Will V-Day Be Me-Day Too?
Over There,
World War II.
Dear Fellow Americans,
I write this letter
Hoping times will be better
When this war
Is through.
I'm a Tan-skinned Yank
Driving a tank.
I ask, WILL V-DAY
BE ME-DAY, TOO?
I wear a U. S. uniform.
I've done the enemy much harm,
I've driven back
The Germans and the Japs,
From Burma to the Rhine.
On every battle line,
I've dropped defeat
Into the Fascists' laps.
I am a Negro American
Out to defend my land
Army, Navy, Air Corps--
I am there.
I take munitions through,
I fight--or stevedore, too.
I face death the same as you do
Everywhere.
I've seen my buddy lying
Where he fell.
I've watched him dying
I promised him that I would try
To make our land a land
Where his son could be a man--
And there'd be no Jim Crow birds
Left in our sky.
So this is what I want to know:
When we see Victory's glow,
Will you still let old Jim Crow
Hold me back?
When all those foreign folks who've waited--
Italians, Chinese, Danes--are liberated.
Will I still be ill-fated
Because I'm black?
Here in my own, my native land,
Will the Jim Crow laws still stand?
Will Dixie lynch me still
When I return?
Or will you comrades in arms
From the factories and the farms,
Have learned what this war
Was fought for us to learn?
When I take off my uniform,
Will I be safe from harm--
Or will you do me
As the Germans did the Jews?
When I've helped this world to save,
Shall I still be color's slave?
Or will Victory change
Your antiquated views?
You can't say I didn't fight
To smash the Fascists' might.
You can't say I wasn't with you
in each battle.
As a soldier, and a friend.
When this war comes to an end,
Will you herd me in a Jim Crow car
Like cattle?
Or will you stand up like a man
At home and take your stand
For Democracy?
That's all I ask of you.
When we lay the guns away
To celebrate
Our Victory Day
WILL V-DAY BE ME-DAY, TOO?
That's what I want to know.
Sincerely,
GI Joe.
poem by Langston Hughes
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Related quotes
Dixie's Land
1 I wish I was in de land ob cotton,
2 Old times dar am not forgotten;
3 Look away! Look away! Look away! Dixie Land!
4 In Dixie Land whar I was born in,
5 Early on one frosty mornin,
6 Look away! Look away! Look away! Dixie Land!
7 Den I wish I was in Dixie! Hooray! Hooray!
8 In Dixie's Land we'll take our stand, to lib an' die in Dixie.
9 Away! away! away down South in Dixie.
10 Away! away! away down south in Dixie.
11 Ole missus marry 'Will-de-weaber';
12 Willum was a gay deceaber;
13 Look away, look away, look away, Dixie land!
14 But when he put his arm around her,
15 He smiled as fierce as a forty-pounder;
16 Look away, look away, look away, Dixie land!
17 Den I wish I was in Dixie! Hooray! Hooray!
18 In Dixie's Land we'll take our stand, to lib an' die in Dixie.
19 Away! away! away down South in Dixie.
20 Away! away! away down south in Dixie.
21 His face was sharp as a butcher's cleaber;
22 But dat did not seem to greab her;
23 Look away, look away, look away, Dixie land!
24 Ole missus acted de foolish part,
25 And died for a man dat broke her heart;
26 Look away, look away, look away, Dixie land!
27 Den I wish I was in Dixie! Hooray! Hooray!
28 In Dixie's Land we'll take our stand, to lib an' die in Dixie.
29 Away! away! away down South in Dixie.
30 Away! away! away down south in Dixie.
31 Now here's health to de next ole missus,
32 An' all the gals dat want to kiss us;
33 Look away, look away, look away, Dixie land!
34 But if you want to drive 'way sorrow,
35 Come and hear dis song tomorrow;
36 Look away, look away, look away, Dixie land!
37 Den I wish I was in Dixie! Hooray! Hooray!
38 In Dixie's Land we'll take our stand, to lib an' die in Dixie.
39 Away! away! away down South in Dixie.
40 Away! away! away down south in Dixie.
41 Dar's buckwheat cakes an' Injin batter,
42 Makes you fat or a little fatter;
43 Look away, look away, look away, Dixie land!
44 Den hoe it down an' scratch your grabble,
45 To Dixie's land I'm bound to trabble;
46 Look away, look away, look away, Dixie land!
47 Den I wish I was in Dixie! Hooray! Hooray!
48 In Dixie's Land we'll take our stand, to lib an' die in Dixie.
49 Away! away! away down South in Dixie.
50 Away! away! away down south in Dixie.
poem by Daniel Decatur Emmett
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Dixie Flyer
I was born right here, november 43
My dad was a captain in the army
Fighting the germans in sicily.
My poor little momma
Didnt know a soul in l.a.
So we went down to the union station and made our getaway.
Got on the dixie flyer bound for new orleans
Across the state of texas to the land of dreams.
On the dixie flyer bound for new orleans
Back to her friends and her family in the land of dreams.
Her own mother came to meet us at the station,
Her dress as black as a crow in a coal mine
She cried when her little girl got off the train.
Her brothers and her sisters drove down from jackson, mississippi
In a great green hudson driven by a gentile they knew.
Drinkin rye whiskey from a flask in the back seat
Tryin to do like the gentiles do
Christ, they wanted to be gentiles, too.
Who wouldnt down there, wouldnt you?
An american christian, God damn!
On the dixie flyer bound for new orleans
Back to her friends and her family in the land of dreams
On the dixie flyer bound for new orleans
Across the state of texas to the land of dreams
Across the state of texas to the land of dreams.
song performed by by Randy Newman
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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The Confrontation
The angry sparrow, narrow and light
fiercely pursued the thieving crow
slender beak stabbing
smooth black feathers,
rising and diving,
rolling and turning,
a vicious top-gun
dog-fight.
Then the crow, tired of torment,
set heavily down on the high lamp post
as the small bird circled, crying invective,
taunting the crow to rise again and fight!
but the old crow, patient and wise
settled comfortably for this shrill siege
and calmly waited for the air-show to end.
Finally, exhausted,
the sparrow gave up,
but claiming victory,
like Odysseus
nearly home
at last,
became Homer,
and composed his own
epic poem
of the fierce
midnight raven,
homewrecker
wrought low,
driven down
into death’s
bitter dust,
which, of course, he sang
in heroic,
avian meter
to his faithful,
Penelope.
poem by Steven Federle
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Soldier
The soldier, he has many battle scars.
But there's only a few, others can see.
The wounds, they did not kill him,
They made him who he was called to be.
Although some of his battles were easy,
Through each of his battles he died.
The pieces, which were his true enemy.
Were the pieces that did not survive.
When the soldier, he goes into battle,
He must know who his enemies are.
They are the ones that would harm another,
And make the soldier, seem like he, was the star.
It is only once you discover the enemy,
The march to victory, then can begin.
For the war that the soldier is fighting.
Is the battle he fights from within.
In each of us there is a soldier.
And each day, we fight the good fight.
For the ones who walk into victory,
Are the ones who find their true light.
poem by Ryan Lee Morris
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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The Crow and The Butterfly
Ever wonder why the Crow chases the Butterfly?
Have you ever heard the Crow let out it's cry?
I think I found out why...
It's quite the interesting story, I had to pry..
The Butterfly's beauty, the Crow's will never match.
The Crow's life is nothing compared the the Butterfly's since it's first hatch.
If you are good enough to get a Butterfly, that is quite a catch.
Get a Crow somehow and it gets thrown right back out to the patch.
The Crow has had it so much easier than the Butterfly.
Straight jealousy from the Crow because they have to share the sky.
The Butterfly's flight is reason to stare, the Crow's just reason to cry.
Everyone stops to get a glance of a Buttflies, a few Crows and people pass by.
So if you ever hear a Crow cry,
Or see a Butterfly being chased by a Crow,
Just think how bad that Crow wants to be a Butterfly.....
poem by Joe Gosart
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Blue Mesa
Blue Mesa
Land of the Sioux and Crow
Blue Mesa
No matter where I go
You will always be
Home, sweet, home to me
Blue Mesa.
Moonlight shines as
Purple shadows fall
Silence broken by the lonesome
Cototes call on:
Blue Mesa
Land of the Sioux and Crow
Blue Mesa
No matter where I go
You will always be
Home, sweet, home to me
Blue Mesa.
Herds of buffalo
Graze peacefully
I can almost hear
Those black hills callin' me to:
Blue Mesa
Land of the Sioux and Crow
Blue Mesa
No matter where I go
You will always be
Home, sweet, home to me
Blue Mesa.
Ridin' high above the prairie floor
With every passin' day
I swear I love you more:
Blue Mesa
Land of the Sioux and Crow
Blue Mesa
No matter where I go
You will always be
Home, sweet, home to me
Blue Mesa.
Blue Mesa
Land of the Sioux and Crow
Blue Mesa
No matter where I go
You will always be
Home, sweet, home to me
Blue Mesa.
You will always be
Home, sweet, home to me
Blue Mesa...
song performed by by Randy Travis
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Mr. Crow And Sir Norman
Ventrilloquist was he, little boy sat on his knee
The people knew that the show was but the best one in the land
Until the night before the act
The dummy's clothes had all been packed away - he'd gone
And he'd left poor mr. crow right in the lurch
You know he's gone far away
I hear his voice go laughing
What of all the years we shared?
Hello mr. crow has your little boy left home - did he run away
Well i hope he'll soon be back to do the show
I'm sorry you must feel quite sad when your dummy runs away without a word
That is all old mr. crow had heard
You know he's gone far away
I hear his voice go laughing
What of all the years we shared?
Now come on mr. crow my dear
We'd better have this gottle o' geer
Then one fateful night into the dressing room so bright
Walked our friend tabledoll
Mr. crow cried tears of joy all in his tea
The bad doll said kindly address me as sir norman little man i am a star
And if you weren't so old maybe i'd let you be my doll
You know i've been far away
I've heard the people laugh
Now i'm a great big star
song performed by by Electric Light Orchestra
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Old Jim Crow
Ron vander groef, jackie alper, nina simone
Old jim crow
Where you been baby
Down mississippi and back again
Old jim crow dont you know
Its all over now
Old jim crow
Whats wrong with you
It aint your name
Its the things you do
Old jim crow dont you know
Its all over now
Old jim crow
Youve been around too long
Gotta work the devil
til your dead and gone
Old jim crow
Yes, dont you know
Its all over now
Its all over now
Old jim crow
You know its true
When you hurt my brother
You hurt me too
Old jim crow dont you know
Its all over now
Old jim crow
I thought I had you beat
Now I see you walkin
And talkin up and down my street
Old jim crow dont you know
Its all over now
Old jim crow
Youve been around too long
Gotta work the devil
til your dead and gone
Old jim crow dont you know
Its all over
All over
Oh lord, its all over
All over
Its all over
Its all over
Its all over now.
song performed by by Nina Simone
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Battle
It is time to fight.
For the battle has go on too long.
Don't worry I am ready.
For I will have my weapons with me.
No, not a gun or a bow and arrow to kill my enemy,
But with my heart and will to get better.
For I know this battle won't be an easy victory because
The journey to get to this point has been a hard one.
But if everything else fails I will still have an army.
For my friends and loved ones are battling with me.
Until I win back my land of happiness.
poem by Christina J. Williams
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Warriors Of Faith
They search the desert plains
In the land of no return
To seek out the danger, time to burn
They are the rightous ones
Theyve come to claim this land
Like warriors under command
They fight for gold and glory
Proclaim the dead man's land
Into the dungeons they must go
To find the answers, left untold
Under the burning sun
In danger, eye to eye
They all now that someone must die
Into the well theyre falling
Past immortality
Led by temptation and devotion
Rendered deathless by the touch of the sword
Onwards victory, let us hear your battle cry
The enemies, will renounce or die
Hail the warriors of faith
Together they march through the fire
Forever theyre lost in this world
Onwards victory, let us hear your battle cry
The enemies, will renounce or die
Eternally, they will fall under the sign
Of victory, fighting all for one
Hail the the warriors of faith
song performed by by Hammerfall
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Australia With Any
The Nature and rugged beauty of this Southern Land
Is a thing one like me could never understand
A migrant from by old brown hills far away
Of Nature we learn something new every day.
How could one from the Land of the black and gray crow
Anything of the Nature of this Southern Country hope to know
The home of megapodes and marsupials and birds of beauty rare
Australia with any a Land to compare.
Australia the Land of the red and grey roo
Of emu, koala and wombat and many species of cockatoo
Of butcherbird, kookaburra, lyrebird, magpie and the pied currawong
The dark birds 'tis said who have rain in their song.
Of Australia's many beautiful parrots to name just a few
Rosellas, lorikeets and king parrots so lovely to view
The monoterenes egg laying mammals in Australia only found
The platypus and echidna mystery them does surround
The wonders of Nature have never been few
And each day from her we do learn something new
And I from the Land of the black and gray crow
So little of Australia's Nature does know.
poem by Francis Duggan
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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America Post 911
Land of freedom
Land of war
Land of peace
There you are
America!
Land of spirit truth and grace
Land that will never quit the race
May you fight until you're done
Because the battle has not yet been won
America!
Land of the beautiful
Land of the free
Bring the enemy to his knees
May his conscience sear his soul
Till the bell of victory tolls
America!
This is America land of the brave
Though you hurt us our banners continue to wave
High above the skies our spirits soar
As we replace future's door
America!
poem by Mitzie Thorne
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Crow On The Cradle
(from the soundtrack to no nukes; peformed live by jackson browne with graham nash & david lindley)
The sheeps in the meadow
The cows in the corn
Now is the time for a child to be born
Hell laugh at the moon
And cry for the sun
And if its a boy hell carry a gun
Sang the crow on the cradle
And if it should be that this babys a girl
Never you mind if her hair doesnt curl
With rings on her fingers
And bells on her toes
And a bomber above her wherever she goes
Sang the crow on the cradle
The crow on the cradle
The black and the white
Somebodys baby is born for a fight
The crow on the cradle
The white and the black
Somebodys baby is not coming back
Sang the crow on the cradle
Your mother and father will sweat and theyll slave
To build you a coffin and dig you a grave
Hush-a-bye little one, never you weep
For weve got a toy that can put you to sleep
Sang the crow on the cradle
Bring me my gun, and Ill shoot that bird dead
Thats what your mother and father once said
The crow on the cradle, what can we do
Ah, this is a thing that Ill leave up to you
Sang the crow on the cradle
Sang the crow on the cradle
song performed by by Jackson Browne
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Black Crow
He sees the stormy anger of the world
And wants no part of it at all
And as the weeping leaves of autumn curl
He feels the savage winter call
See far below the dust of conflict settles on the hill
Where there was no escape before
And as he spreads his wings and soars up to another level
He brings the icy prophecies of war
Black crow, black crow, tell me where you really go
When you fly into the sunset, high in evening sky,
Black crow, black crow, tell me what you really know
Will we flourish in this hurricane, or will we fall and die?
While children lose their souls and so much more
To ragged armies of the field
A vicious fanfare cries appeasing hungry savages
To trigger that their fate is surely sealed
I wonder where that black crow sleeps as day beckons the night
Or if he even sleeps at all
I wonder what he thinks of all the human traffic far below
Thats struggled on the road so, so long
Tell me black crow, black crow (solely? ) you pass above
Understanding everything but you know nothing at all
Black crow black crow, tell me what you really know
Do you understand the pain that we feel down here at all
song performed by by Jamiroquai
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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On The Somme
The noise of the battle is over
And silence descends on the land
There's peace on the face of that soldier
We see lying there on the sand
No sound from those pale lips are uttered,
Or flicker from eyelids half-closed,
Blonde hair blowing soft in the chill wind
As if for a painting, he'd posed,
Where did you come from young soldier?
Who waited for you to come home
From the war to end wars? as they promised
Back to land from which you'd ne'er roam.
Perhaps there's a letter you cherished
In the pocket right next to your heart.
And a photo you gazed at with longing
So often since you were apart.
It was on the TV that we saw you
With an old man, who cried bitter tears
As he spoke of the comrades he'd lost there,
And the mud, and the pain, and the fears.
It's many long years since you fell there
But the world's never stopped talking 'bomb'
We haven't learnt much in between , lad,
Poor handsome young man on the Somme.
poem by Esther Barry
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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At crow's nest pass
At Crow's Nest Pass the mountains rend
Themselves apart, the rivers wend
A lawless course about their feet,
And breaking into torrents beat
In useless fury where they blend
At Crow's Nest Pass.
The nesting eagle, wise, discreet,
Wings up the gorge's lone retreat
And makes some barren crag her friend
At Crow's Nest Pass.
Uncertain clouds, half-high, suspend
Their shifting vapours, and contend
With rocks that suffer not defeat;
And snows, and suns, and mad winds meet
To battle where the cliffs defend
At Crow's Nest Pass.
poem by Emily Pauline Johnson
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Victory
Victory is ours!
Said one crow to the other,
As they soared in the sky above.
For below them they had spied
Golden corn, that was ripe,
From which, they would have their feast.
Tantalizing ears of gold
Laying out row upon row
Though as a river when the wind blowed.
'And no one is there'!
Exclaimed one crow in the air
'To protect that golden hair'.
So victory is ours!
Exclaimed the crows beginning there dive
Upon the corn, coming into sight.
But then shots rang out,
And two crows fell to the ground
As the corn waived in the wind.
Then walked two farmers to the crows
Who were hidden out of view
To observe the birds which flew.
Then one farmer spoke to the other
About the corn they defended together,
Exclaiming, 'victory is ours, over all others'.
poem by Randy McClave
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Promised Land
(hicks / lynch)
Where where is the promised land
Where where is the promised land
It cant be found in viet nam
It cant be where the eagle has landed
If we want peace for every man
Weve gotta make the world demand it
Now I see the flag is flying
Weve got to help them stop the dying
We must bring back the soldier boys
We mustnt let them die for nothing
Wars a better game when played with toys
Lets change the game and lets start loving
Soldiers never fight alone
Theres just as much fighting going on at home
Protests, violence, marches
Its all going on at home
Bring them all back home (repeat)
song performed by by Hollies
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Crows Words
Crow and
Crow...
On the tree...
Speak one crow
With another crow
'Kaa kaa kaaaa'
Another crow
Also...
'Kaa kaa kaaaa'
Speaking
This is crow words
You i did not
Understand ok...O...!
poem by Otteri Selvakumar
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Crow Black Chicken
(laurence wilson)
Well, I went on the mountain
And I gave my horn a blow
Thought I heard some purty gal say
Yonder come my beau
Crow black chicken and crow for a day
Crow black chicken and fly away
Crow black chicken and-a ...
I like chicken pie
Well, the hardest work that ever I done
Is plowin a field of rye
The easiest work that ever I done
Was eatin chicken pie
Chicken crow for midnight
And chicken crow for a day
Along come an owl, lord, have mercy
And stole my chicken away
song performed by by Ry Cooder
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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