When We Lose An Elephant (One 0f Ours)...
*(Written in memorial to Trayvon Martin and Jordan Davis in 2014 and inspired by the circumstances of their tragic murders. Now relevant to George Floyd- RIP, Revolutionary In Paradise)
...We trumpet a sad, angry and drastic grievance song for hours. We cry towards the sky in desperate tones, after gathering at dawn, with insane fluids leaking from our faces... We are crushed, but not defeated.
When we mourn a young bull son...
The family chiefs assemble before the wailing women to ascertain blame. His sullen bull cousins do the same.
In vitriolic moments, all of us weep- releasing anguish; shameless tears that douse the council's fires. For brethren, daughters/sistren and kin alike, we cause pachydermal tremors, terribly... terrifying...
crying like Afrikin elephants- stomping, stampeding,
(with the core of our souls bleeding). Until we receive justice,
find us Actively trampling the village at fault.
By J. Leron Cotten-Cohia, ©2014/2O2O
#Justice4Manuel (Ellis, Tac) ; #Justice4Dion (Johnson, Phx); RIP Shay-T (Taylor, Sea), RIP Kenneth Boyd aka Big Ken Loc, RIP Lil Smurf (AtTac-Town)... #george floyd; #nojusticenopeace; #blackpower; #africanamerican; #protestpoetry; #protestpolicebrutality; #blacklivesmatter; #justicefortrayvon/#jordandavis
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A Winning Mom
One of my favorite memories of my mother is watching her win the Tri-Cities Badminton Mixed Doubles Championship held at a local high school gymnasium in Richland, Tri-Cities, Washington back in the late 1980s. The tourney placed her and a partner in about 6 matches total before they eventually defeated all their opponents by demonstrating excellent athleticism, skill, and focus to bring home winners' trophies🏆🏆. As a single, young widowed mother of two boys after my father passed away in 1985 when I was seven years old, she was barely in her 30s. We looked to "Mom" to take us to the local school playground where we would shoot hoops, playing favorited and introductory skill games like "21", H-O-R-S-E- and P-I-G to improve our game and shooting. Our mother would exhibit patience when we were whiney and accusing each other of cheating, encouragement and confidence if unsure about our abilities and would dole out discipline for bad grades or if we clowned around or got in trouble at school, operating in both roles for us as Dad (masculine energy/lawgiver) and Mom (feminine energy/nurturer) for a while. She has always been there for me and my siblings over the years- both Before and After being widowed young. I remember her winning the Badminton tournament as a shining moment that signified her perseverance despite the tragedy our family had recently endured that took my father away by a trucking accident. My mother was and is a winner, she never neglected us as kids, did not get caught up in a toxic partying lifestyle (not even in the 1980s - 90s); showing us 4- including my sister by marriage, an example of faith, dedication, community service, and responsibility. She was my very first Sunday School teacher at church while always remaining a career woman, gainfully employed to this day. She and my stepfather are known locally for giving back by being people of prayer and volunteering their time, food, and resources at homeless shelters in their town.
By Jah-Ví da Poet 3 years ago in Families
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