Man- UP

Re dedicating this... To my "Uncle-in-law who was shot twice in the back last night five minutes after he & I chatted in front of the Chinese take out...two Rededicated to Uncle Joe ..shot twice in the back 5 minutes after we chatted outside by a teen

           

 

Man….down…Man..DOWN

I SAID…..MAN- DOWN !

 

 

 

Sooo...Who ...is gonna  man-UP now ?

 

When everywhere I look

I…SEEEEEE

ANOTHER broken-hearted single-Mother..

ANOTHER…Financially OVER-stressed …desperate and Waaaay UNDER-dressed Sister

ANOTHER .. Absentee Father with a broken Mind…Packin’ heat. …or Doin’ Time 

ANOTHER .. brother sportin colors in the streets

Leavin his family... in pursuit of  ...BEEF ????

Taking on the waters of ...NO …RELIEF

 

ANOTHER… Neglected…ABUSED…Spiritually starved…and academically EXCUSED

Child of GOD….

 

Caught up …in BLING…DUBS …GUNS…GANGS..SEXUAL LUST…material THINGS …and CLUBS…

Or  can’t get a break

JUST-PLAIN…Givin’ Up

Is …DOWN

 

A Million men…… Can march

A Billion men …… Can talk about the Million that do

A Trillion men …… Can …sit up in some CORPORATE –Think-Tank

Getting ..PAID TO…think up soulutions…TO…

PROBLEMS they NEVER went through

A Gadamadazillion men… Can MAN-UP another jonah…

or tip up another Red Bull..

Wondering …

what it would be like.. ?

to be… a statistician

 

….INSTEAD of a statistic !

 

NOT-knowing his inheritance

Or that his place

Is ABOVE …and not below

BLESSED and not stressed

And the responsibility to… his own purpose and destiny

 

They just DO… NOT .. Know…

that freedom…life

And abundance

Are in the word of God

And Jesus ALREADY Paid their way

In FULL

 

Don’t toast the fallen

From

The crabs-in-a-barrel cup

When you get your shine

Lift another

MAN….UP !!!!!

 

  

Psalms 82:5 ~ says

“ They walk about in darkness..they hear not…not do they see or understand…and all the foundations of the earth are off course”

 

2007 J. Hampton 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Psalms 82:5 ~ says

“ They walk about in darkness..they hear not…not do they see or understand…and all the foundations of the earth are off course”

 

Author's Note

#1 ) " Men"...just are NOT ...in their place
#2 ) The whole "crabs-in-a-barrell " thing...is JUST...NOT...Workin' people...lift another man Up !
#3 ) This is the open-mic version ...so it is -what-it-is !!!

Reviews

[Eagle Cruagh]

What about the ghetto talk ? Does this somehow enhance
the meaning of your poem ? I doubt that very much.
I am not impressed with the language or the topic.
Man/woman pretty much get out of life what they put in
to it. I don`t think we can choose a loose life and then cry
for God to fix it. Does not make sense to me.
Now that I have had my rant, the technique and message are
quite clear, your punctuation is good and you probably deserve an
'A' for effort.

[Chris]

Hey chile, seems ya can walk-your-talk and been doin it a while...awe-full lot a streets out here been wandered and wondered.

Lot of breaths been held n' chilled.

[J. Hampton]

one of my older pieces spawned on the frustration of our city being the 4th most dangerous at the time kids shooting each other ...lack of pride and family structure...esteem or dignity and everyone looking for someone else to step up...thanks for the read

[AK]

I'd love to hear you do this one!

[Carole]

Jen, this was straight up POWERFUL. Brandishing the mighty sword are you? Penetrates right down to the quick and the words resonate within. You weren't pulling any punches with this one...I applaud you GF. You definitely have it going on, here. I think it might even be a tad bit convicting...Somebody is in the hot seat...One of the reviewers proved that. You have to talk like people talk to reach them. You are right on with that... Fishers of men! Keep on fishing, Jen! They're comin' in one by one!

[Li Li]

I would oppose the review before this one.... I believe that people SHOULD live exactly that... a "loose life", putting their faith in GOD... instead of living a life that is tightly squeezed to piece society. Mentalities have changed... farther than most realize. They see all of these great things that have gone on before them.... the wars, civil rights, etc etc. They speak highly of them. Speak with honor and pride.....
When in the long run... they don't have an ounce of bravery, understanding, or insight as those who have gone before us. Men once fought for a free land, freedom of speech, ending segregation.... Now we find men that leave women to take care of children alone instead of building a family and foundation. Men that speak of money and power instead of God and Peace.

I've read that the traits of human are exactly what they are expected to be. Including the crime rate. All is planned and intended...... The only question left unanswered is.... When and how will things be corrected? 2012 isn't far off is it?

Bless!

[Damien Dsoul]

OOhhhhhh .... men!! And here was me thinking I was man-enough to read this poem. Who was I kidding? So this poem reminds me of ... oh yeah, it reminds me of ME. A good thing I'm not as humorous and experimental as this poem starts out to be. It's so ingeniously well written.

[Blackbirdsong]

I love the urgency and the raw energy of this piece....I saw where one of your previous reviewers likened this to "ghetto talk" clearly that person hasn't hung out in the ghetto much, nor should they attempt it. I also like how you sum it all up in the end with the scripture...that really drove it home for me.

[Kitty]

YEAH!! I DIG THIS! **SNAPS HER FINGERS**

This IS the time to get up... Man up!.... :)

God bless...

[Emily B]

Sometimes it only takes a look or a touch. Sometimes it takes getting up off our dead asses and moving. One voice, one hand can make all the difference. I love this. Your words as well as your reviews are blessings to me. Like a burst of sunshine in an other wise ordinary day.

[~ Tex]

I found this to be interesting... different... and I didn't have so much of an issue with the dialect, although, I agree that it's not necessary for me. In fact, other than the fact that it fits in your flow, it might be distracting to some as they slip in and out of dialect. The message stands alone... and having met some of the men who made the march, I know they would agree with your premise... and that they spoke with the clarity of MLK about their purpose and vision... and their religion.

Nice work as always.