Respect Poems
The Poem Of Zuhair
by İbn Abî Sûlmâ Zuhayr
'Does the blackened ruin, situated in the stony ground between Durraj and Mutathallam, which did not speak to me, when addressed, belong to the abode of Ummi Awfa?
'And is it her dwelling at the two stony meadows, seeming as though they were the renewed tattoo marks in the sinews of the wrist?
'The wild cows and the white deer are wandering about there, one herd behind the other, while their young are springing up from every lying-down place.
'I stood again near it, (the encampment of the tribe of Awfa,) after an absence of twenty years, and with some efforts, I know her abode again after thinking awhile.
'I recognized the three stones blackened by fire at the place where the kettle used to be placed at night, and the trench round the encampment, which had not burst, like the source of a pool.
......
The British
by Benjamin Zephaniah
Take some Picts, Celts and Silures
And let them settle,
Then overrun them with Roman conquerors.
Remove the Romans after approximately 400 years
Add lots of Norman French to some
Angles, Saxons, Jutes and Vikings, then stir vigorously.
Mix some hot Chileans, cool Jamaicans, Dominicans,
Trinidadians and Bajans with some Ethiopians, Chinese,
......
The Negro Mother
by Langston Hughes
Children, I come back today
To tell you a story of the long dark way
That I had to climb, that I had to know
In order that the race might live and grow.
Look at my face - dark as the night -
Yet shining like the sun with love's true light.
I am the dark girl who crossed the red sea
Carrying in my body the seed of the free.
I am the woman who worked in the field
Bringing the cotton and the corn to yield.
......
Beggar To Beggar Cried
by William Butler Yeats
'TIME to put off the world and go somewhere
And find my health again in the sea air,'
Beggar to beggar cried, being frenzy-struck,
'And make my soul before my pate is bare.-
'And get a comfortable wife and house
To rid me of the devil in my shoes,'
Beggar to beggar cried, being frenzy-struck,
'And the worse devil that is between my thighs.'
And though I'd marry with a comely lass,
She need not be too comely -- let it pass,'
......
What Value Life
by Wilmo C. Orejola
What value Life, ferment from a gooey, primordial concoction
From the kindling of stars 12 billion years ago; this genetic mutation,
This conscious oddity of Time, beating a zillion odds, O, gee!
This so-called life has become ultimately ME.
At Whose behest these births bring forth ancestral links of DNA
These fleeting trials of organic existence come to play
Arrogant, callous and privileged; oppressed, resigned and poor;
Than perceived values of class, than vested attributes, life is more.
......
Onder de vleugels van stilte 02
by Mario Odekerken
Onder de vleugels van stilte
ademt de wereld trager.
Gedachten worden lichter
wanneer woorden verdwijnen.
Jouw aanwezigheid
weegt niets
en toch vult zij
elke ruimte in mij.
......
Onder de vleugels van stilte
by Mario Odekerken
Onder de vleugels van stilte
vinden onze zielen elkaar
zonder haast,
zonder vragen.
Liefde ademt daar
waar woorden tekortschieten.
Niet als bezit,
maar als aanwezigheid
die zichzelf herkent in de ander.
......
Beneath the wings of silence
by Mario Odekerken
Beneath the wings of silence
our souls find one another
without haste,
without question.
Love breathes
where words fall short.
Not as possession,
but as presence-
recognizing itself in the other.
......
Unter den Flügeln der Stille
by Mario Odekerken
Unter den Flügeln der Stille
finden sich unsere Seelen
ohne Eile,
ohne Fragen.
Die Liebe atmet
wo Worte versagen.
Nicht als Besitz,
sondern als Gegenwart,
die sich im Anderen erkennt.
......
On suffering
by John Hughes
Your life is a candle burning but the bullshit is, everyone is smoking cigs around you
The air and vibrations are a threat to your existence, the very air you breath
Breath isn’t good enough, you need something stimulating the molecules inside you
Whatever would balance you out, the powers that be haven’t invented it yet
It puts you at odds with the world when you shout at people…love me, because the suffering, it hurts
Maybe if I could sing real well, I could sing love me love me say that you love me
Why do I need someone to love me anyways, as if it solves anything wrong with your already flawed character
Maybe I need love because judgement hurts so bad to my rough but gentle soul
Maybe earning respect is all one can ask for
-
Slava P, aka Maximus Decimus Meridius (3 poems about Respect)
October 31st, 1970 - Kyiv, Ukraine and since 1992 - New Jersey, USA -