Category: Poems/Quotes

Snow Days

3/1/2014

"Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening"

Whose woods these are I think I know.
His house is in the village, though;
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow.

My little horse must think it queer
To stop without a farmhouse near
Between the woods and frozen lake
The darkest evening of the year.

He gives his harness bells a shake
To ask if there is some mistake.
The only other sound's the sweep
Of easy wind and downy flake.

The woods are lovely, dark and deep.
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.

Robert Frost

GIF via The Gifts of Life

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Seeing Red

10/3/2013

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ED... It is the color of life, that which courses through our veins. It is vividly present as we are being ushered into this world and, too often, when death escorts us out. It is the universal color of war; red blood-stained battlefields unable to distinguish (and not really caring) who was right and who was wrong.

And while black & white may serve as a wardrobe’s foundation, it is the color red that most awakens it. When worn in a gentleman’s tie, the hue speaks to power and vitality; in a gentlewoman’s garment, sensuality and vibrancy. Its rich lushness intimates a certain sexual wantonness when its ruby tone is seductively brushed across a sweetheart’s lips or furtively peeks from beneath a lover's blouse. It is the color redolent of a most perfect rose given to a loved-one... both in life and in death. It is the color of Passion. It is the color of LOVE.

Even though an infinitesimal mark of black shall signal the conclusion of my life's story, I can only hope that the cadence of my journey will show as having been lived (and fought) in red. With Passion... and, most importantly, with LOVE.

Jay Z by Mario Testino for Vanity Fair.

Anne Geddes

Marvin Gaye

N.D. Harrington

L.L. Cool J on The Red Carpet

Dita Von Teese

Victor Cruz via GQ

David Beckham

Chaka Khan... An All-Time Favorite

Mick & The Boys

The Beatles

Unless noted, all images via Google, Pinterest or The Gifts of Life (Tumblr)

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The March On Washington's 50th Anniversary: 1963 ~ 2013

8/28/2013

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Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

"As it roars to a stop and the steel doors open, I step up onto the mostly empty bus and deposit my hard-earned money into the slot. From where I’m standing, I see can an empty seat next to my friend, Johnny Ray. I motioned for him to save it for me. But first, I must rush back onto the hot pavement, walk to the rear of the bus and re-enter through the back before taking my seat in, what I’m told is an exclusive area, reserved just for me: the Colored Section. Am I supposed to be thankful that my family, friends and neighbors are allowed to pay full fare for discounted services and little to no respect? Or thankful to have our own "section" in which to commiserate (often while having to stand) on our way downtown? I can’t speak for my fellow riders, but this "privilege" never made me feel special?"

Even though this incident did not happen to me, and I was not alive in 1963, I have heard similar stories from family members about the state of the country, and more specifically the state/treatment of Black America (particularly in Mississippi, where they lived), doing those tumultuous times. The idea of having to also use separate, dirty water fountains and filthy, poorly maintained public restrooms, is mind boggling to me. Being made to sit in balconies, with worn, broken and uncomfortable seating, of movie theatre for which I would have paid the same entrance fees as those sitting on the main floor in cushioned seats. How could Black America not dream for better working and living conditions? Why would Black America not be expected to want/require better working and living conditions?

With water hoses being turned on teenagers and little children because they dared to stand up, merely to be counted and heard, and with schools not only segregated, but horribly unequal, and people being senselessly murdered, August 28, 1963’s “The March on Washington For Jobs & Freedom” was long overdue on many fronts. From the coast of Mississippi and the bayous of Louisiana, they came. From Alabama and Georgia, yet two more states sweltering in overt racism, they came. They hitchhiked, carpooled, walked and rode in the back and front of buses on their way to Washington, D.C. They were joined by celebrities from around the world: Josephine Baker, Harry Belafonte, Diahann Carroll, Marlon Brando, Jackie Robinson, James Baldwin, Bob Dylan, Sidney Poitier, et al. Braving unbearably hot and humid weather, many still trudged forward and came; totalling over 250,000 marchers – with nearly 25% of them White.

Organized in just two months by Bayard Rustin & A. Philip Randolph, America watched as the marchers gathered at the feet of The Great Emancipator, Abraham Lincoln, assembling themselves for a day that many could never have previously anticipated. They watched and listened as Marion Anderson sang the National Anthem, with Ossie Davis and Ruby Dee serving as the event’s Master & Mistress of Ceremonies. They heard remarks from the likes of a then 23 year old John Lewis (the current Georgia Congressman) of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), Roy Wilkins of the NAACP, and A. Philip Randolph of The Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters. And then came the turn of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC). He spoke of equality, Civil Rights and de-segregation. Most importantly, he spoke of the dream that he fostered for his children... America’s children, the Nation. For 16 minutes (well beyond his allotted four minutes) he engendered a fervor that rippled over the National Mall. He asked the crowd to “let freedom ring” for not only the oppressed, but the oppressors. Because, as the saying goes, "To keep someone down, you must stay down yourself."

With the Black unemployment rate double that of white America in 1963 and, ironically, still more than double today, I question how much have times really changed. With the actions of the KKK still being carried out by rogue neighborhood watchmen, who are allowed to cower behind antiquated laws after unjustly stalking and killing our black young men, how much of the dream has been realized? I wonder. Still, I too, have a dream...

W.E.B. Du Bois, co-founder of the NAACP, died the day before in Ghana at 95.
Advertisers sent out different brochures about the march to Blacks and Whites.
Over 5,000 Law Enforcement was on hand for the march and not one arrest was reported; a truly peaceful assembly.
Much of the "I Have A Dream" speech had been given a few months prior in Detroit.
The Red Cross treated more than 1,300 marchers for dehydration and heat exhaustion.

Image by Julie Shaver

Mahalia Jackson

Harry Belafonte

Joan Baez and Bob Dylan

All images via Google - Videos via Youtube

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., August 28, 1963

President Barack Obama, August 28, 2013

President Barack Obama, Former President Jimmy Carter, First Lady Michelle Obama and Former President Bill Clinton

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Merry Christmas

12/25/2012

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CHRISTMAS CAROL
Ring out, ye bells!
All Nature swells
With gladness of the wondrous story.
The world was lorn,
But Christ is born
To change our sadness into glory.

Sing, earthlings, sing!
To-night a King
Hath come from heaven's high throne to bless us.
The outstretched hand
O'er all the land
Is raised in pity to caress us.

Come at His call; Be joyful all,
Away with mourning and with sadness!
The heavenly choir
With holy fire
Their voices raise in songs of gladness...

Paul Laurence Dunbar

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Thanksgiving

11/22/2012

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Thanksgiving Feasting

When the Halloween pumpkins are gone,
And the leaves have all fallen to the ground,
When the air has turned windy and cold,
Then Thanksgiving will soon be around.

Thoughts of loved ones all feasting together,
Pleasant pictures from past times appear
To dwell in each heart and each mind-
Then Thanksgiving is finally here!

The kitchen has scrumptious aromas,
The dining room looks oh, so fine,
Decorations with pilgrims and turkeys,
And now we are ready to dine!

First the napkins are placed on our laps;
Now the prayer for the meal to be blessed,
Then we stuff the good food in our tummies,
And we hope for it all to digest!

J. Fuchs

Images via Pinterest

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Snow Days

Seeing Red

The March On Washington's 50th Anniversary: 1963 ~ 2013

Merry Christmas

Thanksgiving

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