I wrote a poem for America and you all here on DU.

[bravenak]

We call ourselves the free,
but we cannot free ourselves.
Open secrets,
hidden in plain sight,
dusty tomes on our shelves.
Our society is ill,
sick,
in disarray.
America,
America,
who are you today?


Police state holding the mighty men,
safe in their keeps.
Looking down upon us;
lowly peasants and sheep.
Power to the people!
The words, so strong,
are but air, from our lips.
Words are merely wind;
but wind powers ships.


Old men molded the world,
and shaped the past.
They wrote the history,
they won at last.
But what man has made,
was not made to stay…
The old days are dead,
Yet they haunt us this day.


Don’t tell me what you were,
or what you’ve done.
How much you’ve taken,
how much you’ve won.
Your money,
your might,
you own the day!
America,
America,
we are on our way.


Old wounds not healed,
have blistered
and burst!
Our souls cry out
in desolation
and thirst.
A lustful hope,
a needful want,
that on a summer day….
America,
America,
will change the way….


We use and abuse,
rig the game to lose,
separate the browns from the reds,
the pinks from the blues,
the lights from the darks,
with the blacks put away.
Oh, America,
America,
the games you play.


Time for us all
to reunify the race
there is but one –
the human
same face.
Together we are one;
but separate,
just dust.
America,
America,
America or bust.

[brer cat]

1. Most excellent, bravenak! nt

[bravenak]

2. Thank you.nt

[randys1]

26. EXCeLLeNt ExCeLlEnT!

Put that sucker to music

[bravenak]

27. Can't sing.

Pity. I wish I had the talent.

[randys1]

28. Cant wait for the Richard Pryor movie...who is playing Paul I wonder

[bravenak]

29. I wanna see it too. It will be too funny. He can play himself, no one else can.

[NYC_SKP]

3. Well done!

True words, well written.

Thank you!

[bravenak]

5. No, Thank You!!

The message came from all of you. It's just my interpretation.

[littlemissmartypants]

4. Very cool. Thanks! nt

[bravenak]

6. I appreciate it.

Thank you too.

[1StrongBlackMan]

7. Thank you ...

I love your use of the English language ... And the images they create.

[bravenak]

8. Thank you!

I'm glad I posted it now. Thank you for convincing me to do it.

[1StrongBlackMan]

9. Shhh ...

You're going to attract folks demanding to be a part of MY private viewings.

[bravenak]

10. Ten trusted DUers only!nt

[sheshe2]

13. Lol~

[freshwest]

11. Perfect. And if I may say so, far more patriotic than a thousand flag wavers.

[bravenak]

12. Thank you.

I really do love America, enough to see that we can be better, and to want us to be together. Imagine us all without egos. The world would be sublime.

[sheshe2]

14. Perfect!

[bravenak]

15. Thank you.

I love you especially.

[Kalidurga]

16. Very good

A+

[bravenak]

17. Thank you.

[MrScorpio]

18. I'd love to see and hear you recite it.

Passionate words require an equally passionate voice.

[bravenak]

19. Maybe I'll have to make a record someday.

I sound too much like my mother on recordings. That's why I never have.

[proReality]

20. That's more than worthy of sharing...

may I pass this on to others?

[bravenak]

21. Yes, feel free to share.

Thank you.

[panader0]

22. One from '68...

A man came into town today
and he was colored blue
and he was singing nonsense songs
and said that they were true.
The townsmen were so terrified
by his songs and his hue
they hung him in the marketplace
til he was dead and through.
A smile lingered on his face,
he'd proved his songs were true.

[bravenak]

23. I like that one.

Thank you.

[panader0]

24. I was 17 when I went off to college

My roommate was 16, black and very intelligent. I learned quite a bit about race and myself that year.

[bravenak]

25. That is a perfect time to learn about people.

The younger the better.

[hopemountain]

30. "there is but one –

the human
same face."


powerful. thank you for sharing, bravenak.

[bravenak]

33. Thank you and you're welcome.

[appalachiablue]

31. Powerful work, beautifully written. You are gifted. Please perform and publish this appeal.

The end of divisive destruction must come. United we stand; divided we beg.

[bravenak]

32. Thank you.

I sent it on in with the others.

[nomorenomore08]

34. I like it. A little Langston Hughes, a little Ginsberg, maybe. But definitely your own voice too.

[bravenak]

35. That was a wonderful thing to say.

Thank you.

[nomorenomore08]

36. You should publish that somewhere. Seriously. Your talent is too good to waste.

I used to write poetry myself, but now I'm strictly a prose (fiction) writer.

[bravenak]

37. I like to send them in as I go so that I stop burning them.

I have a habit of destroying my things, so I post up my musings so I can't delete.
This one just wanted to be shared with you all.
I may just save enough one day for a short collection to share. That would be fine! I would like that very much. To share the sad little verses of my soul.

[ReRe]

41. Don't you DARE throw your writings away!

You should have a journal to write your finished poems into. Buy yourself a nice one for Christmas! You may not think much of your poems, but I promise you that in 100 years, your descendants or great nieces/nephews will love them. By all means, get them published today, if not singly, then in a book. Just DON'T throw them away.

Great poem, bravenak. Keep them coming...

[bravenak]

44. I know, I'm just cray cray.

I started keeping them on the cloud so i won't delete them. And now I just send them out to be published somewhere. My grandkids might want to google me or whatever they will be doing one day.

[DonCoquixote]

38. Langston Hughes would be proud

Anf ofr those who do not know who he was, look him up.

[bravenak]

39. One of my favorites, he is.

I miss Maya Angelou.

[oldandhappy]

40. Than you

I am honored.

Have been a little down the last couple of days, fretting re the culture of fear and feeling out of tricks to deal with it. Your poem tells me we must forge ahead!

[bravenak]

43. Thank you.

I'm glad it gave you a lift.

[BlancheSplanchnik]

42. I took a while before checking this out, because I'm generally not a poetry person.

Now I'm glad I looked.

Very very good work....

[bravenak]

45. Thank you for checking it out, then!

Glad It was mine that got you to try it out again.

[heaven05]

46. last tome

most profound, all are excellent in their truth.......bravo

[bravenak]

47. Thank you.

[bravenak]

50. Oh no!!

Got zapped!

[ismnotwasm]

51. Whoa that's good

[bravenak]

52. Thank you!

It's my poem of the month I wrote. This month might be sad.

But I have legal weed now, so, maybe not!