Your words arrive like dawn’s first flame,
A gentle spark, yet never tame.
They touch the chords I guard with care,
And lift my soul through open air.
The maps I hide, the dreams I keep,
Awake within me from their sleep.
Your verse reminds me light must flow,
To those whose hearts will help it grow.
I see the mirrors you have drawn,
The truths that guide from dusk to dawn.
Not all deserve the gift we give,
But still we learn, and still we live.
Your fire reflects, it makes me whole,
It nourishes always the hidden soul.
For every ember that you ignite,
I vow to guard and feed its light.
So take this answer, firm and true:
I gain my strength from lines like you.
May we understand…no matter who we are…
Our gender, our religion, our nationality our name
The rain that falls from the sky
nourishes all of us the same.
And may we all someday be blessed
In the time for us that still remains…
To do our best when it comes to one another
To be more like the rain
They told us our skin meant exile
That our joy would be put on trial
Because it brings rain
But how can they hate the rain when it nourishes the ground we walk on
The same ground that grows the food we need to survive
They want us to cower in the face of their Whiteness
To bow down to their egos and stroke it
For us to call them superior
And reprimand our own blackness
And repent with silence
But we were born strong
Strength flowed through our bloodlines
Coursing through generations
Our ancestors created a legacy of pride
That we their children will not allow to be broken
We have endured the stings of their whips
We have lived through the shackles of slavery
We have taken abuse from the system
Yet still remained outspoken
Refusing to be the beat up victim
And faced the inhumane conditions of incarceration
We were made to withstand any storm
To hold our own
Whilst being pushed around
To trust in the power of ourselves
To embrace the harsh realities of life
To continue to love
And balance the rain with our sun
To smile and not giving them the satisfaction
Of their racism
And to not be bullied by their discrimination
Dandelions have seeded the lawn,
butterflies come.
Hosts of weeds
have invaded the cabbage patch.
The earth is enriched.
Dog poop in the unkept grass
nourishes the plowing worms
and grubs.
Doing nothing,
I have achieved Zen.
Embrace the silence, listen within
Respecting others means learning to listen
Experience being heard is healing
Listen with your whole self, not just your ears
Silence is the sleep that nourishes wisdom
The words of the inner voice
are the source of our hidden genius
The truth of the subconscious
Let silence grow and blossom
The senses must be sharpened
Silence is a powerful force, but don't fear it
How often do you give yourself quiet time?
Interrupt the hustle and bustle and focus on your well-being
- the sound of water gurgling in the stream
. for public domain
Hope never drains from her eyes,
never short of excitement from a simple surprise,
and Faith in a lord
was always on board,
with more than a drop of Charity.
The sight of her nourishes souls,
with the most treasured morsels
from the high table of the
fine banquet of living.
She is all giving.
She is all loving,
for those who wish she were so.
Inspired by the fact that Stevie Wonder is a blind musician, yet has never been impeded by his disability to achieve, here am I… persisting to do my best to help my special child attain triumphant milestones.
Ascending amidst impossibility's attacking angst
Bravery blossoms, boasting of blessings
Cleaving to commitment with clarity
Defying despair, disability-distress…
Endeavoring with exhorting excitement exuberantly
Faith toward fruition freely fuels fulfillment for
God guards and guides by His grace…
Hoisting with hope, healing heralds healthiness
Inspiring against infirmities toward what's impossible* to impart impactful
Joy so jubilant to fulfill tasks in life’s journey despite jeering jury…
Kindled with kindness...
Loving my special child toward his liberation
Maximized by milestones, magnify mercy with miracles...
Not and never impossible through the Lord Who nourishes and nurtures.
*Luke 1:37 For with God nothing shall be impossible.
April 11, 2025
1st place, "Stevie Wonder" Poetry Writing Contest
Sponsored by Karen Jones; judged on 4/16/2025
when in silence we then see
space flickers from time to time
we simply look at this phenomena
by melding with the subtle element
we simply see it as a living womb
containing all manifestations
transmitting each tremor to God
Who nourishes all life with His breath
Love is the unconscious piano,
Which provides rhyme and rhythm to the heart;
It is the pendulum which aids the velocity of the heart;
It is the eyes and mirror which acts as a navigation,
And checks and balances to the heart
Love is the fountain which Waters the heart,
And like the fresh fall of morning Dew which nourishes nature, prevents the heart from dehydration and atrophy
It is the unquenchable ink which fuels the heart,
As a fertilizer acts as catalyst to the soil
Intrinsic love, is the food basket which feeds the heart,
And prevents it from famishing.
there is a quickening in the forest
robins sing to us of universal sharing
as the earth calls us
to hear again the song of life
a thin brown layer of soil
is all we have
between ourselves and oblivion
a new language is needed
drums from Africa
echoing through termite mounds
to the savanna of a loving way
I made a choice
to be vegetarian, then vegan
clearing rivers from waste
and sky from methane
fear is contagious
but so is compassion
and it begins with me
how quickly it all goes by
in this moment of light and despair
I find what nourishes me indelibly:
the touch of a lover’s hand
worlds within a plant
tears as family members in silent movies
embrace Shakespearean deaths
my poems stumble
impatient to journey
as ghosts march from the tunnel
looking to us for resurrection
I have treated life
as a problem in accuracy, balance and proportion
but my careful ordering
is not sufficiently capacious
I say these things at age 80
because I burst with things unsaid and undone
I ride the waves
but do not see the stars
until I am swept under
denial is no longer possible
as a warrior traces his exit
from literal to mythic
I love the winter, the way it whirls my breath
Away; reminds me I am alive, there's hope.
I love the ferns bejeweled in snow, the heath
As it patterns our legs, walking forest-roads.
I love the spring, that washes snow away,
Brings flowers, strong roots, fragile and pale-
Seeming. I love the summer, storm-blaze
Lazy lightning, theater of stars, golden corn
That nourishes body and soul. Yet much more
I love my friend, Artemis-twin, born
Under the weight of July, dice against the score,
Surviving, with lightning bolt in her spine.
Her autumn rain, soft and healing, but strong,
Metallic purple dancing in wind-song.
If a million flowers adorned this world, you'd be the rarest bloom.
If the ocean held a million hearts, mine would be the deepest, forever searching for your shore.
In a forest of a million trees, you'd be the one I'd seek...the one my soul yearns for.
If stars were love letters, the entire cosmos would confess to you, but my love would shine as the brightest supernova.
You are the sunrise in my world, the gentle rain that nourishes my soul.
I wonder how I met you, in this vast world so wide,
Like fate's perfect design, with you always by my side.
~krishu
Author Dana Redricks
December 15, 2024
I'm letting go of the chains, unbinding me, releasing whispers cloaked in false friendships. Rising above sinking ships and harmful words that cross hateful lips like sinking ships. I choose the path where my spirit is free, there may be days where I might feel lonely, but sometimes that is what's best for me. In the wilderness God molds and shapes me into the person I'm meant to be. No more shadows of what pretends to be.
I've carved out my path with courage and fierceness, embracing whispers of dreams that pierce. In the garden of growth where new seeds sow, if it doesn't help me bloom, then God help me to let it go.
The winds may shift, the tides may sway, yet in my heart, I've found my way. With each step forward, I clearly see what God has in store for me,
I cherish what truly nourishes me.
As I lean on the promises that God has for me, here I stand. I am finally free now I see clearly. Soaring high above this earth below letting go of all the things that hinders me. I'm letting go, I can finally fly as I hold my head up looking towards the sky.
To live as the magic
Which moves from your finger,
To be the soft word
Your lips preach forth,
To be the land on which
Your sun illuminates,
To be the soil
Your water nourishes.
Oh, to be yours
The kindle of your spirit,
The flame of your heart,
The motion of your body.
In those whom promote human sacrifice
The ancient world of Atlanta is a rising an unnatural force
clearly cut where we are the slaves bound under natural silence
To avoid conflict hiding secrets in the mountain caves
Standing at the dung heap controlled by worthless breaths
those that nourishes the roots of all evil deeds already done
Nothing good grows inside this space hallowed beings
Firstly where spiritual value is condemned by sin
attacking the very family structure using the upside down script
removing what is right black Plague's the hounds heart
Against the innocent souls judging values two left feet
can never truly see into the heart of their problem
where the life force is threatened by killers and vice
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