That one time when I used to write poetry

The other day when I was looking for a journal to write some notes in. I picked up an old one and this poem was the first thing written in it. I also found the entries from my trip to Israel in Jan 2000. I'll review those and maybe post some of them, however this is my offering for Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., of blessed memory.

No Dreams Allowed

Once upon a memory a revolution occurred

Black brothers and sisters finally decided they were disturbed

Tired of miseducation and integration

Pointless desegregation and exploitation

Tired of being taught to love white neighbors, yet encouraged to hate Black self

Tired of being the ones to settle for welfare instead of wealth

They looked to the flag of red, black and green

And with Black fists in the air, a Black nation had just been achieved

The chains of enslavement were broken at last

Economic and social deficit was a thing of the past

They realized that G-d was within -- and religion was a tool

To divide and conquer our people -- why do you think church’s have schools?

This revolutionary memory was brought to you by a righteous mind

That knows a people's history

Is but only a people’s memory

I remember - I don’t dream

Cause the last Black man that had a dream was killed

And I ain’t going out that easy

March 25, 1999

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