Is It Because I Am Black?
Why do men smile when I speak,
And call my speech
The whimperings of a babe
That cries but knows not what it wants?
Is it because I am black?
Why do men sneer when I arise
And stand in their councils,
And look them eye to eye,
And speak their tongue?
Is it because I am black?
poem by Joseph Seamon Cotter
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Related quotes
Cool Black Women
What if BLACK WOMEN Were COOL
Could darken skin in shades like BLACK WOMEN
Maybe enlarge lips and hips the size of BLACK WOMEN
Might even speak in a venacular like BLACK WOMEN
Mimick some of the mannerisms of BLACK WOMEN
Mate and date Black Men, the counterparts of BLACK WOMEN
Adopt and raise Black Babies, like BLACK WOMEN do
poem by Royale ROYALE
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Speak With Kindness (Or Do Not Speak At All)
speak with kindness,
or do not speak at all.
speak not of judgement,
you are not the judge.
speak not of salvation,
let your living be your scriptures.
speak not of scriptures,
let your actions be your holy book.
speak not as apostle or teacher,
speak as a human being.
speak not of god,
then god will speak through you!
speak not as a man,
for you are woman too.
speak not with hateful malice,
for love does not work that way.
speak not as a prophet or seer,
speak as compassion made flesh.
speak not of morality,
speak of connection.
speak not of authority,
the tree and the leaf have just as much.
speak not of holiness,
for all that lives be holy.
speak with kindness...
or do not speak at all!
poem by Eric Cockrell
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Speak... Or Else Be Silent!
if you must speak,
speak not of distance or seperation!
speak without claiming identity,
without shouting, 'self'!
speak without grasping,
clawing, and holding.
keep your judgements to yourself!
i dont need to know the color of your god,
or what war you say he was born during.
i am more refugee than disciple,
i will not follow!
speak not of streets of gold
where angels play harps!
let us speak of these streets...
hard and raw, struggling and fighting,
dimly lit, stinking of urine.
littered with the trash of human lives.
speak of the exploding flash we call moment,
and the kingdom of heaven
that sweats and bleeds!
speak of the cries of the children!
speak of hunger and poverty,
injustices, and the cry for equality!
speak of the god that inhabits
the bodies of the lost and oppressed,
their faces etched by human cruelty...
scarred by apathy and indifference.
speak the truth!
bark like a dog,
meow like a cat,
chirp like a sparrow,
beat rhythm with your wings!
speak living words....
or else be silent!
poem by Eric Cockrell
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Culture Diffuses By Osmosis.
Tamils settled in Kerala
Feel shy to speak Tamil
And want to hide their race
From their tongue and looks.
.
Tamil Brahmins proudly use it.
They keep it as their mother tongue.
They speak, sing and dance in Tamil,
Generation after generation.
Tamils, save Brahmins, are held as black.
In a culture, inferior dissolves in the superior.
10.11.2002
poem by Rm. Shanmugam Chettiar
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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We Speak Often
we speak often...
of revolution, yet
we almost never speak,
of the old woman left alone,
her husband dead two years...
who sits in the dark,
and sometimes eats,
and cant see to clean her house.
we speak of peace,
and send troops to liberate,
teaching seperation in our churches.
we speak of hope,
yet horde all we can,
and keep our revolvers loaded.
we speak of justice
in terms of 'i' and 'they'....
and applaud wordplay in our courtrooms...
we speak of equality,
then call each race by name,
and demand that they speak english.
we speak of god as holier than thou...
never understanding dialogue and dissolution....
we speak a lot, yet cannot listen...
what fools we are!
poem by Eric Cockrell
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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black RESPECT
Black shoes,
black suits,
black sandals
black you,
black specs,
black life,
black faces,
black casket dropped deep the dark grave,
Red ribbons,
red lights,
red flowers,
red wine.
Hearse sirens
wailing women,
Black speeches,
Blackened praises, all in all they call it the last respect
poem by Joub kahuria
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Young Poets
You speak for the lakes, the trees and the birds
You say what they'd say if they had the words.
Make PEACE and be proud, choose well every choice
Speak HOPE and speak loud, you are Nature's voice.
Speak with respect now, for jungles and streams,
Speak for all wildlife and dream giant dreams.
Speak with great courage, speak up and speak out,
Write with a whisper or write with a SHOUT!
Stand up young poets for clean air and rivers,
Free verse or lyric; your message delivers...
Truth to the future citizens of earth,
Speak of your freedom your friends and self worth.
Speak for tomorrow and though you're still young,
Speak for the Forest, your pen is her tongue.
The world waits to hear your songs still unsung
Words posses power, you can write the wrongs
Teach us and lead us with Poems and with songs.
Speak now for nature, for trees and for birds,
Defenders of Earth choose carefullly your words!
poem by ToddMichael St. Pierre
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Speechless Princess and a hitch-hiker
Hey! My strong ebony
Though you are black,
In the pitch darkness
I can see your beauty.
When you smile
It’s like a crescent moon
In this haunted sky.
Does your big headed father will allow me to take your hand?
If you are willing to live in my hermitage
Then I can forward all my credentials.
Though we speak a different tongue
Hope it’s not an obstacle for our love?
Oh! It’s very tiresome effort
And your silence is an annoy to me.
My beloved black tulip
Could you please answer me?
“Am I ugly? ”
The soil is not tasty my dear
But the tree of love grows there
And bloom fragrant flowers
Which produce sweet fruits?
poem by Nimal Dunuhinga
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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I am a man of black and white
I am a man of black and white,
my name is written on the gates of the sky.
i am a man of black and white
my origin is united, yet two apart.
I speak the language of the whites,
but lost in the language of the blacks.
i am a man of black and white,
my resemblance is same with the blacks.
I am a man of black and white,
i was brought up in the land of the whites.
i am a man of black and white,
my home is in the south-east, in the abode of my black dad.
I am a man of black and white,
i love the aspirations of life.
i am a man of black and white,
although two apart, we are united as one.
poem by Randy Micheal
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A silence
Silence may not be weakness
it may not be strictness too
it may speak in voumes
may be smeltt like perfumes
it is said and not done
battles are lost and not won
it has been only dreams
shrouded with only illusions
you may not be able to speak truth
you might have lacked the strength and prooof
this may turn hurdle in your approach
you may not have strength in your speech
When dreams are not realized?
You may may soon be marginalized
You will be feeling helplessness
It may create insecurity and bittterness
You need not grieve
You got to stand up and believe
It is not your day today
Find some alternative and suitable way
Speak out the truth in simple way
It may drag any worry miles awat
You mar realise the power of speech
It may be there within your reach
poem by Hasmukh Amathalal
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Black rose for my beautiful black women
My beautiful black women take some time to relax, close your
eyes, and let my words rub your backs until your notions come to a
climax from the sensual stimulation in your spin.
My beautiful black women I respect the fact that how you react to men indirect acts and unconditional facts.
My beautiful black women, I understand your pain and your strain, for the day you birth, us men had gained.
My beautiful black women, speak loud, speak proud for all men to understand that you are profound, and endowed.
My beautiful black women, that is dexterous and need not extras, thank God for your beautiful soul for it was told a woman’s love is greater than a man that is why we as men should be glad to hold your hands.
Written by James Brown
poem by James Brown
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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The Same Story, The same History
...and so the same story is told
the same history is made....
why always speak of descrimination
why always speak of war
why always speak of class
why always speak of injustice
why always speak of poverty
why always speak of rebellion....
why not speak of equality
why not speak of peace
why not speak of respect
why not speak of wisdom
why not speak of production
why not speak of working together...
...and so the same story is told
the same history is made.
poem by Marites C. Cayetano
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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The Scarecrow
Unblinking eyes always watching, always searching, never seeing,
Stoic man of straw guards the crops, never jumps and never hops,
Black birds of opportunity seek to doom this friendly community,
Menace of flight prey on corn, the village without will forever mourn,
Absent of straw they would all die, if not for this man who never lies,
He cannot fly, he cannot speak, without his presence the crows havoc would wreak,
His job is thankless, he is not paid, without jest he is portrayed,
He will not quit, he will not sway, the flying apparitions will lose this day,
Though he cannot speak or ever murmur, he watches as the crow gather, ready to murder,
Man of straw ready to fight, every day and every night, he fights for life,
He braces for the end and thinks of his friends,
The black cloud of death draws ever near and the scarecrow never shows fear,
All moments of carnage and chaos must come to an end, even if the Strawman must die for his friends,
For his death he is always ready, blood never pumping, for he's brain-dead already,
To be alive is not bleeding nor breathing, but living with a meaning,
The Strawman's will is strong and true, he will stand tall no matter what they do,
His friends in danger and doomed to die, more time is all he can buy,
Masks of fright they all wear, a fight to the death is never fair, masks of death everywhere,
As death from above comes ever near, all he can do is watch them with a smile and a sneer,
If time for his friends is all he can buy, then today is a good day to die.
poem by Ruik Caldorn
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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I try to speak my points of view about black America, and how I feel about black men and the role that black men should play in their lives with their children and in their lives with their women.
quote by Will Smith
Submitted by Veronica Serbanoiu
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Black Messiah
Everybody got the right to speak their mind
So dont shoot me for saying mine
Everybody talking about racial equality
cos everybodys equal in the good lords eyes
But if I told you that God was black
What would you think of that
I bet you wouldnt believe it
Theres a self made prophet living right next to me
He said the black messiahs gonna come and set the whole world free
He looked at me with his evil eye and prophesied
And he really believed it
He said a black messiah is gonna set the world on fire
And hes no liar, cos he has truly heard the word
Everybody talking about racial equality
But Im the only honky living on an all black street
They knock me down cos they brown and I white
Everybody got the right to speak their mind
So dont shoot me for saying mine
Everyobody talking about racial equality
You hear everybody talking about equal rights
But whites white, blacks black and thats that
And thats the way you should leave it
Dont want no black messiah to come and set the world on fire
A black messiah is gonna come and rule the world
Everybody got to show a little give and take
Everybody got to live with a little less hate
Everybody gotta work it out, we gotta sort it out
Everbody got the right to speak their mind
So dont shoot me for saying mine
song performed by by Kinks
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Licia Sonnets 37
I speak, fair Licia, what my torments be,
But then my speech too partial do I find;
For hardly words can with those thoughts agree,
Those thoughts that swarm in such a troubled mind.
Then do I vow my tongue shall never speak
Nor tell my grief that in my heart doth lie;
But cannon-like, I then surcharged do break,
And so my silence worse than speech I try.
Thus speech or none, they both do breed my care;
I live dismayed, and kill my heart with grief;
In all respects my case alike doth fare
To him that wants, and dare not ask relief.
Then you, fair Licia, sovereign of my heart,
Read to yourself my anguish and my smart.
poem by Giles Fletcher The Elder
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Man Of A Thousand Faces
I'm the man of a thousand faces
A little piece of me in every part I take
I hold the tape for a thousand races
A different point of view in every speech I make
Cut me a piece of my divided soul
Cry me a river, call it rock and roll
Speak to a leader with the voice of command
And when I talk to God I know hell understand
I speak to machines with the voice of humanity
I'll Speak to the wise with the voice of insanity
Im the man of a thousand faces
A little piece of me in every part I take
I hold the tape for a thousand races
A different point of view in every speech I make
Cut me a piece of my divided soul
Cry me a river, call it rock and roll
Give me an attitude and watch me make it lie
Pass me a microphone
I need to testify
Well I speak to machines with the voice of humanity
Speak to the wise with the voice of insanity
Speak to the present in the past and future tense
Speak to a slave with the voice of obedience
Im the man of a thousand ages
You see my face in the stones of the Parthenon
You hear my song in the babble of Babylon
Im the man of a thousand riches
Be my guest at the feast of Satyricon
You spend the money that my logos printed on
Well I'll speak to machines with the voice of humanity
Speak to the wise with the voice of insanity
Speak to the present in the past and future tense
Speak to a slave with the voice of obedience
I stole a fire but it burned up much too soon
I took a leap and I landed on the moon
Look at my life and it looks like CNN
You see something once yknow its gonna come around again
Well Ill speak to machines with the voice of humanity
Speak to the wise with the voice of in
song performed by by Marillion
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Queen In The Black
Excuse me please your majesty
I chance this moment nervously
To share with you a fantasy
That I have lived inside of me
And it is so pretty
And it is so fine
Its the kind youd love to last you
Until the end of time
Weve talked of love, weve talked of life
And what would make the world so nice
Weve walked the sand by lovers sea
Ive held your body close to me
And it is so pretty
How Id love to know
For if I had a chance to hold you
Id never let you go
Youre my queen in the black
With your time-stopping body
Queen in the black
With your eyes that hypnotize, girl
Queen in the black
With your voice thats sweet as candy
Queen in the black
Miss ebony, you really turn me on
Theres not a day that passes by
That I dont have you on my mind
If this aint love I have inside
Then my hearts telling me a lie
Cause it feels so special
And it feels so right
And if I could I know Id love you
For the rest of my life
Youre my queen in the black
With your time-stopping body
Queen in the black
With your eyes that hypnotize, girl
Queen in the black
With your voice thats sweet as candy
Queen in the black
With your soft and sexy lips, babe
Queen in the black
I love the way you move your body
Queen in the black
You know you are nothing less than royalty
Queen in the black
Oh, Ill place you on a throne, girl
Queen in the black
Miss ebony, you really turn me on
Queen in the black
With your time-stopping body
Queen in the black
With your eyes that hypnotize, girl
Queen in the black
With your voice thats sweet as candy
Queen in the black
With your valentine smile, girl
Queen in the black
With your soft and sexy lips, babe
Queen in the black
Love the way you move your body
Queen in the black
You know you are nothing less than royalty
Queen in the black
You know Ill place you on a throne, girl
Queen in the black
Miss ebony, you really turn me on
Queen in the black
Miss ebony, you really turn me on
Queen in the black
Miss ebony, you really turn me on
Queen in the black
With your valentine smile, girl
Queen in the black
With your soft and sexy lips, babe
Queen in the black
Love the way you move your body
Queen in the black
You know you are nothing less than royalty
Queen in the black
You know Ill place you on a throne, girl
Queen in the black
Miss ebony, you really turn me on
Queen in the black
Miss ebony, you really turn me on
Queen in the black
Queen in the black
Queen in the black
Queen in the black, queen in the black
Queen in the black, now
Queen in the black
You know what Im talking about, yeah, yeah
Queen in the black
Uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh
Queen in the black
With your time-stopping body
Queen in the black
With your eyes that hypnotize, girl
Queen in the black
Yeaow
song performed by by Stevie Wonder
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Speeeeeech!
does it make difference you speak in front of many people or alone
does it make difference you speech in historic place or in your toilet
does it make difference you are charismatic leader or unknown beggar from streetside
it makes difference you speak to clash conflict or for better world
it makes difference you speech bonded by past or to move forward
it makes difference you depend by fact or just soap service
does it make difference you read from text or speak fluently
does it make difference you speech in busy market or deserted mountain
does it make difference you write words yourself or scrap it from books and paper
it makes difference everybody exitedly listens or sleeps peacefully on their seats
it makes difference you have freedom to speak or prisoned by intimidation
it makes difference it gives effect or just a long boring speech
poem by Maria Sudibyo
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Black & Blue
(coverdale/moody)
You never call me, babe,
Until your man is gone,
I know its you
When I pick up the telephone
You ask me how I am
And if Im doing well,
When all you want from me
Is just to ring your bell
Take your time, we can do some lines,
cos its alright
We can feel fine drinking midnight wine,
cos its alright
Black and blue, black and blue,
I said come over here, baby,
And love me till Im black and blue
You got the key to love
Dressed in your innocent smile,
You know you touched me baby,
So wont you stay for a while
And take your time, we can do some lines,
cos its alright
We can feel fine drinking midnight wine,
cos its alright
Black and blue, black and blue,
I said come over here, baby,
And love me till Im black and blue
Black and blue, black and blue,
I said come over here, baby,
And love me till Im black and blue
Take your time, we can do some lines,
cos its alright
We can feel fine drinking midnight wine,
cos its alright
Black and blue, black and blue,
I said come over here, baby,
And love me till Im black and blue
Black and blue, black and blue,
I said come over here, baby,
And love me till Im black and blue
I said come over here, baby,
And love me till Im black and blue
Black and blue...
song performed by by Whitesnake
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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