CRY OF A BLACK MAN by Nwobi Chidubem Valentine

Day 57
#365daypoetryforadvocacyandsocialchangechallenge

They wrote me down in history
With much bitter and twisted lies
I was a joke in their story
Out of rage my heart cried

Is it because I have oil wells
Pumping in my living room?
Or my story of mineral boom
Which disturbs you like dangling bells?
Or for gold mines
Digging in my yard?

Does my sadness upset you?
Was it my bravery that threatened
you?
You envy my spirit for hard work
And treated me like pork

You love to see me broken
Bowed head and honoured eyes
My helpless self and spirit frozen
As I sold my tradition
With the uncertainty of tides

I am dark, so are my dreams
I am black in colour and spirit realm
Being black is unfortunate
Those were your words,
Which made me hate my fate

Just like the sun
I will rise
Just like hopes springing high
I will rise
I will rewrite my story
I will revenge with fury

I am black, I am strong
I am brave, I am great
I will still rise
And I will conquer

Nwobi Chidubem Valentine is a proudly black poet, who follows directly in the foot prints of Maya Angelou of blessed memory, with some of her lines sprinkled as beginning lines in the poem.

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1, Stop Counting people's blessings ~ It is interesting to admire your friend's success, but don't try to compare and contrast, you're different persons and your paths have been mapped out. When the temptation to compare especially on bad days fingers my eyelids, I pull out my gratitude journal and write out five things I'm grateful for. It could be as little as being able to keep to time or even for being mentioned in a good will comment by a friend. Being grateful opens us up for more. 2, Try Leadership and Politics ~ I think there are two different things, one is seen as good and the other is seen as bad. The mention of the word "politics" get us grabbing our bags, and the mention of "leadership" gets us spreading our clothes in the open. My involvement in both has impacted my life and my dealing with others. I see both as siamese twins. Politics makes good leadership and Leadership makes good politics. You should try it! ...

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Day87 #365daypoetrychallengeforadvocacyandsocialchange Our cloths have torn Our hairs grown bushy Bones emaciated and legs swollen Muscles displaced And our vision discouraged... The path behind us looks abandoned by haggard legs, Bushy as if untrodden See, our babies have died Our kids starved Our boys imprisoned Our girls raped Husbands and wives betrayed And the aged disappointed... Yet the eyes of our polity bulges like the blind statues of Nok Culture We used to have hopes, But they are now tired in the arms of abortion The promises of independence have become stillborn; Mutilated with the bamboo of corruption. Even the wishes that once painted our eyelids Are beginning to wear away Yet the senses of our constitution have breathed only heat on the sore skins of our destinies The song of the national flag has become the loudest noise sung by toothless leaders; A pirate declaration to our unity in diversity Our capital cities are plinths...

A VANGUARD SPEAKs by Oche Celestine Onjewu

Day72 #365daypoetryforadvocacyandsocialchangechallenge Let silent lips speak the loudest Of what the birds need sing, Roar it to the mountains What good news we bring Let the weak raise feeble limbs And every wet eyes dry, You no longer have to bury your dreams, Or behind the male do hide For our dream were shattered, Because it was a girl’s Maybe we are born and bred, To piper low and live in fear Just like a bird we were given wings And told not to fly, We are to wait for a messiah On whose feet we must lie Tell it to the girls in the east, And to the girls in the west, It’s time get on your feet, And live your dreams to your best Your daughters no longer should shrink, To make themselves smaller, Girls too can reach that zenith, For success has no gender . Oche Celestine Onjewu is a Physicist, Poet and a Writer.

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