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Tuesday, February 6, 2018

Poettues: And Then There Was the Music


It’s poetry Tuesday and today my cognitive load seems to be on poetic works.


As we celebrate the black history of America and the world, today I want to honor such poets as Melvin B Tolson who said, “When the exceptional historian comes along, we have a poet.” Some other notable poets who were iconic and left behind a wealth of works for the world to enjoy are Alice Walker, Langston Hughes, Sojourner Truth, Maya Angelou and Paul Laurence Dunbar, just to name a few.


Alice Walker was not only a poet but a civil rights activist who participated in the march on Washington in 1963 and volunteered to enroll persons of color to vote in Georgia and in Mississippi. She felt that “activism was her rent for being on this earth.”

SPEAKING OF POETRY . . .


What better day than today to announce that for the first time, my second book, And Then There Was the Music; Musical Poetry and an Essay is available on Amazon. 

And Then There Was the Music

I didn’t think I had 100 pages of writing in me until I saw the hundred pages unfold before my eyes. I didn’t think I had as much focus as I did to complete a work like this until I decided to sit and just let the words flow. But thank God for the joys of writing and sharing some historical data about music and how it has been used as a political voice since the beginning of time, as well as other fun, music related poems that I included.

Here are a few poems that you might see in the book. Hopefully you will take the time to read them and if you like them, please consider purchasing a copy of my book for yourself.
  
Lessons in the Blues

Don’t let hate, interrupt the rhythm of the 24 hours you’ve been given in your day.
Don’t let the rocks that slingers throw blind your vision and get in your way.
Don’t let lack of love from your brothers cause you to feel shame.
Don’t let the prejudicial system make you lose you’re A-game.
Don’t let the denial of true education stop you in your mental growth.
Don’t let bad news keep you from opening the newspapers to get in the know.
Don’t let the sound of the 9:30 bell discourage you from earning your own dough.
Don’t think that little you, can’t make a difference because you can glow.

We all got bills and baggage and things to do before the day is done.
We all got bills due that we must pay off to someone.
We all got lives worth living and no the blues need not apply.
We all got means to see the truth for ourselves with our own eyes.
We all got to sit down to defecate regardless of color.
And we all take off one pant leg at a time, whether a sister or brother.
And we all have a song and dance and a rhythm of life we keep.
It’s learning that we are all not that different that mostly makes me weep.

Why are we blind to this truth of the world in which we live?
And why is the blues the only means that some people live?
And why is it that some don’t even have a real reason to give,
to explain why they hate based on color, sex or religion?

Charles Pulliam

Listen to the rhythm of the tumbadora.
Hands beating its wood;
Sounding the heartbeat
between scat chorus you hear the throb
taking you to another place like the turn of a door knob.
A quartet of songs
with an application of beautiful hand drumming along
met by a huge cheering crowd
and Charles Pulliam, all decked out, smiling out loud.

IPod

When these headphones are plugged into my ear, I tune out the world
and hear nothing else.
Even if I come and ring somebody’s bell and they say, “Who is it” I can’t tell
because my song be on and that’s all that matters when my IPod is on play.
Just make sure you hear sirens ringing if they are speeding your way
or the conductor saying the train is skipping stops and yours is one of them;
even if the song currently being absorbed is a hit from an iconic gem

Indie Artists

Independent artists of the planet.
Charles Mingus, Max Roach and 21-Century artists.
Music makers, dreamers coloring the day with their art.
Bohemian rhapsodies they play in the day and in the dark.
We bring social influence to light.
We push our music because our message is our why.
We sink like the Titanic into the work that needs to be done.
Our music is the magic we use to try to affect everyone.
We flood our thoughts, share them and leave a little sparkle.
Our life is our canvas to wake up and be-you-tiful.


Hope that you enjoyed the read and if you did, please check out some of the other poems featured in this book. It is available in both Kindle and print version. You can check out my author page on Amazon here: Stephanie Jeannot's Author Page

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