Come Drink from My Cup: Musings of an East Harlem Poet: A Compilation of Poetry from 1967-2003

By Damon Chandler and Juanita Coleman-Merritt Ed. D.

I hope youll enjoy these poems. Like wine, life can be bitter-sweet, so come, drink from my cup. Take a small sip and swallow slowly. Let it trickle down deep into your soul.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Feb 20, 2014
• ISBN: 9781491868737

Damon Chandler

Damon Chandler, Poet, Actor, Stand-up Comic, lived eight of his nine lives as a Helicopter Gunner and Airplane Mechanic, with the United States Marines, and later with Pan American Airlines. The Poet grew up in New York City in the 1950’s and 1960’s – in his words “a veritable smorgasbord of life situations and circumstances – from the very comedic to the most gut-wrenching”. He comments: “Growing up in that magnificent melting-pot greatly influenced my life with all its quirks and foibles.” Come Drink from My Cup – a compilation of poetry written over a period of 40 years – showcases his humor, love of life, devotion to family and passion for the dramatic interlude. Shortly before his death in 2005, he left a copy of his manuscript with his sister, Juanita. In this post-humus publication, his family shares his unique, life-affirming perspective with the world.

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2014 Damon Chandler. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse 03/19/2014

ISBN: 978-1-4918-5003-9 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4918-6873-7 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2014903604

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Contents

FOREWORD

INTRODUCTION

AND THE MEEK SHALL INHERIT THE EARTH

GROWING UP

Mom And Dad

That Ugly Blue Coat

Growing Up On New York Streets—The ’50S

Stickball

Reminisce

LESSONS TO LEARN

Every Dog Has Its Day

Children Should Also Be Heard

Innocent Fun

Open A Book

Babies Making Babies

Deadbeat Dad

Never Say I Do If You Don’t

Just Because You’re Married

But I Love Him

Road Demon

Pedestrian Walk

Harlem On Their Minds

A Lily-White Deal

The Skin Games

The Ruthless Game

The System

Second Nature

Man

Ladies Of The Night

Flight Fright

AMERICA—FOR BETTER FOR WORSE

Battlefield Citizen

Red-Tailed Angels

A Day Of Tears

Fools Of War

Cradle Of Death

Death Of A Gay Soldier

The Shame Of Nine-Eleven

Weapons Of Mass Destruction

The Road To Baghdad

An Ex-Marine’s Lament

America And The World

LIVING AND DYING

In This Life

Laughter

Sixty Seconds

A Precious Moment In Time

What Matters

Tell Me Now

Cost Of Dying

Of Grave Concern

Sleep

IN MEMORY OF

Dad

Jan A Special Friend

Happy Birthday, Langston

Dorothy The Legend

Otis Redding

Aaliyah

James Dean

THE LIGHTER SIDE

Little Ditties

Distant Lady

Dial-A-Prayer

The City Of Angels

Paranoid

Turkey Misgivings

MISCELLANEOUS

Pun Fun

Thoughts

Tribute To A Harlem Educator

This book is dedicated with much love to my children, Joaquin and Nnika

With a special thank you to my sister, Juana, for her inspiration.

FOREWORD

Damon Chandler

nee Oscar Emanual Clarke Jr.

October 3, 1945-November 29, 2005

Oscar Emanuel Clarke, Jr. a.k.a. Damon Chandler was 60 years old when he made his transition. Junior (his family nickname) was of Jamaican and Cuban heritage. He grew up in New York City. His first home was an ancient walk-up apartment building—80 East 116th Street—in the heart of East Harlem.

Influenced by the war films of the 50’s, Junior joined the US Marine Corps at age 17 and headed for Parris Island. By 1965 he, like too many young men of the time, found himself in the swamps and jungles of Vietnam. This was an experience which would impact the rest of his life. In 1967 he returned home and settled into a job as a structural mechanic with Pan American Airlines. He won a 14 year battle with PTSD and alcoholism, but wrecked his marriage and struggled to raise two children in the process.

By 1981, Junior began to think more about his first love, acting. He began preparing himself, and finally in 1991 put his feet in the water and became Damon Chandler. Even though he was able to find acting work in New York, he wasn’t satisfied. He longed for more opportunities and a chance at films. This meant Hollywood. Despite friends and family members who cautioned him about his age and the risks of putting all his eggs in one basket, Damon headed west in 1997. He landed opportunities in commercials, support roles on prime time TV shows, and leading roles in theater productions.

Stage roles included Willy Loman in Death of a Salesman, The Devil in Purple Paradise, and Sgt. Waters in A Soldier Story. His film credits included Who Shot Patakango?, The Game, and a short film, The Investor. It is clear that Junior might have lived a very different life as Damon Chandler absent his years in the Marine Corps. But even recognizing this, he never spoke about regrets. He was always seeking ways to improve himself and