofcouse Iam just a messenger and I'll love you eather way Twice I was written up as dead and maybe Just maybe this verse is part of why I came back
In the unforgiving August heat
of a hot Alabama noonday
They sit in secluded shade,
resting in high-back, woven bamboo chairs
on a mahogany carved veranda
Their bodies face outward to the vast white fields,
watching the black raisins move under the sun
Rising then bending,
hard labor unending
Bowing obsequiously to the crop lord
Cotton is king in Dixieland,
but the ***** spirituals being sung is more regal
Perhaps some among them
had come from royal lineage in their once native land
This fleeting thought occurs
to one of the finely tailored Southern guests
Upon their Alexandrian laurels they rest
with gentlemen ease
When suddenly a young, porcelain-skinned belle appears,
bearing a pitcher of fresh, sweet lemonade
A waft of sarsaparilla stimulates their nostrils,
as delicate china glass touches parched lips
Cool liquid relief from the heat
comforts all those who sit with gentlemen ease
Whilst the slaves sweat profusely,
river beads of perspiration saturate their bodies
And those cultured gentlemen at ease
offer no rest for the heavy burdened weary
In tribute to the great black poet, Sterling Allen Brown (1900 - 1989.)
This poem was inspired by his poem, "Strong Men."
I sang of Caleb at Harvard University, 1660
I sang of Africans come to America unknowingly
I sang of women and children who came to Jesus
Singing Old Spirituals, Crossing the Red Sea
Native-Americans may have lost everything, but one -
Their love for land. Highest ratio in our wars. True patriotism!
Like King David, who wasn't allowed to build God's Temple
Yet the biggest donor, because God Great Giver's, never outdone
I sing of Cheeshahteamuck, First in Theology in 1660
Died of TB, malnutrition, dank & cold dormitory
Like them, I know the HEART OF JESUS, the Victory
He won through suffering. The Cross: "The Way" of Unity
I sing of Africa, my adopted mother, womb of more slavery
Still, all this world is slave to sin, pleasure, false security ...
Whatever GOD allows, is BEST and the best place to be
SURRENDER to NOW: like Jesus, tasting & sharing ETERNITY
The songs referenced in this poem are listed in the Library of Congress and classified as ***** Spirituals. This poem is not racial. Rather, it is a heartfelt tribute to those who helped shape the spiritual truth of America. The idea for me to write the poem was inspired by my good friend, Gershon Wolf, to whom I owe a vote of great thanks as well as to my Brother In Christ, James Edward Lee, Sr. Praise God from whom all Blessings flow!
SPIRITUALLY SPEAKIN'
He's Got The Whole World In His Hands
It don't matter if Nobody Knows The Trouble I've Had
And that I Gotta Walk Dis Lonesome Valley
'Cause one day I'm gonna Steal Away
But first, I gotta Wade In The Water Just Like John
Then I must wait 'til that Sweet Chariot swings down low
In the meantime, It's Me, It's Me O Lord
Standin' In The Need of Prayer
The other John, John The Revelator
Done said The Gospel Train Is Comin'
So Git On Board, Little Chillun
But for now, I'm Just A Poor Wayfarin' Stranger
While I am waitin' for that train
I Got Peace Like A River
And you may ask me why
It's 'cause Ev'ry Time I Feel The Spirit
Movin' In My Heart, I will Pray
Then one day when I'm old and grey
My prayer will surely be
Do Lord, O Do Lord, Do Remember Me
All my life I know His Eye Is On The Sparrow
But when He comes back Dem Bones, Dem Bones
Dem Dry Bones gonna hear the Word of the Lord
That's when all o' God's chillun be singing'
I Got Shoes, You Got Shoes, All o' God's Chillun Got Shoes
Gonna Walk All Over God's Heb'n
But Wait 'Til I Put On My Crown
'Cause I no longer Feel Like A Motherless Child
I AM A HERO
BLACK
Are you my kryptonite
To battle the powers that be
Discrimination, political
Spirituals warfare
Sadly my powers that be ruled over me
I AM A HERO
WHITE Are you my kryptonite
White supremacy, skinned heads
Wounded knees
Shaved cold stoned hearts
Sadly my powers that be ruled over me
I AM A HERO
NATIVE AMERICAN what tribe am I
And where am I, Are you my kryptonite
Rich men never poor again fighting rising TAXES
What a shame
This disclaimer
Black Panthers in the jungles
Just getting stronger;
Poverty clashes
Fake rented mustaches
Seasoned hick
Country kicks
All run away, no where to stay to each his own way
Just ain’t right to be individual heroes see none are right…
Sadly my powers that be ruled over me
HERO AM I
Lo, I be creeping in the night…
I KRYPTONITE
1/30/20
Written words by James Edward Lee Sr. 2020©
January 28, 2020 Assignment
Written for class assignment (WIPS) North Omaha Writers Group (NOW)
She's a part of my spirituality.
A gift of sunshine when darkness surrounds.
A fire starter. It only takes a spark for her to ignite me.
She's the staircase in my basement.
The first floor of heaven, we're making penthouse moves.
The Weezy in my hustle. The reason why my rhyme won't end.
The east side to a better life.
A star guiding an infant to a king.
My Christmas gift every month to include December.
A partner in crime for all time, in down time, no time,
one second left or before the ball is tipped,
she encompasses my entire existence.
My queen of pop "do you remember the time?"
See we needed then to have now. She's everything spiritual.
My stairway to climb. A record deal I didn't need to sign.
Pure platinum, she hangs on our wall. My song title.
The author of my greatest hit.
She's the connection of chronological order
Nostradamus could not predict.
She is that which establishes me.
The fulfillment of God's need.
My queen, better known as my best friend.
From ***** spirituals to the "reason why I sing."
Take her out the picture and Technicolor
would not have been invented.
It's black and white really.
She's my fifty shades of grey.
A treasure recaptured after disaster, can't lose her.
She's worth the fatigue you get from
holding on with a cliffhanger grip.
She is, she is, she is so that I could be...
It was God that told me.
Spiritualist -Signs of Souls
Fragmenting eyes of sorrow of baneful tears that demons burrow
Stealing Cupids arrow and the elusive songs of the morning sparrow
Encroaching black mass revels jubilantly to break the mirror's glass
Within the barbarous brass lies dormant their venomous ghostly gas
+++
Dancing amidst rambunctious rituals flaunting their hadal habituals
Illusions entrap the spirituals decapitating souls leaving no residuals
Satan’s lies are beastly born to rip your flesh with a torquing torn
Cathedrals crumble in his scorn with pandemonium’s yet to mourn
+++
Cadavers climaxing high as armies of darkness sedate the secular sky
The lost begin their cry upon ravaging ruins where their death does lie
Dormant dreams of deep thus awake within a wary wounding weep
Abortive ashes silently sweep over tombs where the Pharaohs sleep
+++
I walk in solitude above my gated grave a phantom who cannot crave
Thus abandoned within my cave where demons dine and will enslave
Evil does efficiently exist when God is put aside within heavens mist
Ask my heart that is in a twist for all the love that has been dismissed.
...MP3 music by Draconian~'Heavy Lies the Crown'
Sept.26.2018
Ghosthunters and Spiritualists
Sponsored by: Kevin Shaw
Placed 4'th
Ava: What the hell is the spirituals. I give no **** about that. I buy no idea of the damni.
Emeka: Can you here what this 'Oyinbo' just said?
Abu: Lerim be,wha doeshim know?
Lola: How would he believe in the supposed '****'? Had it been you're an African:
where your mother use you for ritual,
Where your blood sister fill form of witchery
to usher you into the realm of madness.
Where your parent sell you #250,000-$900.
Ava: You said?
(continued)
Where your blood is better
for the throat than water.
Where your in-law bewitch you
because you wouldn't give your husband a child.
Ava: You're mistaken for God?
Where your talent seems to
oppress than your
bad behaviour.
Where your corpse appease
them than your life.
Where slaving in jupiter
is better than groving with your family.
Where who you confide in
turns out to be your worst enemy.
Where all that's suppose to bring good,
Pierce you with venomous sting.
Ava: uuh!...Seem i find a reason.
Akpororo: No,no find am na! U fo come.
17:1:12:18:29
Take me to the deep south
Show me the blues
Muddy Waters, BB King, Billie Holliday
Let me hear spirituals
Lena Horne, Elvis Presley, Bessie Smith
Ray Charles, please sing!