I AM

Vicki Cosby-Jefferson

Ham, the father of Cush, Myzriam, Put and Canaan; I brought forth many nations!

My father was Noah, whose ark saved mankind . . . I AM!

Nimrod, I grew to be a mighty warrior.

The Bible says "like Nimrod, a mighty hunter of the Lord."

My kingdoms stretched from Babylon to Nineveh . . . I AM!

Makeda, "dark as the tents of Kedar ";

Queen of Sheba, wife of Solomon,

He was the son of David . . .I AM!

Nefertiti, wife of Akhenaton, uncle of King Tut,

He preached of one God,

1300 years before the birth of Christ . . . I AM!

Sonni Ali of the Songhay,

I founded the Empire of Timbuktu,

Rich in trade, jewels, and education . . . . I AM!

Alexander am I, artistic and intelligent.

Pushkin, I created the Russian literary language,

Moscow honors me . . . I AM!

Dumas père; the father, you know me through my books,

The Three Musketeers and The Iron Mask. . . .I AM!

My son was once asked about his ancestry, he replied,

“they are apes, my ancestry begins where yours ends." . . . I AM!

My slave master said Phillis Wheatley was my name,

But a pioneer poet I became, brought from Africa in chains . . . I AM!

Fredrick Douglass I named myself,

Escaped captivity, it was freedom that I sought.

Others followed left and right, both black and white. . . I AM!

W.E.B. Dubois, equality I believed and I AM!

Thurgood Marshall, justice I felt and I AM!

People here and people there,

I had a dream that we could all share.

My life was short but not the dream. . . I AM!  Martin Luther King.

I AM black, yellow, white, and brown; different colors am I found.

I AM you!   I AM you!!  I AM you!

And I AM

I DIDN’T GET . . .

I DIDN’T GET MY MOMMA’S PRETTY FACE

IN SCHOOL I THOUGHT THAT WAS A DISGRACE

I SPENT MY LIFE CRYIN’ AND MOANIN’

CAUSE’ I DIDN’T GET MY MOMMA’S PRETTY SIMPSON FACE!

WHY ME, I ASKED?

I’M ALRIGHT, I CAN READ AND I CAN WRITE!

WHY DIDN’T I GET MY MOMMA’S PRETTY SIMPSON FACE?

AS I GOT OLDER GOD WHISPERED IN MY EAR

BUT I WASN’T LISTENING, NAH, ‘CAUSE I DIDN’T WANT TO HEAR;

SO WHEN MOMMA DIED, AND I HAD TO WRITE, YOU KNOW

SEND LETTERS; KISS THE KIDS GOODNIGHT,

WHILE THANKING SO MANY FOLKS FOR BEING AT MY SIDE;

I FOUND OUT WHAT GOD WAS WHISPERING, ALONG LIFE’S RIDE,

I FOUND OUT WHY I DIDN’T GET THAT PRETTY SIMPSON FACE,

I GOT ALL THE REST, THEIR LOVE, THEIR LAUGH AND OH YEAH, I GOT THAT SIMPSON GRACE.

YEAH! I’VE GOT THE SIMPSON GRACE

GRACE WHICH ALLOWS ME TO TURN A WORD OR TWO

THAT RHYMES TO PERFECTION AND MAKES YOU LAUGH TOO!

AND I CAN EVEN MAKE YOU SMILE WHEN YOU DON’T WANT TO

SO, IF YOU’RE A SIMPSON LIKE ME

WHO DIDN’T GET THAT PRETTY SIMPSON FACE

CHECK YOURSELF OUT;

YOU JUST MAY HAVE THE SIMPSON’S TRULY AMAZING GRACE.

Vicki Cosby-Jefferson

SYNC-O-PATION

Our destination ain’t no radio station?

We hold the beat of a nation;

Bebop, Doo Wop, Hip Hop,

Scat, croon, or rock n’ roll;

that’s syncopation, ya’ll know

Stormy Weather or A Cabin In The Sky’

Dead Presidents, and Superfly;

Joplin, Smokey and Marvin Gaye,

Easy E and Dr. Dre

For them song was the way

for syncopation you see.

Bill Robinson and Gregory Hines,

Josephine Baker and Fa’tha Hines;

A 4-4 beat and the funky grind,

Cake Walk, Crip Walk, Swim and the Fly,

that’s syncopation—MY, MY, MY

Rhythm in our bodies;

From long ago

Rap today has a nasty flow

but it’s still syncopation, ya’ll know

Remember when our fathers

didn’t understand,

What Rock n’ Roll meant to the young of the land?

We were wild, skuzzy,

and a bunch of ugly names

That’s what children feel today;

The same syncopation,

Just in a different way

Cause that’s syncopation

Black folks rhythm and flow will be here always

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