Requiem for Those Who Died Young

This is a requiem for those who died young,

An innocent victim to a bullet from some gang bangers gun.

A song of mourning I sing

To quench death’s angry sting

I say a final goodbye

On behalf of those left to cry.

Some loving mother’s daughter or son

Never again to see another sun.

Caught in the wrong place at the wrong time

Another victim to black on black crime;

Their life taken by one of the body snatchers in the hood

We should hate them for the crazy things they do-we should.

I find myself feeling sorry for them instead,

Because it’s only a matter of time before they too are dead.

You see, there is no sinful act for which we will not pay

It’s only a matter of time before it’s their day

And their name is added to the list of those who have succumbed

To a bullet from some gang banger’s gun.

It’s a vicious cycle that only repeats.

Death only cheats,

Cheats those who have so much to give

Of a chance to live.

It’s sad when undertakers find themselves being put to the test

By the burdens that come with laying so many children to rest.

I’m tired of hearing about black on black crime

And young men and women doing time.

My heartaches

Every time I think of what is at stake.

I can’t begin

To understand why

So many tears have to be cried.
I herein decry

Nothing can justify

What our children are doing to one another.

Surely, our forefathers didn’t die for us to experience this.

Something is definitely amiss.
We’ve got to uncover a solution soon

And end this cycle of doom.

We’ve got to launch an attack.

It’s time to snatch our children back

From the hands of the enemy

And set them free

From the dungeons of despair.

Father’s and mother’s you’ve got to be there

To keep your children from going astray.

Most of all you’ve got to pray

If you fail in this responsibility

Your child may be the next casualty.

Some gang is waiting to welcome them in

To their den of sin.

We’ve got to find a solution

In order to bring an end to these senseless executions.

Young bodies don’t have to be lining the walls of our mortuaries,

Children’s names shouldn’t be filling the pages of the orbituaries.

I wish there was some way to make our children see

That death doesn’t have to become their reality.

Too many children are being traumatized

And terrorized

By what their young eyes have seen.

At night, they cry out and scream

As they subconsciously think about the stories they hear.

They live each day in fear.

We have a problem that desperately needs to be solved

Or the cycle of death will continue to revolve

From generation

To generation

Until all that is left

Is an ever-prevailing stench of death.

copyright by P. Newman-Harris


" We must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools."
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Living the Dream

In every land,
Every kingdom,
Every corridor
Across the world
Someone died
Making the world better
For you and I.
For the cause of freedom,
Men fought until nothing was left,
Some went to their death.
We are the seed they bore,
The fruit of their labor.
We are living their visions,
Manifesting their dreams.
We are bone of their bone,
Flesh of their flesh.
It is our duty to live life
With purpose and pride
Honoring those ancestral spirits
As if we were kin to every man that died,
Every woman that cried,
Suffered loss,
Paid the cost.
These men were not of different fiber than we.
We are of the same tapestry.
To our ancestors we must remain true,
As to ourselves we must remain true,
By assuring that their dreams
Never cease.
Let every heart determine once again,
"Let there be peace on earth,
And let it begin with me."
Until every man is free to be all he was created to be.

copyright by P. Newman-Harris

Goodbye to Whitney continued

The Dream


I miss you so much
I long to feel your touch.
I know you have finished this race,
But I still long to see your face.
I wish we had more time.
I know this is not your wish, but mine.
You see I had a dream that I talked to you on the phone.
We had a long conversation & I asked you to come back home.
You paused for a moment as I began to cry.
Then, you said,
"This place is better than I ever could have imagined or dreamed.
One day, you'll know what I mean.
I can see Grandma and Grandpa everyday.
I want to stay.
I know you miss me,
But it's time to let me go.
I will be with you always.
Think of me on warm summer days
And moonlit nights.
You're going to be alright.
Always know I love you more than words can say."
Even though I knew you had said all there was to say,
I wanted to keep you on the phone a little while longer,
Hoping that I would grow stronger.
Finally, you said, "I have to go."
I said, "I know."
We said our last good-byes
And, together, we cried.

P. Newman-Harris

Goodbye Whitney

Whitney

I wish I could have told you something about yourself
Before you left.
Did you know just how special you are?
I'm not just talking about Whitney the superstar.
Did you know that in God's eyes you shined
Brighter than the person the world got to know?
I'm sure by now God has told you so.
I wish we could have helped you through the things that troubled you.
I'm sure given time, the old you would have come shining through.
We will never comprehend
Why things had to end.
It is certain.
You will be missed by family, friends and your fans.
As we say goodbye and release you to God's hands,
Just know
We hate to see you go.
We will always love you.
"You, you, you, you,
My darling you."
We will always love you.

I dedicate this song, After While, by Deitrich Haddon to family, friends, and all whoWhitney touched in her life time.

Though in our eyes, Whitney should have had more time here on this earth, God, the creater and determiner of our fate, has the ultimate say.  Tis  not ours to wonder why for his ways or not our ways, neither can we understand what he has destined to be. 

Black History Month (continued)

This is a poem written upon the election of President Obama.

Free At Last

By P. Newman-Harris

I never thought we would see

This day in our history.

Until now it was only a dream

That one man esteemed

Long ago.

Who would know

When he said the words, Free at last

That we would see his dream come to pass,

A new day, when an old chapter would come to an end

And a new chapter would begin?

New frontiers are about to be explored

On what was once distant shores.

Martin, we wish you were here

To give Obama a cheer,

To see the beginning of a new day.

It is a new day, a new day for you and for me

A day when we all can agree

To come together, casting aside the issues of color and race,

Facing whatever needs to be faced,

Standing as one nation, under God, one color one creed.

Yes, we still have hungry people to feed,

An economy to restore, and disillusionments to erase

But we have reached this place,

A place where we can look ahead without fear.

For we now know that our hope is near,

We are finally in a position where we can have hope

Above all hopes,

We are in a place where we can write a new story on the pages of time

For new generations to find.

We stand with pride

On behalf of every black man and woman that has died.

We will never stop reaching for the dream,

We will keep on living the dream,

For we can finally rest in the belief of a man who says, “Yes, we can.”

And lean on the promises of one who believed that we would be free at last,

Martin, thank God almighty, we are free at last!

copyright 2009 by P. Newman-Harris

Celebrating Black History Month

                   Tribute to Harriet Tubman

 Freedom Train

I close my eyes and visions of long ago I see

Spirits of the past keep calling me.

What is it I hear?

Sounds like a train whistle drawing near.

Ain’t no ordinary train

It’s the freedom train

Underground and out of sight

Comin like a thief in the night

Freedom train,

Freedom train.

Comin round the bend

Songs of freedom blowing in the wind

Freedom train, freedom train.

Goin ride that freedom train.

Voices travelin in the dark of night,

“Don’t go left, go right.”

Bloodhounds drawing near

As if they can smell the fear

Hush

Hush

Don’t make a sound

Or we will be found

Can’t get tired now

Gotta keep on goin somehow

Freedom train,

Freedom train

Comin round the bend

Songs of freedom blowing in the wind.

We have waited so long for this day

Goin sing a song of freedom in a land far away

All sorrows have passed

We’re free at last

Freedom train, freedom train

Goin ride that freedom train

Some who once came to ride

Have long since died

Their spirits keep calling me

For what a tragedy

That some had to die and never see

Their dream of freedom become reality

All sorrows are passed

We are free at last

Freedom train freedom train comin round the bend

Songs of freedom blowing in the wind.

Freedom train, freedom train

Goin ride that freedom train

copyright by P.Newman-Harris

Born a slave in Maryland, Harriet Tubman escaped to freedom, and later led more than 300 other slaves to the North and to Canada to their freedom, too. The best-known conductor on the Underground Railroad, Harriet Tubman was acquainted with many of the social reformers and abolitionists of her time, and she spoke against slavery and for women's rights.

Above excerpt taken from
Jone Johnson Lewis'
Women's History Guide

Harriet Tubman

Courtesy of the Library of Congress