of you.
house.
Reminds me of you.
tears.
We used to wrap ourselves in.
In the bathroom.
The harder I cried.
from all those utensils.
front of the tv.
And lie with me instead.
I cleaned house.
Because I'm still loving you.
- Kadia Wright
Fill my Purse
To not know what one wants is a curse.
A penny for each time I hurt,
And a dime for each one I hurt.
For my bewilderment,
Pitying stranger, fill my purse, fill my purse.
Warn the masses about me.
Men will love me for the freedom I offer,
And women will hate me for challenging their status quo.
Love me or hate me,
For their lack of understanding,
Pitying stranger, fill my purse, fill my purse.
An uncompromising world refuses to allow you to be what
you want.
Hard-faced people, "Kill the witch, kill the witch!" they
chant!
For my struggles,
Pitying stranger, fill my purse, fill my purse.
The misguided ones are always scornful.
The accepting ones never really understand.
But for love of self,
I will not let them force my hand.
For my misery,
Pitying stranger, fill my purse, fill my purse.
Many mouths to feed,
Yet no means to provide comfort,
And the rich scoff at me.
"Hear my prayer, oh Lord," I say, "I welcome any good
deed."
For being born underprivileged,
Pitying stranger, fill my purse, fill my purse.
The poor, the oppressed, the
dejected.
The ones the world wishes to
forget.
For our combined sorrows,
Pitying stranger, fill our purses,
fill our purses.
Dear stranger, why are our purses
still empty?
- Kadia Wright
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My Madda is like No Odda
Yuh see my madda
She is like no odda
She neh hav big house
Wid everyting fine fine
She did hav it rough inna fi har time
Fi mi granmadda give har
to har granaunt wen she was just
a few month ol'
Dem time deh tings did real col'
An she did hav it hard
She did hav it salt
But she manage fi go tru dem time
An come out to someting
Even though she neh really hav nuthin
My madda go tru nuh tings
An still stan up strong
She lose har first child to violent
circumstance
She go tru financial difficulties
An nuf odda challenges
A tell yuh
My madda is like no odda
She bear de burden of fear
Pain an disappointment
She face nuf trials an tribulations
An still manage fi stay strong
Mi madda gone a foreign now
Fi try fi mek a betta life
I tell yuh she luv har family enuff
Fi mek dat sacrifice
She workin' real hard now
Mi n'even know wen she comin' down
My madda is like no odda
She do tings weh not even me
woulda do fi people, fi family
She hav a kind spirit
An a luvin hart
A dat really set har apart
Das why me luv my madda
Cause my madda is like no odda.- Tricia Wint
Guns and fathers
Guns are the order of the day
That prove our manhood every hour
Dissed by a friend, Freddy didn't fail
To pull the trigger ere Timmy showed more power.
Once they shared their bread and butter
Now these brothers hate each other
As his body now lies in the gutter,
No shred of remorse, he's just another.
What has changed the human heart?
Once it was flesh, now it's granite.
It cannot feel, it only beats
To move it now would take dynamite.
A mother weeps, a father prays,
Lord give me a chance to go home again.
To be the father I should have been,
Honour my commitment, cause no more pain.
It's now too late for little Freddy
And for his long-time friend and buddy.
But I vow I'll make it up to Sonny,
A father I'll be and also a hubby.
- Patricia L. Jacobs
--------------------------------
I wonder
I wonder, when tomorrow comes if troubles will be gone
I wonder on a windy day can not my troubles be blown away
I wonder, when the showers rush like waves on a summer's day
can not my troubles be washed away
I wonder what this world would be with not my
Troubles to burden me
I wonder, would I still be strong with not my troubles to bear me on?
I wonder what this world would be with not my troubles to make me free,
strong, to carry on.
