A Time to Live by Sollemnis Press

Richmond, VA

Sollemnis Press Published by Sollemnis Press Richmond, VA No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book. Send inquiries to: hermanltucker@yahoo.com sollemnis@tuckereducationalgroup.org

Angel’ s Whisper ….6 Faith ….7 Being Black ….8 To My Sisters ….9 Generations ….10 Just Across the River ….11 Blue Moon ….12

Faith isknowing all will bealright Even in thedarkest hour of night Faith iswhat you havewhen earthly meansfail And you giveit to God and know all will bewell Faith, when theanswersarenot known Faith, when you’relost and alone Faith isholding tight to God’shand And not being dissuaded by woman or man Faith ishaving peaceof mind And knowing God will bethereright on time

Faith isproceeding even when in fear And holding in confidencethat God isnear Day to day lifecan bea difficult task But faceit with faith and it surely won’t last

We are the children of God, the almighty creator Need we seek any further confirmation? We need not your approval or sympathy, and your patronizing words we will no longer accept We require no pity because we are not the product of neglect We do not request, but demand respect We do not live in the shadows of past oppression Because we are proceeding down a path of perseverance and progression Violent, lazy, dilatory, ignorant, and shiftless Inept, bitter, angry, and listless We are unstained by your stereotypical point of view Because, who we really are, you haven’ t got a clue Together we form the body: The brothers are the spine; the sisters are the heart Together we form the mind: We live and love with the passion of no other God knows, it’ s an honor just to be a brother I take pride in knowing only a sister can complete my life A black woman is my mother, and a black woman is my wife In unity we seek our salvation Because above all we know that God has been our light in the darkness of tribulation Brown-eyed, black skin, strong hand, Well informed, pure-hearted Blackman Radiant exquisite enchanting unable to resist her My lady, my queen, my sister Our hair, our walk, our smile, Our culture, our essence, our righteousness, our style We are the Kings and Queens— the world’ s supreme The living proof of our ancestors dream Arrived, no longer held back I love being me, because I love being Black 8

Sisters may I have a moment of your time I would like to share a few things with you that have been on my mind I wish I could give you some form of reparations For all your sacrifices and years of degradation Through times of tribulation your soul has remained strong Against overwhelming odds you still proceed on You represent nature in its purest form You possess the warmth of the sun and the wrath of a storm When I see you smile I am overcome with pride And your pain becomes mine when I see you denied Your essence is enchanting and your spirit is true When God created love he started with you You are the heart of our people and the giver of life And in times of blindness you have been our sight Your undaunted perseverance has been a source of inspiration And your strength encourages me to endeavor to higher aspirations I love you sisters for being just who you are And I thank you sisters for bringing us this far 9

I reminisce of a generation whose time here has passed Their presence is gone but their memory lasts I speak of a generation of women and men Grandparents, uncles, aunts…my kin Their titles to me were grand and great I would trade nothing for knowing them because nothing could equate I embrace their past existence with the deepest admiration Because they’ re directly responsible for my generation My nieces and nephews and my children Will all grow up having not known them Faded pictures and old stories will sprinkle their minds Of a whole generation lost to time That brings up an inevitable sad fact That one day my generation will be a memory When my future kin look back To them my generation was once grand and great I suppose ending up a faded picture or old story is every generation’ s fate

On thebank of a river I stood awakein my dream It was wideand running fast and uncrossableit seemed I looked just acrosstheriver and began to smile Becausemy eyes looked upon faces I had not seen in awhile I saw Jimmy and James standing theretalking And Lena and Clay holding handswalking Jeanieand Mary wereas beautiful as thesun setting into thesea WhileRichard and Thomas weresitting in theshadeof a tree James Coleman stood proud and Marielooked so young John and Ted werejust having fun Aunt Betty and Kathy gavemea wave They wereall just across theriver way beyond thegrave I was so happy to seethem all but it seemed someonewas missing And then I looked down theriver and saw my father fishing I ran down theedge— it seemed theriver was getting thin My father seemed so closeI began to walk in Then heput his hand up motioning meto pause Hesaid, “It sureis good to seeyou boy but it’s not your timeto cross.” Hesaid, “Being across this river, I havenever felt better. And when God is ready you can cross, we’ll fish again together. “So takeit easy kid, now isnot your time. And tell everyonethat I’m just across theriver and I’m doing just fine.” As I awokeI thought of my God, my sin forgiver And thepeacethat awaits mejust across theriver

Once in a blue moon, you cross my mind I even speak of you from time to time Sometimes I can’ t sleep while lying in my room My memories overwhelm me, but just once in a blue moon Every blue moon I will crack a smile, and wish I could just laugh with you a while Good times and bad times, but would always make amends Once in a blue moon I still miss you my old friend Once in a blue moon your name I’ ll quietly say But it seems that lately there’ s a blue moon everyday

Ebook Design by Sollemnis Press tuckereducationalgroup.org/sollemnispress