The Bishop and the Butterfly: Murder, Politics, and the End of the Jazz Age
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    Let Adversity Become Your Mentor

    By Wattree on Sat, 01/18/2014 - 6:46pm |

    Beneath the Spin * Eric L. Wattree


    Let Adversity Become Your Mentor
    .
    ATTENTION BLACK PEOPLE!!!
    .
    WHO USES THE WORD "NIGGA" AND WHY THEY USE IT IS NOT IMPORTANT.  LET US NOT ALLOW OURSELVES TO BECOME SO FIXATED ON A WORD THAT WE LOSE SIGHT OF WHAT'S REALLY IMPORTANT IN LIFE.
    .
    HERE'S WHAT'S IMPORTANT:
     
     
    There's Nothing On Earth More Formidable Than A Person Who's Been Dragged through The Pits of Hell, And Then Comes Out the Other Side A Strong, Knowledgeable, and Resolute Individual.

    *
    I NOW STAND FIRM
    .
    I now stand firm. My conviction of the power of knowledge is the platform upon which my podium rests. I stand firm, strong, and now free. Free of anger. Free of self-delusion. Free of the folly of empty vanity, and free of the pernicious bane of meaningless pride without substance.
    .
    I stand free to look upon the eyes of other men, reflecting dignity over sorrow, and accomplishment over pain; I stand with a burning passion, fueled by the very flame that forged ancestral shackles,with a deep sense of pride and a pride that flows deep.
    .
    I now stand erect. The steel that once degraded my father, that chained him in bondage to this bitter Earth, now reinforce my character, making me more, rather than less; and the blood and sweat that once drenched his brow, now rage with resolve and a sense of purpose within my burning breast.
    .
    I now stand as a new being - neither simply African, nor simply American, but a hybrid forced to transcend the sum of my parts; no longer simply African, since being torn away from the African motherland to suffer and toil in the fields of America, and more than simply American, after being forced to be more than simply American just to survive within the bowels of this prosperous land.
    .
    Thus, I stand now armed - armed with the wisdom of deprivation, the courage of my conviction, and a deep conviction of my courage; and fortified - with the confidence of a survivor, the empowerment of knowledge, and a ravishing hunger for greatness.
    .
    I now stand the product of love, struggle, and sacrifice; a witness to man's inhumanity to man, and a monument to the hopes and dreams of a million slaves.
    .
    I now stand embraced by my creator, as God now smiles upon my people.
    .
    Yes, I Now Stand Firm -
    Firm, Black, and Free.
     
    Eric L. Wattree
    Eric L. Wattree
    Http://wattree.blogspot.com
    [email protected]
    Citizens Against Reckless Middle-Class Abuse (CARMA)


    Religious bigotry: It's not that I hate everyone who doesn't look, think, and act like me - it's just that God does.

    Comments

    Great piece of writing.  I really like this. Thanks for the good read. 


    by trkingmomoe on Sun, 01/19/2014 - 12:35am

    Thank you, Trk, I appreciate your comment.


    by Wattree on Sun, 01/19/2014 - 3:20am

    That force which does not destroy me makes me stronger.

    In order to survive one must come to some conclusion about one's essence.

    We cannot as individuals just attempt to 'meld in' all the time.

    At any rate, nice poem that has me thinking today!

     


    by Richard Day on Sun, 01/19/2014 - 2:36pm

    Thank you, Richard.  With respect to "melding in," I have a philosophy that I live by religiously, and it has always kept me ahead of the game - "If the majority of people agree with it, it must be wrong."


    by Wattree on Sun, 01/19/2014 - 8:40pm