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UNTITLED 

The air is so cold
But your company so warm
You shiver as you talk
Not wanting to go in
Hoping this night never ends

Eddie Presley Herrera (c) hillfiger@hotmail.com

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UNCHANGEABLE

standing on reality's edge overlooking a sea of unknown
waiting to jump and drown in a love so strong
but wondering what will wait for me to return
i see a beauty no one else sees or comprehends 
but knowing that it's right for me, i wait 
thinking once again how i feel and 
knowing what i want, the knot draws tighter
as the rope is pulled from both ends
tomorrow i do not know, and yesterday i forgot
today is here and seems so short 
so i jump, never to be found again.
forever, lost in her love

Silas Swaim (c) sswaim1@poloralphlauren.com


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THE REASON WHY I SAID YES

Pouring out my heart to you
At times your cup ran over and still you drank
From the mist of my soul
A break of light is what you saw
Never had I imagine love so virginal
Soft like cotton 
Strong as wool
As gentle as a newborn-child
As unpredictable as a tornado
Savage like a coyote
Measureless love
My heart beats a double beat 
One for you and one for I
Our souls have merged to one
Endless times running on the beach 
And watching the setting of the sun
When you are not near 
I feel your spirit within mine
My eyes are blind when it comes to anyone else but you
My love is forgiving, pure and authentic
No boundaries my love
For they were torn down with years and tears
A struggle once but now calm ocean waves are here
There are many reasons for my love 
But only one time in life my I have found someone with a heart/body/soul 
That fits the missing space in my breath of life
Yes I will be your wife
For life
Will love you
Until time has no more time

Taheba "Sunshine" Byrd (c) SunshineByrd@hotmail.com

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           AWARE

Realizing how stupid the smart can be
Seeing what people think and see
Hidden in our own shell
Too much we will not tell
Finding the truth is too scary.

Society tells us who we are
And try to push us too far
We must break out
And never doubt
That we must fight someone else's war.

Questions are asked which are hard to answer
Masking the truth is always much easier
Pain and frustration
Blind desperation
But realizing what is real is ultimately better.

Chuck Reimer (c) genex@cybrzn.com

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			SOCIETY

  I am a disease...I am a civilized atheist...a personified paganist...a 
deified racist

  I am society...

  I am a maniacal machine whose corporate ministries boast of
mysteries...a deranged mixture of politics and chemistry
  I am society...

  I am the child that kills in cold blood without a hint of
moral justice
  I am the mindless mix of bullshit that monarchs and dictators
have lusted
  I am society...

  I am the rapist that blames the victim for my sickness
  I am the murderer that holds heaven responsible for my own
wickedness
  I am the freak that is abnormally sadistic and pierces my
heart six times
  To have pleasure blended with pain in true masochist
mischief
  I am society...

  I am addiction in its purest state...I am the real face behind
hate...hell earthly placed
  I am society...

  I am teenage mothers and dead-beat fathers...I am a mythical
martyr kneeling before a hallowed altar
  I am society...

  I am deceit...I am greed...I am man aspiring...I am society.

Roderick Harmon (c) mrarsen@hotmail.com

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"THE MENTAL REVELATION PT. I"

The Blood of My Former Self

I take a long look at my former self
And see my people before me.
Big and strong, petite and beautiful
Skin as smooth as molasses
With an inner glow of the strength
They possess to have endured the endless pain
And struggle known as the Middle Passage.

I take a long look at my former self
And see the hurt etched in their eyes
The strain on their faces
And the temporary broken down spirit
Of my people as they enter the
Door of No Return.

I take a long look at my former self
And See the tears fall from their deep eyes.
But not just translucent tears but tears
Of Blood..
Deep Red, thick, and the aroma of dead bodies
Seeping into my pores .flowing through my nostrils..
The stench of the horror is unmistakable 

And in turn, as I take a long look into
My former self
I see my reflection, broken down
And overcome with grief thick tears falling down
My brown face as I reminisce with the mind
Of my ancestors the pain of whips going across
African flesh
Large metal shackles across my arms and feet
On my neck, connecting me to my brother or sister
Dead or Alive.
My body trembles with rage and fear for my people.
The Blood of my former self boils
With remembrance and focuses on the empty
Feeling of lost love ones, men women and children.
"We are human beings dammit!"  My soul shouts,
But only my ancestors hear me.

Looking at my former self, my mind goes back
To the voices of my people reverberating against my head .
Wailing and sobbing uncontrollably.  Praying to the Almighty to save them.
My head is about to burst as I feel their anguish.  My soul
Leaps into the body of a woman who would rather
Feed herself and her child to the sharks than become
A servant for the devil.
I hyperventilate as she jumps into the black ocean 
Filled with black bodies.
The Blood of my former self washes over me.
Like water I consume it, thirsty for a part of my people.
As I drink the souls, the memory of my people
I gain strength, the strength of a million Africans.
A peace comes over my body.
The revelation of Pride in my soul,
In my eyes, voice, and on my face
Was an awakening.  "I AM FREE...WE ARE FREE."
I kept repeating like a mantra.
The tears falling from my eyes were tears of Joy.
Joy that we made it through the storm,
And like A Phoenix we rose from a suffocating fire.
A sigh escapes from my lips as I touch my heart,
Knowing my people who suffered
Do not suffer alone.
A realization that we are not totally free
Made the fight in my soul more fierce.
And looking at my former self,
Wearing the blood of my people like a badge
I know that the battle to set those spirits free
Remains in me.
Eternally...even after the battle is won.

LaShunda "Nzhinga" Colvin (c) queen_nzhinga@hotmail.com