Jungle Water: New Depths in American Poetry

By Terrence Beard

This book of poetry was written for
You by a man who writes from his heart
To help others through the challenges of life.

He writes from his experiences and understanding
Of what it is like to travel an uphill journey,
Often sliding back, but he urges us forward to
Whatever peak we can reach.

Thank you Terrence Beard
The Editor

• Language: English
• Publisher: BookBaby
• Release date: Aug 18, 2023
• ISBN: 9798350919295

Book preview

Title

Jungle Water

Copyright @ 2022 by Juniper Publishing

All right reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without written permission from the author.

Dedication

This book is dedicated to

All the Underdogs in the world.

The have-nots, the uneducated, and all

The people who may have that negative thought

Of giving up circling in their heads.

You can be down today,

But all the way up tomorrow.

SO, NEVER GIVE UP.

Terrence Beard

Table of Contents

Introduction

Part I – Greenwashed The Love of Money

When good black started to crack

The love of money is the root to all evil

Eyes of misfortune

Complacency

House built on lies

Triggers

Game ain’t free

Followers

Chase

Part II – Critical race turbulence

Roller-coaster called freedom

Back to the 60’s

Raised in Dysfunction

Who’s next?

Kids are always watching

Why is hate so deep

Show everybody love, but us

Life of a black man in the hood

A taste of being black

Being blind to the World

No rest without protest

From home to roam

Old battles have become new again

Black people should thank Trump

Where is our history?

One Nation?

We have to face the past to find peace

Part III – Man vs. Nature

Junglewater

Until it hits home

Our bodies are like a weed

From Covid 21

Bud or Foe?

The Ocean is outerspace

Hoodemic strong

Clinging to the past

2020 Macho man BS

Tears to terrorist

It’s all on you after 2022

Heart

Can’t live in our own sorrow

A death away from Homelessness

Eating to live, not living to eat

Can you handle the camera

Stay where you fit

Don’t fail yourself

Value the moment

Most Important thing

To become elite you must compete

Part IIII – Perseverance

The life of a blue-collar brother

Looking for a weakness

No hot water

Pandemic strong

A cup of tears

Down today, up tomorrow

Don’t let a story ruin your glory

Homie Love

Don’t suck up the ladder

Openings

Going through it, while trying to get through it

The flag is being used like a sheet

Past is in you not behind you

Two different times

If I knew then what I know now

A woman can help bring you up or down

Tests

Losing shows what you’ve got

Part V – Resilience

Vulnerable

The burning bridge

Covid exposed incompetence

The Lion

What’s your kryptonite?

The script is gone

Control

Don’t give up who you are

A factor

Here for our wind

The Setback

The switch

Fair-weather people

Equal lust

LOVE

Peace to the eyes

Missing pages

Parents don’t take the fun away

Never taught how to love

Lust

What’s your purpose?

Alone

Stay prepared for Whatever

Tone is like a tune

Trained by us to get us

Last generation of hate

Game Changer

Choices affect different voices

Scholarship race

We can’t listen with our tongue

Appreciate every gift

We have to study the game coach

Part VI – God is Love

Dear Lord

You have to think ahead of the fire

The cry before you die

Which way is up

Words

Only you can ruin God’s script

Love to hate

Surrender

Where does love begin?

Turning two into one

What is love?

Love is not a toy

Stay original

Black the new white?

Thank you Lord

Depending on Welfare

Mr. Backlash

Be thankful

Colorblind

Lord I’m Listening

Too many losses

The best are ready for any test

God pushed me out the way

Terrence Beard

Introduction

I am Terrence Beard, a black urban poet, who discovered a hidden talent of writing poetry in the year 2004 as I watched my dad, Rufus Beard Jr., fight and lose a short battle with lung cancer at the young age of 62.

Poetry became my outlet at the age of 36 as I dealt with all my trials and tribulations on this roller coaster called life.

Now I feel my purpose is to keep writing poetry until I touch as many souls as possible.

When good black started to crack

Black people have always dealt with struggle and hate, but movements in the 60’s produced change and unity, along with pride and strength throughout the black community.

The 60’s had positive black music like, Say it loud, I’m black and I’m proud. It’s a point in time where black pride, began to change the tide.

It was also the point in time where the oppressors felt the uprising was too great, so they would assassinate all leaders who joined the fight to end black hate.

Tensions were still high in the 70’s, but it became the calm before a bigger storm, one that would turn our people astray from the norm.

The 80’s is where there was pause in our fight against systemic racism, as the Iran-contra scandal and reaganomics, led us to kill each other like in the days of barbarism.

The CIA helped smuggle in loads of cocaine from a foreign place, along with a recipe to turn powder into a rock called crack or base, creating a downward spiral to the entire black race.

The start of the crack epidemic fueled by the CIA, flooded crack into every ghetto in the USA, and now PTSD from the trauma and addiction, affects all black families in some sort of way.

It’s where things changed for the worse, and was the beginning of a debilitating curse.

The music vibe even changed from dancing and having fun, to how to rob or shoot other black men with a gun.

It’s when black on black crime exploded because we let the love of money in, and it became the root to deceit, addiction, greed and sin.

The crack epidemic started in the 80’s, and spread through most impoverished black neighborhoods like a wild fire does dry grass, it took the lives of regular people, and turned them into ash.

The crack epidemic turned many respected mom’s and dad’s, into zombies and thieves, it also brought gunfire to the streets, like everyday was new-year’s eve.

Parks and gyms that used to be filled with families and friends, started being filled with dealers and addicts exchanging ends.

It only took one hit to get many hooked, and after spending all their money chasing a high, some would just keep borrowing cash, while making up a different lie.

Some families went from paychecks to welfare, and the family backbone was the reason they were now broke, they went from being responsible parents to spending the rent money on crack to smoke.

Respected moms and pops, even some black teachers and coaches, went from living good in two story homes, to seeking crumbs like roaches.

After crack instilled the love of money into our minds, we lost black love and unity, as gangs, guns, and turf wars, destroyed the strong communities.

Good and bad students lost all focus in school, some grabbed a bag of rocks to sell, and others losing respect for their parents, as they became crack house clientele.

Most parts of town were no longer safe if you wore blue or red, and became the main cause of many innocent black folks ending up dead.

Drive-by shootings and death became a given, so instead of building more schools, they changed laws to send more black kids to prison.

Before good black started to crack, house parties and parks were the most enjoyable places to go, sometimes a fist fight or two, but no worries about a drive-by shooting by your foe.

Things will never go back to the way that they used to be, before the United