word love: Dis Poem

dis poem

shall speak of the wretched sea

that washed ships to these shores

of mothers crying for their young

swallowed up by the sea

dis poem shall say nothing new

dis poem shall speak of time

time unlimited time undefined

dis poem shall call names

names like lumumba keyatta nkrumah

hannibal akenaton malcolm garvey

haile selassie

dis poem is vexed about apartheid racism fascism

the klu klux klan riots in brixton atlanta

jim jones

dis poem is revolting against 1st world 2nd world 3rd world division

man made decision

dis poem is like all the rest

dis poem will not be amongst great literary works

will not be recited by poetry enthusiasts

will not be quoted by politicians nor men of religion

dis poem is knives bombs guns blood fire

blazin for freedom

yes dis poem is a drum

ashanti mau mau ibo yoruba nyahbingi warriors

uhuru uhuru

namibia uhuru

uhuru soweto

uhuru afrika

dis poem will not change things

dis poem need to be changed

dis poem is a rebirth of a people

arizin awaking understandin

dis poem speak is speakin have spoken

dis poem shall continue even when poets have stopped writin

dis poem shall survive u me it shall linger in history

in your mind

in time forever

dis poem is time only time will tell

dis poem is still not written

dis poem has no poet

dis poem is just a part of the story

his-story her-story our-story still untold

dis poem is now ringin takin imitatin

makin u want to stop it

but dis poem will not stop

dis poem is long cannot be short

dis poem cannot be tamed cannot be blamed

the story is still not told about dis poem

dis poem is old new

dis poem was copied from the bible your prayer book

playboy magazine the ny times readers digest

the c.i.a. files the k.g.b. files

dis poem is no secret

dis poem shall be called boring stupid senseless

dis poem is watchin u tryin to make sense from dis poem

dis poem is messin up your brains

makin u want to stop listenin to dis poem

u need to know what will be said next in dis poem

dis poem shall disappoint u

beacuse

dis poem is to be continued

in your mind

in your mind

in your mind

by: Mutabaruka (Jamaican, 1952-)

Howard Drive Chronicles Part III

So me and crazy neighbor haven't been getting on any better.

Then Sunday happened and now I "owe" her ::long sigh::

We left Hugh home with our lone set of apt keys (yea, bad idea to have only one set) to go run errands. We were out for a few hours. But I called him about 45 minutes before I got home and spoke to him. All is well. When we finally get home and need him to open the door, would he pick up phone or answer doorbell?????? I called and called and called then buzzed and buzzed and buzzed. Nothing. So Raf heads around back to throw a stone up (yes, desperation set in after about 10 full ring phone calls) and I keep at my calling and buzzing.

Door opens. It's the neighbor. Great. She let's me in and get it, I ask her to bang on the ceiling to rouse my brother ::dies:: Anyway, he finally hears something (stone or banging on door) and opens the door before neighbor can bang. He was in the shower. Clearly having a spa day/moment. So, I graciously thank neighbor (what's a girl to do?).

So I'm telling K the story and I'm all like, great, now I owe my neighbor or something (I vote for something). K gladly reminds me it won't be long until she doesn't something nutty again. Then we can call it even. I'm actually looking forward to the next ceiling bang (not really).

sweet sundays: growing older

This weekend we celebrated Keri's birthday. She's all of 27 (yes, I put her on blast...she doesn't look it so she won't mind). We went to church, then had lunch, and then followed that up with a visit to a club. Yes, a club. Does that make any sense:? None at all, & since I'm a sensible girl, it won't happen again. I mean, it's about time I walk the walk, huh? Well, it wasn't supposed to be a club but it turned out to be one and what was I to do? Just say no :) But it's my LeeLee (soft spot). Anyhoo, we had fun hanging with each other (& can I insert some sop here? I'm glad my hussy's my dance partner for life - nothing makes a woman feel better than a sweet guy and he was oh, so sweet yesterday and last night. K, so back to regularly scheduled program). It was a bunch of her friends from high school, college, and med school. She looked hot, she had fun, and that's what matters at the moment. Oh! & she looked fab doing it!

I wish you could see the shoes but alas, such is life.

What's so good about growing older? Each day we grow older is a blessing...some people stay young (a.k.a. don't age. a.k.a. die). What's even better? Growing older as friends.

Happy Birthday my darling friend & sister

girly fridays: wish list items

Bel Kai Designs

Isn't it cute? *swoon*

Anyhoo...I'm off doing VERY girly stuff today. I'm off to court! I was called to jury duty. Let's see if they keep me or send me home. I'm very excited to be carrying out my civic duty :)

word love: divine strength

"But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint."

Isaiah 40:31, KJV

Thank you, Andrew M. Manis

reblogged a.k.a. stolen

‘When are WE going to get over it?’

For much of the last forty years, ever since America “fixed” its race problem in the Civil Rights and Voting Rights Acts, we white people have been impatient with African Americans who continued to blame race for their difficulties. Often we have heard whites ask, “When are African Americans finally going to get over it?” Now I want to ask: When are we White Americans going to get over our ridiculous obsession with skin color?

Recent reports that “Election Spurs Hundreds of Race Threats, Crimes” should frighten and infuriate every one of us. Having grown up in “Bombingham,” Alabama in the 1960s, I remember overhearing an avalanche of comments about what many white classmates and their parents wanted to do to John and Bobby Kennedy and Martin Luther King. Eventually, as you may recall, in all three cases, someone decided to do more than “talk the talk.”

Since our recent presidential election, to our eternal shame we are once again hearing the same reprehensible talk I remember from my boyhood. We white people have controlled political life in the disunited colonies and United States for some 400 years on this continent. Conservative whites have been in power 28 of the last 40 years. Even during the eight Clinton years, conservatives in Congress blocked most of his agenda and pulled him to the right. Yet never in that period did I read any headlines suggesting that anyone was calling for the assassinations of presidents Nixon, Ford, Reagan, or either of the Bushes. Criticize them, yes. Call for their impeachment, perhaps. But there were no bounties on their heads. And even when someone did try to kill Ronald Reagan, the perpetrator was non-political mental case who wanted merely to impress Jody Foster. But elect a liberal who happens to be Black and we’re back in the sixties again.

At this point in our history, we should be proud that we’ve proven what conservatives are always saying — that in America anything is possible, EVEN electing a black man as president. But instead we now hear that school children from Maine to California are talking about wanting to “assassinate Obama.” Fighting the urge to throw up, I can only ask, “How long?”

How long before we white people realize we can’t make our nation, much less the whole world, look like us? How long until we white people can – once and for all – get over this hell-conceived preoccupation with skin color? How long until we white people get over the demonic conviction that white skin makes us superior? How long before we white people get over our bitter resentments about being demoted to the status of equality with non-whites? How long before we get over our expectations that we should be at the head of the line merely because of our white skin? How long until we white people end our silence and call out our peers when they share the latest racist jokes in the privacy of our white-only conversations?

I believe in free speech, but how long until we white people start making racist loudmouths as socially uncomfortable as we do flag burners? How long until we white people will stop insisting that blacks exercise personal responsibility, build strong families, educate themselves enough to edit the Harvard Law Review, and work hard enough to become President of the United States, only to threaten to assassinate them when they do?

How long before we start “living out the true meaning” of our creeds, both civil and religious, that all men and women are created equal and that “red and yellow, black and white” all are precious in God’s sight? Until this past November 4, I didn’t believe this country would ever elect an African American to the presidency. I still don’t believe I’ll live long enough to see us white people get over our racism problem. But here’s my three-point plan:

First, everyday that Barack Obama lives in the White House that black slaves built, I’m going to pray that God (and the Secret Service) will protect him and his family from us white people.

Second, I’m going to report to the FBI any white person I overhear saying, in seriousness or in jest, anything of a threatening nature about President Obama.

Third, I’m going to pray to live long enough to see America surprise the world once again, when white people can “in spirit and in truth” sing of our damnable color prejudice, ”We HAVE overcome.”

-Andrew M. Manis via The Macon Telegraph

sweet tooth? here's some eye candy