BLACK MAN, How do I tell you?
Black Man,
how can I tell you,
what words do I use...?
to say,
my heart fills with pride
to see you stand tall with your child -
by your side.
Manly and strong,
You’re strong enough to be sensitive,
to get along,
with an upstart child or an upset mother.
What’s special is you hold tight,
you don’t walk away -
This is YOUR Child; so you bother
to give, to learn, to live
more and more fully each day.
While Black with a powerful history at your feet,
while male with a presence and legacy
too prevalent to be discreet,
your individual soul
is made manifest
as you nurture God’s majesty
into this new being you now represent.
So I applaud you, Black Man,
not to praise the non negative things you do
for
that is your minimal role anyway, but
for
the positive, life-enhancing actions you take
to show
our sons, our daughters
that pride, dignity, responsibility and respect have always been our way!
For
teaching, caretaking and OUTRIGHT LOVING
is the mark of a people
heralded throughout the ages
as that righteous group, that’s first
to start, build anew,
yet need not Conquer another day;
but rather exists
as a testament that the Universal God
IS
present in man, human-kind,
as a beacon of light-
to lead, to create, to hold fast
to ALL that is Right!
Black Man, Father of All.
Black Man, now father to one,
to many, or even to none
because you guide, you advise, you listen,
you participate, you activate, you stimulate
because you are on a mission!
I pay homage to you.
I show my respect here and now for you.
As I honor you for all THAT you do.
And I silently pray to God to thank him for you
and ask that through his everlasting grace that he may
forever SUSTAIN YOU! BLACK MAN!
Jo Anna Bella, Poet at Heart, Written 6/13/97. Copyright by Jo Anna Bella 1997
Jo Anna Bella, Poet at Heart resides Maryland and has had her poems published in several anthologies. She is currently, working toward completing her first published book, Calypso's Longing, a Woman's Odyssey of Love, to be published later this year. Jo Ann Bella will then work on the book, Black Man, How do I tell you? a poetry based, photo-journal.
This poem BLACK MAN, How do I tell you? was written around Father’s Day over ten years ago to honor the many hard working Black Men, I often worked with either during my day job or night job or otherwise know of, but who never received that leadership recognition, particularly since the media would saturate the world with the limited but often cited negative incidents where Black Men are portrayed in a less than favorable light. This poem was copyright registered by the Library of Congress in 1997.
Posted By: Jo Anna Bennerson
Tuesday, February 2nd 2010 at 11:24AM
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