Rise of the Phoenix

A poem about my commitment to equality, religious freedom, and hope.

Rise of the phoenix

For a long time,

My mind stayed in limbo

I felt I had a decision to make,

or not one possibly.

“Which creed do I belong to?”

“What God do I pray to?”

“Or are there more than one?

Or none at all?”

 

Hours, days, months

…years

Was how long I pondered over this.

How could something inspired to bring hope…

Cause so much pain….

But one day I sat in my room

And I prayed.

Not knowing to who or what I was talking to.

 

But as I continued to ponder I began to focus on

The things that I wanted.

The values I cherished.

The person I wanted to be.

And whoosh!

                The fire had been set,

My creed was realized,

My faith confirmed,

My path lit,

My heart set on fire.

                So I felt happy,

           Jubilated

                           Enthralled

So I decided to write…

With Dr. King’s voice blaring through my laptop…I wrote

With Maya Angelou’s words leaving echoes through my brain…I wrote

With the now vibrant colors of the room lighting my heart…I wrote

With the song “Someday” playing as my ringtone…I wrote

With my now mythical personification, that eternal eagle of ethereal flame burning in my chest…I wrote

And as I wrote I began to think, “what if the world could hear me?”

“What if I could scream to world about my transformation…my rise

   to the world?”

And as quick as it came,

my transformation was captured

On a computer screen…and

If I could talk to the world for one moment

I would let them,

all of us,

children of the atom,

conquerors of Gaia,

sons of clay,

 and daughters of silt

I would let them know these words…

 

“I choose warm ashes now…

I choose to stand, because I’m free now

No more tiresome indecision.

Enough with all my religious revision

I choose now warm ashes

Because the phoenix has rose again…..

Like the 600 I ride into the depths of my soul.

There is no darkness I fear now.

At least not from me…

I choose to rise despite a cruel world,

I choose to burn amongst ice,

I choose to fly and be free

Yes…free

…free indeed on the wings of my heart and meditations of my mind.

I have my core.

I have my seed

I have the root to bear the tree.

For no good tree brings forth bad fruit.

I will not because my core is good.

I choose to believe it’s good.

Warmness and heat has tinged the air

Let go feelings of pain and despair

With the knowledge of the Atman there can be no fear

We don’t die so have great cheer

 

But no doubt,

This road ain’t easy

It’s a road marred with pain

It’s a road marred with loss

It’s a road that’ll beat you down

..BUT DON’T YOU STAY THERE YOU GET UP!

….YOU RISE!

                             

I choose to be myself

Now its time for us all to choose .

For if there is no death we cannot lose.

                So its time to rise

Its time to rise so that someday

 we’ll reach someday that we’ve all been talking about.

That someday where all men and women will be able to join hands and sing together

like Dr. King said.

That someday that your parents told would come when you first saw evil in this world.

That someday that we all dream and put off goals for,

saying “Someday, mankind won’t have these problems”

That someday that negro slaves dreamed about,

That Holocaust victims prayed for,

That the American Indians remember.

And that someday is our united destination

For every nation of either God’s creation

Someday is our freedom

Someday is our truth

Someday will be of peace

Someday is what we choose

 

So its time for fire,

its time for a spark

Of warm ashes derived from the heart

With Red flame of passion

Orange of uniqueness

Yellow of Joy

Green of vitality

Blue of peace

Purple of serenity

White of purity

Black of strength

And we must not overlook

The in between nature of the Gray that is TRUTH

 

                So amongst battered spirits

                                Amongst broken cries

                                Amongst weary soldiers

                                And tear filled eyes

HERE WE RISE…

HERE WE RISE… AND WHEN WE RISE BOTH THE RADIANCE OF THE SUN AND THE SERENITY OF THE MOON WILL BE UPON US..

SO AMONGST DIFFICULT SCHEDULES…we rise

AMONGST SICKNESS AND TOIL….yet we rise

AMONGST DYING RELATIVES, FAMILY, AND FRIENDS….we still rise

AMONGST RACISM, STANDSTILLISM, AND INTOLERANCE…we must rise

AMONGST LITTLE FUNDS AND HIGH DEMANDS…we still yet rise

AMONGST THE FEAR OF THE QUESTIONS OF THE DEEP UNKNOWNS….we always have the choice to rise

…like the phoenix that we all are. We all are divinity…but we must choose.

We must choose to fight and to not go gently into that good night.

WE MUST WITH GOD SPEED

BE FREE INDEED

REGARDLESS OF RACE, ORIENTATION, OR CREED.

TO RID OURSELVES OF HATRED AND GREED

AND ONLY THROUGH LOVE CAN THIS BE ACHIEVED.

WE MUST RISE AND FEEL THE NEED

TO BEAR GOOD FRUIT BECAUSE WERE GOOD TREES

AND CHOOSE WITH ALL OF OUR WANT AND DESIRE…

TO RISE LIKE THE PHOENIX AND BURN LIKE FIRE!”

Reviews

[Coyote Poetry]

The Phoenix will raise. I hope very soon. Will be little to be save if we wait. I like the many places you went in this poem. I agree with the ending. Love and forgiveness is the key. A eye for a eye world will leave no-one alive. Thank you for the outstanding poem.
Coyote

[Chris Jones]

Thanks for the reviews man they've really helped and encourage me.