Bits & Pieces

By L. Ann Shelby

My poems and stories are witty, thought provoking, uplifting, fun and entertaining reading! One of my poems, Long Live the King, is a tribute poem to the late, great Rev. MLK, Jr. One of my short stories, ‘Second Chances’, is very encouraging; it’s about a single mother raising two daughters one of whom goes down the wrong path (drugs/ school dropout/abortion) but eventually turns her life around. It is very thought provoking, gives hope, is motivational, fun, easy, and quick to read. Second Chances shows that a person can reach their goals and develop a dream and a drive; in spite of setbacks! My book is less than 90 pages long, but it will leave you wanting more. It is a real page turner and an unstoppable read!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Gatekeeper Press
• Release date: Jul 17, 2023
• ISBN: 9781662937200

Book preview

Beginning

Adam and Eve

Did conceive

And from just these two

Would you believe

All of the ‘begatting’

That was beget

And still the world’s

Not finished yet!

(06/1990)

Long Live the King

As I sat in class the other day the thought occurred to me,

That not too many years ago, this just couldn’t be,

Me, at the same school, in the same room with Whites,

And not only that but on the front row!

When my mother was my age, this just wouldn’t have been so.

So I said a prayer to God for Martin Luther King

For having a vision, a hope, a Dream.

And as I sat there thinking about a tribute I could pay

To honor King on his special day,

I decided to write something to try and reveal

Just some of the thankfulness that I feel:

January 15, 1929 is the day that King was born.

And as he got older and wiser he knew;

There was too much evil, too much hate,

There was something he must do.

So he went forth preaching and teaching,

And I’m sure he must have realized

The hate, the hurt, the horror of what it’s like

Of being Black and being despised.

He led the March on Washington; he won the Nobel Peace Prize,

And still he knew that progress was slow,

In all of his messages he tried to show

That though we still had far to go,

Someday the world would know

That being Black is not crime, it’s not a sin, it’s not a shame,

And ‘Discrimination’ is an evil game

That’s played by people who refuse to see

That though we’re individual branches, we’re from the same tree.

But with an awful twist of fate;

On that hard to forget date

Of April 4, 1968

King was slain through an act of hate.

Can you imagine the agony of his father and mother?

And how about the pain caused to his sister and brother?

His children would be without their father for the rest of their life;

And the most affected of all was Coretta, his wife.

I wonder how she felt, I know there was grief.

There was sorrow, but was there hatred and maybe relief?

No more wondering, worrying, waiting-

If King would make it home that night;

Or wherever he was, if he was all right.

Now she no longer had to hold her breath

What she feared most did happen, her husband’s death.

Her beloved husband gone, at 39 years of age

Can you imagine her feelings? Can you imagine her rage?

The Dreamer was killed, but not the Dream,’

King’s no longer our leader; but we’re still on his team.

Coretta’s still working to keep her husband’s dream alive.

And her children are right there by her side,

Still fighting for what’s right, like an end to Apartheid.

But I wonder if King were alive today,

Just what would the good Doctor say?

I’m sure he’d be surprised to find

That too many of us are out of our mind!

His life, Dream, and death being taken for granted.

And instead drugs and gangs have become implanted-

In places where he once taught,

And for equal rights he and others once fought.

Like Rosa Parks who started the Movement by saying, "No,

I refuse to move, I will not go!"

And so began the Bus Boycott

This brave woman gave us our first shot,

This was the start of many long fights,

At finally getting our equal rights.

How about Malcolm-X, Mandela, Jesse Jackson?

And the countless others who’ve pushed for positive action!

Like Stevie Wonder who played a major role

In making a National King Holiday a major goal.

But we can’t leave it up to a certain few

It’s up to me and it’s up to you!

God has blessed us and brought us far, this I know;

But we still have far to go.

So please, let us now while we have the opportunity

Realize we can’t have strength until we have unity.

Don’t let King’s Dream have been in vain

There’s still so much we have to gain.

Let’s remember King, his prayer, his Dream

Let’s remember that people gave their life,

and took beatings so that we

Could have the chance to be

Educated, Equal, Respected, and FREE!

(08/1987)

Keep Calling Me A Nigger

Go ‘head, keep calling me a Nigger,

And every time you do, I’m sure it leaves

A bad taste in your mouth;

A lump in your throat;

A knot in your stomach,

To see this nigger whose ancestors were

Lynched and beaten by yours,

To keep moving up, climbing higher.

I’m not the nigger you wish I were;

The one who should have died at birth,

The one you feel who’s the scum of the earth,

The one you think who’s not worth

The amount of salt in a slice of bread.

You look at me with hate,

You curse me under your breath,

The only thing you wish for me

Is a sudden violent death!

So keep calling me a Nigger

Because every time you do,

It gives me strength, it make me work harder,

Because this here nigger is just like you:

Living where you live, doing the work that you do.

And I’m not just one of a few,

There are many like me, and it won’t be long

Before you see just how strong

Us Niggers really are!

So keep calling me a Nigger, but take heed,

This here Nigger will succeed,

Will keep on striving and keep on surviving.

And in the near future you just may

Be asking this Nigger for a favor someday!

(01/1992)

Span of a Lifetime

"Don’t you go