Poems for our People
P is For It is infused in my body just as surely as there is oxygen in the air the I breathe
Self Induced Drought We�ve come so far and learned so much
My Africa Four Hundred years ago in Africa�s land, you stole me from my fathers hand.
And that is pride
Pride in my heritage
Pride in my race
Pride in my brown skin
Pride is etched across my face
I come from a line that sprang from the loins of a woman strong enough to bear the lashings of a whip again and again against her flesh.
Then she turns around with a gentle touch and soothes her baby to sleep in the next breath.
I am proud
Proud of the fact that I am the living realization of the dreams most slaves never saw come true
Proud of the fact that the blood of the lost Africans runs in me through and through
I am proud yes indeed, just as surely as God blessed the cheetah with speed
I am proud
Proud of Martin, Medgar, and Malcom and every unheard of soldier whose life is now past tense
I�m proud of the freedom rides, sit-ins, and marches
Proud of the speeches and the hearts that were touched
I am proud
Proud of my heritage
Proud of my race
Proud of my brown skin
Pride is etched across my face
I AM PROUD
Proud of the poets who have come before me
Langston, Nikki, Maya, influencing me greatly
Proud to be proud of who I am and where I come from- Cause there are many who aren�t and hide their roots for fear of scorn.
I am proud, proud in every possible way
Proud to stand on the rooftops and shout out saying
I AM PROUD�TO BE BLACK
To possess not an ounce of understanding
We�ve walked through walls of water wailing at our bones
And fought barriers of fur biting at our skin
Only to get nowhere and hold our own self within
We�ve waged wars against social injustices
Wielding our words like mighty mijnor
We�ve joined arms and marched for our civil rights
To better future generations lives
Our soldiers have been cut down at invisible battle fronts
Killed for simply standing up for more
And for all their sacrifice
The needless loss of life
It seems like we would show our appreciation more
We�ve become our own worst enemy
Cutting ourselves off at the knees
Who needs the Klan when we�re running around
slaying one another in the streets
We poison our own for love of gold
Putting values on our priceless lives
We prove them right
By not fighting the good fight
To our own wrist we�ve taken the knife
So many brilliant minds are getting lost in the bustle
Because it�s easier to hustle and earn quick bucks
Instead of going to college and acquiring knowledge
Showing the world that you�ve got guts
And it takes guts not to follow the crowd
To let your individuality shout out loud
And we need you to shout
As you stand up and stand proud
Raining words of wisdom to end our drought
You ripped me from my mothers breast in all in what you thought was best.
How was it best to take my pride and leave me shame, my past you hide.
While all the while you were stealing others.
A race of orphans, a nation of brothers.
For months on end across dark sea�s we�re wracked with illness and plagued with disease.
And though many may die and leave us few.
You disguise our broken bodies and sell us a mules.
So there we stood in Toubob�s land
where you spoke a language we didn�t understand.
You chained our feet, made use of our hands,
sold away our children, our sweat nurtured this land.
A mighty nation you�ve built on top of our backs,
the blood whipped from us in droves is now coating your hands.
But through the pressure and strain, still we maintain,
because there are parts of us you can never contain.
You can break our bodies, and try to keep us meek,
but you can�t keep my soul from flying free.
There lies the difference between you and me.