Up Longer Than Down
You look at the shadow
Down trodden
Sleeping on the street
Dormant, wondering
Where’s his next quarter
Or when will he next eat?
You think, what a travesty
Why is his story so bleak?
As if life started
Where you two first meet
Which is far from the truth
Of his history
You think maybe
Because his skin is brown
When in truth
He comes from stock
That’s been up
Much longer than down
So many shadows of color
But all are Black
Just treading on tough roads
Where the deck’s been stacked
But, the shadow’s
No Johnny Come Lately
Long time it’s been around
And longer up, than down
From Pyramids to Timbuktu
To Garvey, Elijah, and Martin King too
Giants among few
Masters among pigmies
Envied and turned blue
Outraged at the thought of change
That would alter
The slave-master game
Recrown a glory
And rewrite our story
One that reads in simple words
Your success is eminent
And not absurd
You are proud
And destined to rule
Your hieroglyphics set the basis
For all the world’s schools
But the knowledge was changed,
Rearranged, and with it
You’ve been hoodwinked,
Bamboozled and fooled
But, at the end of the day
You’ve been up
Longer than down
You wore a smile longer
Than you’ve worn this frown
You’ve been wiser longer
Than a White man’s clown
But, you look at the shadow
Down trodden
Two pay checks from homeless
Worried and overly stressed
Black people, once proud
Now broke and depressed
It seems hopeless
Oh, what a mess!
But, there is light
At the end of the tunnel
A rope on which to hold
We just have to be bold
Say it loud
“I’m Black, and I’m Proud!”
Stand up! And remove the shroud
Join hands will all
Who look like you, like me
Our power is in our unity
Together as a solid wall
Nullifies Humpty and breaks his fall
As a crowd we form a safety net
That one day
The world will respect
Then, what was shadow
Will be in the light
Standing upright and poised to fight
Prepared to make a new life
One where prosperity abounds
As we re-member
We’ve been up
longer than down.
A
Simpy Fab Poem©
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