Poem #1289: She Smiles To Conquer

Dr. Coretta Scott King
Civil rights Activist, Founder, The
Martin Luther King Center and wife of
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. This poem celebrates
her life and legacy. She would have been 95 today.

Girl, if that smile

Ain't bright shinin'

Up in heaven now

Sho' you laid down

Your burdens

Ran up the streets of heaven

Got down to the river

Set down on a recliner

And laid back

Sipping on new wine

Under the Tree of Life

Cause God 

Done tossed the sun

And put your smile up

Girl, if that smile

Don't shine on

A thousand miles

With the joy of the Lord.

You took your smile away

And life's been insane

But you passed the torch

And sparked a marathon

For love and BeLove

Happy Heavenly Birthday

We'll remember you alway

For making a better day…

And for that smile

Lordy Lord, that smile. 

Akpan

Poem #1288: Hand From A Stranger

Please donate. Click the link: World Food Program

This ain't no fairytale

But it does make

The dam break

It's the stuff you see

On CNN and BBC

And flip the channel

Before it gets too personal

We can't back down

From this urgency of now

We've got to man up,

We that love to love

Must mobilize as one

Against the elements of war

By wielding the weapon

Of compassion

From our heart of hearts

Until we tear apart

The memory of the past

A bit of love turns misery

Into the processing

Of a beautiful story

Like a warm hand

From a stranger

In the dark of night,

Be the shining light

In their turnaround moment

A shade of hope, a respite

From the cruel torment.

Akpan 

Poem #1287: A Different Cloth

Photo Courtesy: UNHCR 

The most important thing

Is not to give in

To defeat

Or fall in the arms of

Hopeless dejection.

Destiny isn't a handout

And you can choose not

To feel letdown

You made it out

You were cut out

For greatness no doubt

Rejection is a lie

Boost that bark with a bite

There's a job title

With your name on it

No time to stay idle

Set your mind on it

This is a diff level of warfare

Not a personal affair

You've been cut

From a different cloth

Keep your head up

And never ever give up.

Akpan

Poem #1286: Déjà Vu Encores

Thru the worst level of conflict, Kyiv is still standing.
Their resilience is triumph of the human spirit.
Photo Courtesy: Euronews.com/Facebook 

Every night

I wanna pick up the phone

And be like

Call you up at home

But now it's always night

Where you once called home

A constant starless midnight

Haunts its skies

Going on and on and on

Like a Déjà Vu encore

I wish to hold your hands

And close the distance

To hold your hurt

Till it hurts to hold

Anymore

And still to hold

Until we share true warmth

Sometimes, I hear your voice

Louder than a train's horns

And when the bombings cease

And the smoke's gone

With the wind

Kyiv is still standing

These words sing

The sweetest music

Hope is a living thing:

Kyiv is still standing.

Akpan

POEM #1285: Nails

Courtesy: Facebook

Don't even think

For a fraction of a minute

He didn't feel the pain

Of the cruel Roman nails

That bore into His flesh

Like unwelcome guests

And pinned his arms and feet

To the hastily carved tree

That hugged Him

Until His final heartbeat

Don't think for a second

When He cried out to God

His despair was an act

He was only playing His part

See the cruelty of the nails

As the debt He paid

To ransom us from disgrace

And save us by His grace

For as the nails were real,

Even as the pain was real,

Even so the guarantee

Of our redemption is real.

Akpan 

Poem #1284: Elisha's Bones

In honor of Dr. Martin Luther King on the
 54th anniversary of his assassination.

Struck down
But not destroyed
He wears the crown
And still raises from the dust
Those cast to the ground
Like Elisha's bones
His words
Produce hormones
That makes a corpse
Rise again
Makes broken hearts
Beat again
Over n' over
Flowing down like a river
To bountifully water
A million seeds
That sprout into trees
Bearing fruit of justice
Righteousness and love
They bear the torch
He passed on
When he passed on
His words
Still spark a good fight
Like Elisha's bones
Giving brand new life.

Akpan