Never Has the Silence Been so Loud: In Verse and in Lyric

By SpeakingTruth

In this telltale anthology of poetical depiction, the writer, father, son, brother, teacher, community advocate, educational coach, friend, and God-fearing man illustrates the missteps, fallacies, lies, betrayals, circumstances, and experiences of the African American passage into today and the hope for tomorrow. Love, Life, Pain, Uplift, and Conquest will definitely leave every emotional seam ripped open and every stammering breath counted.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Sep 17, 2019
• ISBN: 9781546279778

Book preview

2019 Speakingtruth. 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 09/16/2019

ISBN: 978-1-5462-7978-5 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-5462-7976-1 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-5462-7977-8 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2019901569

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models,

and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Contents

Foreword

Ode to Mother

In Verse

Lord Grant me PEACE

Never Has the Silence Been So Loud

In Verse

I am Thankful

Wishful Thinking

Selfless

Responsibilities and Excuses

Sensuality

Unspoken Melody

Home of My Desires

Who You Are

A Season to Believe

Black Boy Hold Yo’ Head Up

A Mother Is…

The Call of My Ancestors

A Promise Kept

Question Why?…

Reason and Understanding

Who Am I…?

What Hip-Hop Means To Me

No way home

Trouble in My City: The Wide Divide

Violence

The Way We Grew Up

Open up your trunk

A Cracked Picture

A Budding Rose

A Grandmother

The Oak Tree In My Backyard

A Tearful Gesture

White Lies

Precious

What Today Holds

Say I Do

A Wish and A Kiss

You Make Me Wanna Scream

Accepting My Freedom

Propaganda

Language of The Streets

Pictures and Illusions

All In One Sweeping Motion

Slipping

MY Undetermined Soul

Not In Denial

Time Waits for No Man

Sensuous

The Breath of Romance

The Mood Is Set

No justice in waiting

In Turmoil

Oh! (like Homer Simpson)

Shades of Gray

Pray for the Prey

Leaving a Stain On This World

Preeminence To Glory

Things I Could Not See: The Fruitfulness of Life

The Protocol Son

It’s Real On The Battlefield

More than Just the Aim

I find Myself… Here

Keeping It To Myself

Misplaced Hate

What do you see, when you look in the mirror?

Legend In My Own Mind

Haters Not Allowed

My Father Dug this House

From Sundown to Sunrise

A Wonderful Sight to See

I Make My Confession

Between You and Me

The Epiphany of Me

You Have Been a Blessing to Me

What a difference you have made in my life

To the Dearly-Departed, the Broken-Hearted

When the Pain Stops

Let these words reach ya

Waiting on my Flower to Bloom

Uplift, Encouragement, Motivation, Inspiration

How can we right this wrong

About My Tomorrows Yesterday

My Work Here Is Done

Are You Born to Live or Born to Die

You Are Not Lost

Let’s Move

As I Awake This Morning

Putting Labels on Ourselves

As My Pen Touches the Paper

At the Stream

Before I Leave, Hear

The Beacon Light

Just For Thought: A Poem

Between You and Me

The Path That You’ve Chosen (Bridge Builder II)

Strange Fruit

Just Like You

The Concrete Streets

Hatred?

You Can’t Hesitate

I Am Proud To Be Who I Am

I Wanna Sift the Cheddar

I woke up with a Hangover

The Warmth of a Summer Shower

Everything’s Different

Something Greater Than Myself

A Father Is

Forever

Freedom Rings

Friendfro

Friends or Lovers

Friends Unlikely

Free-Ends

You Are Not Lost

Get Off the Pot

In Lyric

Killin’ Is More Than Just A Job It’s a Hobby

What Could This Be?

In the Belly of the Beast

The Scene

Behind Enemy Lines

Champagne

I’m Still Hustling, Still Struggling

Dear Momma

Dreamin’

Labor of A Black Man

Edunate

Put the Money in the Bag

Definition Intended

Gotta Get Up

Episodes of Jackin’

Girl are You Ready?

Release the Ink from my Pen

Let the Water Run

Only in the Studio

Got that Wood and that Leather

On The Way to The Top

Welcome to My Life

My Pen and My Pad

Watch Me Rewrite History

WORDS OF A WITNESS

Are You Down With the Struggle

My Pen and My Pad II

Why Don’t You Hear Something

I Only Trust My Pen and My Pad

Would You Hand Down Your Crown?

Going Going Gone To The Highest Bidder

Your Silhouette

Girl Let’s Talk It Out

Being Without You

Gospel

Testimony To My Lord

Man I got my hood to claim

GtoTrain

Father to My Son

Labor Of A Black Man

Little Ghetto Child

That Omega Pearl

Something to Get You Through

S.A.N.D.M.A.N.

Lord, I’m Trying

Asking God for Forgiveness

Fiend for the Microphone

If Words Were Like Pictures

What is it About Service?

How do you tame a Quieted Spirit?

Loving Thyself, Knowing Thyself; Being Knowledgeable, Equipped and Prepared

Who Am I…?

Leading Tha Flock To Slaughter.

The African American Student: the fleeting American Dream – Education Devalued

Foreword

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Ode to Mother

The memories outnumber the tears

The hushed cries covet the hidden fears

Missing you daily, wishing somehow you could still be here

All the names that are feeling how I feel, are to many to count or write so their names appear

Numbering the days since I heard you last call my name

Hiding the tracks on my face, knowing life won’t be the same

The thunder, the turmoil, the storms that only you could tame

The walks, the talks, the prayers, I shall relive over and over again

I am so, so thankful for GOD’s grace of you shaping my life

What can I give to the Father, for my debt for you, for giving me one more night

You taught me so much; compassion, love, forgiveness and things will work out right

Challenging my inner self, completing my missions and sleep well through the night

You settled my stomach; you quieted my broken-heart

You showed me strength and courage when I wanted to rip the world apart

Your voice even soothed my soul with every breath you breathed

It was your courage, it was your concern, it was all that makes you Mommy

Forever will I be grateful, forever will we all be blessed,

Please tell my sister I love her, find peace and find a place to rest.

There are days when I feel your breath softly caressing my neck

You taught me to believe in me, and garner my beliefs and always show respect

To be kind and comforting, compassionate and not be afraid to love

So I know the footsteps you left in the sand were blessed by the one above

You have not been an example to me alone, you have touched so many

The mouths that have set at your table, have been blessed and fed plenty

You have shared you self widely, you have been a gift without measure

Beyond family and friends, your spirit was a warrior of unselfish pleasure

Being present in the midst of persons unknown, not in your circle of influence

Never a question, not waiting for an answer, you just make it in your heart to do it

You know you are greatly missed, you are never absent from the table though

There just sits a greater purpose, I know and you know, it is just hard to let go

I pray that you can continue you work according to the maker’s will and purpose

And Mommy I will try to stay kind, stay attentive and live my life in service

I am certain you can imagine, the hearts and minds of those that really need to hear you voice

I feel I am a mountain unmoved, but if you are in the garden picking flowers, make me one of your choice

Your brothers, your grandchildren, nephews and nieces, cousins and friends, we all know that life has to come to an end

But your presence, your words, your works, your praises, your laughter, your tears have become the symbol of a comforting friend.

Dirran, Elke, Sonji, Leonard

Stephanie, Courtney, Bria

Jamese, Marquise, Cierra, Erica, Eric

Anthony, Kendric, Quinton

Jakara, Zachary, Kyra, Amryn, Sa’Raelynne

In Verse

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Lord Grant me PEACE

Lord Give me UNDERSTANDING, but not without JUSTICE;

Lord Shield me with JOY soaked in SERVICE;

Lord SURROUND me with HOPE lest not INSPIRATION.

MY Lord, MY Lord, MY Lord

Lord Shower me with PERSECUTION rinsed in the Cost of LOVING;

Lord Swoon me with CHARACTER emblazoned with INTEGRITY;

Lord Instruct me with GUIDANCE, but not without DETERMINATION;

Lord Resolve in me TRUTH brandished but without JUDGEMENT;

Oh Lord, MY Lord, MY GOD Open thine eyes so that I can See.

MY Lord, MY Lord, MY Lord

Lord BLESS me with LOVE, but not without the SACRIFICE;

Lord Awaken in me the spirit of CARING, lest not having to CARE OF;

Lord Dare me the HONOR OF PROTECTION, but not until I have been burdened with needing to PROTECT;

Lord Stricken me with WORKS, that FAITH be not DEAD.

Oh Lord, MY Lord, MY GOD Grant me Strength, that I may Provide SERVICE.

MY Lord, MY Lord, MY Lord

Lord Teach me DISCERNMENT while you allow me to Simmer in PURPOSE;

Lord Render me FORGIVENESS, but Raise in me VENGEANCE, and HURT (BROKEN HEARTEDNESS);

Lord Resolve my SPIRIT of NEED and Restore my SPIRIT of DUTY;

Lord Lend me to COMPASSION but not before Writhing in COMPASSION;

Lord of MY Mother and MY Father allow me to FOLLOW YOU that I may LEARN to LEAD.

Never Has the Silence Been So Loud

Never has the Silence Been So Loud

As the storm brews and the urging of the rain clouds

Never has the Silence Been So loud

As the echoes’, scream quietly beading down my brow

Never has the Silence been So Loud

As the thunder from my chest muffles the screams of the crowd

Never has the Silence been So Loud

As the colossal moment of now, screaming of being proud

Never has the Silence been So Loud

As the moment that can no longer run, that I need you here and now

Never has the Silence been So Loud

When l sit alone and reflect on my past until now

Never has the Silence been So Loud

When excitement and joy is replaced by disappointment and a frown

Never has the Silence been So Loud

When the conversations stop and trust loses its crown

Never has the Silence been So Loud

When hope turns to despair and fear weighs you down

Never has the Silence been So Loud

When the refreshing rains of truth become watery graves of betrayal leaving you to drown

Never has the Silence been So Loud

That at the door of loss, grief became overwhelming

Never has the Silence been So Loud

Than at the crossroads of love and hate, that death seems so compelling

Never has the Silence been So Loud

Than at the point of betrayal, because confidence was lost and you were the one telling

Never has the Silence been So Loud

Than at the moment, that personal failure was illustrated, and you were the author

Never has the Silence been So Loud

Than at the instant the reflection of God’s hand visibly shown as his hedge of protection

Never has the Silence been So Loud

To hear the hush cries of a broken heart, living in constant denial

Never has the Silence been So Loud

Hearing the mimic of the undertow of a mother’s trepidation longing for her child

Never has the Silence been So Loud

Hearing the knowledge, the truth and the consequences; but never open your mouth

Never has the Silence been So Loud

Hearing innocence stolen and seeing the face of the one so vile

Never has the Silence been So Loud

Hearing the one who came to redeem, answering if he knew you and to that he denied

Never has the Silence been So Loud

The Screams, the hollers, the pain, the remorse, the excitement, the glee

The quiet, the storms, the shelters, the calm, the belief, the unseen

Never has the Silence been So Loud

From the echoes of the break and the shatter of broken lifelong dreams

Never has the Silence been So Loud

As The growing rage that pounds in your heart, when questions are left unanswered

Never has the Silence been So Loud

As the struggle and the battle the ensues when there is unrest

Never has the Silence been So Loud

As when you hear your name was announced but you didn’t answer the call

Never Has the Silence Been So Loud

As the time you the question, Do you love me? And silence erupted

Never Has the Silence Been So Loud

When the time came for you to acknowledge righteousness, you stood in silence

Never Has the Silence Been So Loud

When guilt overwhelmed you, when asked Who killed your brother’s dream?

Never Has the Silence Been So Loud

At the very moment, your best friend told you, I Love You

Never Has the Silence Been So Loud

When she cried in your arms, asking, Why did you hurt me?

Never Has the Silence Been So Loud

After you brought shame to your Father’s name

Never Has the Silence Been So Loud

When you walked away from expectation and disappointment

Never Has the Silence Been So Loud

When the rain fell and drowned away your tears

Never Has the Silence Been So Loud

As the time hurt, anger, disappointment invaded your tranquility

Never Has the Silence Been So Loud

When Love was not enough

Never Has the Silence Been So Loud

When you had to choose between the one You Loved and the One You Love

Never Has the Silence Been So Loud

To give up your child, because your tomorrow was already decided

Never Has the Silence Been So Loud

When you had to let go over your past, to see your future

In Verse

How precious is the day for the life that we give

How thoughtful are the words and thoughts that we live

How generous is the love that we dare

How much to the hopeless will we be willing to share

What is the value of life if we have no one to share

What is your worth, when no one even cares

What can tomorrow bring, when you don’t even cherish the day

What can I say, when knowingly I won’t show you the way

Where do I find comfort, when I am the reason for the pain?

Where can I hide, when I try to run from the rain

Where does tomorrow find me, as I struggle through the night

Where do I lead, if I am the one scared to take flight?

Which way do I turn, when I am surrounded by self-hatred and delusion

Which course do I choose, when I am the source of all the confusion

Which hate do I choose because I refuse to love myself

Which direction should I go, when I blessed to be the light for someone else

Why are the storms that brew in my life, become the salvation for others I don’t know

Why is my path so daunted with hurt, sorrow and places I never go?

Why is the pain so deep, thorough and wide?

Why is this my appointment, when to myself I constantly lie?

I am Thankful

I wake up in the morning stretching and yawning

Yesterday has already passed, a new day is dawning

Thanking God for forgiveness and I’m steadily yearning

Ain’t nobody perfect and the road that I traveled, I’m steadily learning

I wake up in the morning I stretch and I pray

Thank the Lord for giving me one more day

I wake up in the morning stretching and yawning

Thanking God for this day, it came without warning

To the utterance of my surprise, a beautiful sunrise

Look deep into my eyes, he made me realize

That today is not promised, but his promise he will keep

I wake every morning under the coolness of my sheets

He continues to forgive me, never forsake me is his word

Salvation and determination is the manifestation of his love

I am thankful because you are who you said you are

I am thankful the wilderness had an ending, and you were never far

I am endeared to you forever, never letting me drown

I am blessed because I am standing in the here and now

I am grateful because you showed me kindness and tenderness

I am thankful to you for protection and covering, all the stones that missed

I am thankful because you have forgiven me for all my transgression

I am thankful for your words of encouragement and comfort last forever

I am thankful for you saving me, when I knew I was not living right

I am thankful for my mother and father for giving me life

I am thankful for you, maintaining my fountain, my spring

I am thankful my children are able to receive the same

Wishful Thinking

Time, Abandonment, recourse, unresolved memories go to the dust

Life’s fulfillment comes to bear, a promising future beyond the cuffs

Constraining and framing interludes of dreams and fantasies

The Natural course of possibilities aching to get outside of me

Ifs are imaginably tangibles that populate and pollute my yearning

Tarnishing the acquiescence of my tutelage, discoveries and learning

Trying to diminish the days, I have toiled to remnants of the past

Disavowing the garnered knowledge known to take heed and surpass

Climbing the mountains of superficial entrapments and commandeering adjectives

Fortifying my intentions, renouncing patterns unsubstantiated and so subjective

Clearly, annunciations of gratitude, appreciation and apprehension are cavalier

Objectivity perpetuates duality, internal references and actions to be revered

Is it fragility to isolate character design in personal tolerance and ambition?

Might it be candor to offer a hand to enemies and captives lured to omission?

A rule of thumb, staunch recognition to opposition renouncing my assured rise

Stumbling at the gates of perdition, humbles me and captivates my how’s and why’s

Selfless

Paper, Pens and Paragraphs are a part of my memory

As game is taught to the youth, so is my history

I’m coming to you through your ear opening

Waiting for that day wishing and hoping

To see the sunlight beaming on your forehead

While waking up at noon time to get out of my bed

Not a worry in the world but my hapless soul

Let today be that day for which my dream unfolds

Imagination running wild, as I become the forbidden child

Proclaimed to myself as the vision in the clouds

I don’t worry about another’s giving’s or his wealth

Because I have been entranced to this world to love my self

And, If I had a wish I would wish that I could have

The opportunity not given to me for my boy and my girls to grasp

However, let’s not forget the wisest word soft spoken

Never let your friends pick your enemies, myself I am quoting

I can’t keep living my life for an unsung hero

Calculated, measured, my life would be no more than a zero

Wise words hope-ful-ly will be reaching

Into the minds of the children that I am teaching

Regenerating thoughts to the youth move without haste

Retouch those who have drifted and lost their faith

I want to be lavish and live in that luxury

And not be hidden by the white cloth the hides my misery

As UnderGround RailRoad Recordings represents

Tutelage of the mind, of an apprentice who is heaven sent

These verses are ideals of an opinionated BLACK man

Not afraid of going to the front to wash his hand

Stories Untold of Diamonds and Gold

And enchantment, as the plot begins to unfold

I’m not pragmatic and I ain’t afraid to tell my story

First, bless the mic, hold your bootstraps and don’t worry

An intelligent black, a.k.a. the ghetto soul

Wise words like a map to find the treasure, the hidden gold

I am not nor do I want to be living in the days of the 50s

But wouldn’t it be damned if I had to watch them act so shitty

Ain’t nothing changed, and more than the scars remain

I wish the life of Harriet Tubman, as I would lead that train

Into the darkness of night let my plot embellish

Together, my sister, and I will stand as if hot dogs and relish

And rise up to lead a nation, with fortitude and justice

Equality is hopeful, but I illuminate the future with a paint brush

Open your mind and let the world grace your presence

The sound, the taste of young mans’ infinite

Ability to teach, to preach as a gifted scholar

Not entranced but in tuned to the almighty dollar

For each one who is gifted, you should lead the way

For those who are unfortunate and have been blinded by the spray

And the poison that they teach our kids

I am trying to hold myself together but why didn’t my brother live?

So much hate and fussing going on in this big old world

Too many blocks to throw rocks at these little girls

Especially the blacks, because they are the root to our futures

Broken and disheartened, but they still think intuitive

Fear is not the answer, it has plagued and robbed, an ingrown cancer

I give my life, and my pad to relinquish the indifference of a stranger

Responsibilities and Excuses

Mental pictures painted by the media

Most Blacks portrayed as killers and villains live coverage to greet-ch’ya

Is it the responsibility or reality of the TV screen?

To depict me as a murderer or a smoked out dope fiend

Tell lies to my adversaries, loved ones and friends

Try me in the public eye, destruction by the media’s hands

What part do I play of edifying the truth?

Am I the seed that they buried establishing my roots?

Will my life be the evening news, the tabloid cover?

Will I rise to the occasion swearing death on my brother?

Will I live my life; trading transgressing for fame?

Will evil dwell in me for people to know my name?

Is my annihilation and reputation fortified in stone?

Will I grant an interview before the executioner turns the switch on?

Every word spoken can’t be paraded as truth

Is it my responsibility, or do I make another excuse?

My cards are on the table, my hands been dealt

I accept my position I feel what was felt

Decision to hate, inflicting suffering and pain

To expose the truth, or to loathe in corruption and shame

Is it right to watch a man lose hope and aspiration

If you could change his outcomes would you except the relation

Watching debauchery and tyranny convolute history and heritage

Misconstrue religious beliefs and community ensemble as justice miscarriage

Pretentious and blind-eye assertions of justice, paralyzing and prostituted hatred

A far cry for limiting boundaries of restitution, civility, humanity muted for decades

On the fence, in the moment, shielded and guarded against retribution and scorn

So to allow bigotry, hatred, oppression, inequality, uncivilized narratives fallen down, pants torn

Sensuality

A close encounter of a wonderful kind, an interpolation of a seductive mind

A reincarnation of a deliberate find, and articulation of a sensual time

Invitation only, from my eyes to your thighs, do you feel the attraction

I can feel your temperature rising, I can see the passion in your reaction

Let the scene unfold, clear blue night, silky skin to the moon exposed

On the warm sheets of the summer sands barely in control

Blended with subtlety, your skin to the glisten earth that bathes you in the light

Illuminating the beauty and the prize gesturing in all of its delight

For this moment is so perfect, unimpeded by bashing shore waters or the fleeting night

At this moment, in this time, my wings are spread to the horizon, I am ready to take flight

Actually they complement the picture adding that surreal sound and touch

Blended together they add harmony to the melody, landscape to the brush

Starting at your toes and feet, I wash gently with the warm waters of the sea

My hands, your legs, your tension oh what a sight, a privilege just for me

Massaging and