DARK PAGES

Complex stories are hidden in the past

Nearly forgotten in this journey of life

A pronoun shaved down to a one-letter acronym

When said, it is sharp as a knife

Dark pages of forgotten history

Taking offense through white tears

Dark pages of remembered history

Responsibility is hidden by unspoken fears

Praising a patriotic phrase only for political gain

Then become empty words spoken from a podium

But when spoken with passion on the streets

The evidence of true justice we all hope to see

Dark pages of common sense

A knock at the wrong door can lead to death

Dark pages of uncommon words

Uncommon thoughts lead to an uncommon world.

We march behind an acronym BLM just so as not to offend

But it should be shouted out loud BLACK LIVES MATTER

This banner proclaiming justice for one is proclaiming justice for all 

It does not matter who created this; what matters is that we all believe in it

Dark pages of thought

Original though lost in a social media post

Dark pages of education

No more will we hear the cracking sounds of opening a new book

The gentrification of our human existence with labels

With the cut of the scalpel, we can be anything

Stitched together, forget our original birth

No longer the same; your mother only knows you by a dead name.

©Copyright Thomas J Dooley 2022

HOW DO YOU CRY

In the light of day, there should be no shadows, no douts

Is that what respect for life is all about

How do you cry when there is no time for life?

How do you cry when hate is all you can find?

How do you forgive every time?

With marching feet, the calls for justice and peace

These sounds still echo from the streets

Will the next tear to be shed will be for you or for me?

How do you cry when life is just a short time?

How do you cry when a lie is revealed as hate?

How do you forgive next time?

Serve and protect until the next death

Mistakes and excuses do not make you innocent

Justice and peace are political vinegar and oil

How do you cry when this happens every time?

How do you cry when the tears run dry?

How do you forgive this time?

Tears spilled on the streets of Minneapolis.

No one should die for a light to be put on racial justice

Living and dying has no longer has any purpose

How do you cry when you have no tears?

How do you cry when you walk with fear?

How do you cry right NOW?

©Copyright Thomas J. Dooley 2021

Notes: 

MELANIN

Knowing who I am, comes from within

My difference shouldn't be the color of my skin

It should be the virtuous caricature of being your friend.

 

Melanin is diversity's best friend.

Beige to ebony-brown life still moves around.

As the ancestor drums get loud

Segregation is like the colors of the rainbow.

Each one to its own place in an order that is its own

Is this the way equality should be known

Melanin is diversity's best friend.

There is so much more than the light you absorb 

Hear the complex stores of long-ago

Can't read a book by looking at the cover

There is much more to my complexion yet to be discovered.

Chemically I am different from you as humans; we are sisters and brothers.

Melanin is diversity's best friend.

Look deep inside, see peace and love through the eyes

Find those parts that you hide

In our walk through life, we look left and right.

You see other people's paths as you lose direction and wonder why

So look forward; there is so much more you will find

Melanin is diversity's best friend.

Trying to change to become what you already are

 Be who you are meant to be; this can sometimes is hard.

We march with heavy feet on these streets and hear the call of this land

A color that matters becomes an echoing chant.

A call for justice for all, justice for every man

©Copyright Thomas Dooley 2021

NOTES:

 

THERE IS A WIND

The wind in the trees the sound of what it like to be free

The cry of a newborn son is the beginning of love

Where is that mountain top where Martin saw the dream

Where is that path to the valley of peace

Where is that message of hope hidden from me

The wind on the water pushing the waves of the past

The cry of dignity echoing through these monuments and memorials

Where is that promise that you maid to me 

Where is that voice to call for accountability in our choice

Where is that hand reaching down to pull up

There is a wind blowing through the street

There is a wind blowing through the halls

There is a wind in us all

©Copyright Thomas Dooley 2020

HONEY DRIPS

Need something sweet, something to eat

Dreaming of the taste is just a waste

Inaction is a craving that sometimes goes away

Honey drips from your lips.

Passion in the words you use nothing to prove

Nourishment isn't just in the food; it is what is inside of you.

Need something sweet, something like peace

Dreaming of togetherness and what we can achieve 

Fear is just a distraction from the truth

Honey drips from his lips.

With passion in his voice, there is no other choice

Words of compassion, words with feeling, understanding the meaning

Need something sweet, something to hear

Dreaming of Marvin's words *"For only love can conquer hate."

We must march the path that they paved.

Honey drips from her lips.

Her breath through the flute knowledge is the tune

Million tears left at the fence mixed with the mace of ignorance

Need something sweet like freedom

Four hundred years of forgetting is coming to an end

Our ancestors might not have been friends, but together we can win

©Copyright Thomas Dooley 2020

*Marvin Gay, WHAT'S GOING ON

Written by Al Cleaveland, Marvin Gay, and Renaldo Benson

©TAMAL Records 1971

CULTURE WAR

No one knows who I am
Even when I tell them over and over again
Like a book, you have to read me from the inside out
Take the time to see what I am about

Caught in a culture war
Why does it have to come to my door
In the night of a racist mind, it is boring
In the educated mind, it is always morning

A young boy was thrown to the floor
Is this what he came here for
A young girl with a knee in her back
Call for her mama does she know where she is at

Caught in a culture war
Why does it have to come to my door
Call Nine, one, one when breaking the rules of etiquette
Everyone knows the fork goes on the left

There is so much to this world, I want to experience it all and get my fill
Standing in one places does not get you over the hill
People who talking lies with no proof
They complain when faced with the real truth (yes Sarah I am talking about you)

Caught in a culture war
Why does it have to come to my door
Our nation is built on cultural appropriation
So many are sensitive they call it racism

White girls wanting to be black
Black girls wanting to be white girls wanting to be black
Is there cultural appropriation in that
We should look into those facts

Caught in a culture war
Why does it have to come to my door
In a shrinking world, we have become sensitive
We should adapt to our differences

©Copyright Thomas Dooley 2019

WHAT MATTERS TO ME

What matters to me

To wake up to a new day
And wiping away the nights sand from my eyes
The splash of cool water on my face

What matters to me

To hear the morning peaceful flute echoing *Om Shanti
The stillness of a waking mind

What matters to me

The drive to work
The tailgater, I just stay peacefully on cruise control

What matters to me

The many sounds of PRINCE
Forever in my playlist

What matters to me

The unconditional smile on the morning face
It is going to be a wonderful day

What matters to me

That I make the value of my day
Enjoy my work without any one in my way

What matters to me

To return home safely at the end of the day
To write another poem

©Copyright 2016 Thomas Dooley