50 Words

trash & broken glass around my church

I saw a deacon picking up trash around our church’s parking lot

So I grabbed a broom to sweep up empty bags/vials of crack rock

I picked up a dozen mini bottles of alcohol until the grounds were immaculate 

A rebellious seed

Christians praise a trinity but are monotheistic

Media is fiction we worship because its unrealistic 

America was stolen and became rich off the back of slaves

Those thieves found heaven on earth then buried their sins in gilded graves

White folks turned black music, religion, and culture into a commodity 

When I strive to reclaim our culture, I’m ostracized as an oddity 

Black American with no homeland infused with our captors genes against our will

Know that our playing field is just another steep hill

I’m more African than American, so I’m going to embrace it!

Each time white America lies, I’m going to erase it!

Born with a mark that we can’t hide and a soul that we can’t free

The diaspora was a violent storm, but I’m a rebellious seed ripped away from the mother tree

Evolution is a myth

How did time convert Morganucodons into humans?

Over 200 million years ago, just walking around dinosaur ruins

A rat like shrew

Somehow evolved and grew

Into whales, platypuses, elephants, and apes

And after millions of B.C. dates

Into 8 billion babies, ladies, and guys

While roaches, sharks, crocodiles, and dragon flies

All stayed the same, surprise!

What if evolution is just another ‘accepted’ myth

Bones in rocks, educated guesses, I’ll ask you this…

How can we explain or discover something that could never exist?

What if we’re not really here?

You’re not really even reading this poem, can you sense the fear?

Of the unknown, nothing really exists for long in space and time

What if we are just random th...

The best part of me is you!

Thank you, for all you do

I haven’t said that nearly enough though, true?

For years, as our time together flew

Daily, you patiently lend me a clue 

To help me win, even when I never knew

That you truly deserve the most respect due

Even if you may sometimes feel like a shrew

Then, your guidance annoyed and made me blue

Now, understand why you do what you do

I just realized as our love grew

That the best part of me, is you!

Stuck in the Zipper

Summer camp 1983, we just left the pool

Rushing to catch the bus, I grabbed my shorts off of a stool

I pulled the zipper of my cut off shorts much to quick

And managed to fasten up all my kibble and bits!

Unable to release both my family jewels and thing-a-ling 

Every stiff legged step caused an excruciating sting!

As the last kid on the bus, my eyes watered, but I held my head up high

For some relief, I pressed my towel firmly against my thigh

I quickly plopped down and somehow managed to free one coin purse

I was only seven, but the pain forced me to yell out a deep curse

When I realized that I sat next to a beautiful girl, I almost forgot all about my pain

She said hi, then asked me my name

As I turned to face her, tears streamed down my face, so she asked me what was wrong

Embarrassed, but desperate, I moved my towel and showed her my dong!

She laughed, and sai...

Land of the fee, home of the saved

White folks own all robots, so they all were saved

But that same technology forced people of color to all become enslaved!

Our oppressors are comfortable, huddled in their bunkers in stasis

While 3/4ths of the world serves as generators just to ‘charge up the racists!’

Transportation was outlawed, so all our movements and steps earn us credits

In exchange for our electricity, they extract various fees, taxes, and debits

100 push-ups for a liter of water, or walk two miles for a loaf of bread

But if you become inactive, you might end up dead!

The robot patrols ride on horseback with shotguns and whips

So white folks can bet on fights, marathons and galleys racing ships!

Too tired to assemble and too hopeless to revolt 

The disenfranchised became apathetic and soon lost all hope

Entertaining and serving our new masters who were just as cruel as th...

Before Noah, there was Utnapishtim (You - Nap - A - Sha -Tome)

In the Epic of Gilgamesh, 1000 years before the Hebrew Bible was written

A Mesopotamian God named Ea told Utnapishtim (You - Nap -A - Sha -Tome) to listen

And work with carpenters and reed workers, build a boat 120 cubits, that was Ea's impossible task

Five days passed

And Utnapishtim and his team did exactly what Ea asked!

Afterwards, Utnapishtim loaded the boat with gold, his family and all the species of animals on earth and sealed it tight

His storm was only 7 days long, but also flooded the earth and killed humanity and all life on earth with its might

After the boat landed on top of Mount Nimush (in Iraq), Utnapishtim sent a dove, then a swallow, which both returned

Finally, he sent a raven, which never came back, and Utnapishtim was no longer concerned

It meant that the waters had receded

Proof of dry land was needed

So Utnapishtim left the boat, released the animals, and to the Go...

The second time somebody called me a Ni66er

1988, I just finished playing Oregon Trail

Leaving the Computer Lab, a kid yelled, ‘What the hell?’

It was Danny, a white kid in my class

I tried to exit, but he wouldn’t let me pass

‘You’re pretty smart for a Ni66er’! He spat with a smile

Confused, I replied, I don’t understand, what you mean, how?

Danny continued, ‘Think you better than me, ‘cause you won the Indiana State Science Fair, but you’re just a ‘n…’

‘I heard you the first time,’ I interrupted, a left with a disappointed sigh, ‘uh!’

I slowly walked down the hall to band

I felt so angry and nauseous, carrying a French horn in my hand

I regret never telling my teacher, parents, or brothers what Danny said 

To this day his words still live rent free in my head

Decades later, I still don’t know what else a 12 year old me should have done or said!

https://edwards-moore-family.net/t...

Help the unenlightened become wise

My first book failed

To capture enough hearts and minds

So what can I do different next time?

What do I say, how should I write?

Should it be fiction or something specific from my life?

Why should I bother, I might not even do it right

I’m not afraid to fail again, or spend time and money

Writing, editing, publishing, and promoting like a dummy

I’m far from famous or rich

So when I apply for book awards, nobody cares to hear my pitch

Too old to be 'cool', and too young to be wise

American media demands confusion, illusions, and lies!

Instead of truth and history lessons

Entertainment over facts

Citizens once had open ears, now they’re plugged with wax!

Streaming endless content from drama, crime, and sports

Most can’t distinguish entertainment from current news reports

When fiction and reality have no boarders histor...

Ode to Our Neighborhood ‘Candy Lady’

Mrs. Lawrence was our neighborhood Candy Lady

Her business was just four houses north of ours

Allowance, report card, and birthday money didn’t last long in our jars!

We’d spend most of our pay and life savings

On penny candy and afternoon cravings

I had the neighborhood Paper Route

Hundreds of dollars and dozens of dental fillings without any doubt 

Mrs. Lawrence was the reason

Summer, Spring, Fall, and Winter and every season

Everybody went to Mrs. Lawrence’s home

She even sold Ice Cream by the cone!

With a discount and word of mouth on my Paper Route, I'd advertise the going rate

Of her 'Limited Time Only' Elephant Ears for just $1 per plate!

Fried dough just like the kind they sold at the Fair

A dozen kids, each patiently sitting on the stairs if Mrs. Lawrence’s porch