A king's crown laid with blood diamonds
From the poorest river
A church goer on the sidewalk
Holding signs with readings of the Devil
A child abused a mother ignores to save herself
Like an empty collection plate
Passing a beautiful Shellie McDowell
If God's love is biased how will
I wake up in the morning
With his love as my only desire
Life is written in stone
Words splattered in red ink
Cursed with a black pupil
As the dot on every i
Black masters white slaves
Vs. white masters black slaves
Black on white against black on black
All white on white supremacy flags
Thrown in vanilla rushing waters
As black face(s) running the streets
Of NY to the sounds of Gil Scott-Heron
©2012 Anthony Desmond Scott. All Rights Reserved.
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A king's crown laid with blood diamonds
ReplyDeleteFrom the poorest river...you're a master in opening lines that set up the stage perfectly for what follows...great imagery as always sir anthony..and we have reserved a place for you in the first row over at dVerse for you..smiles
I, like Claudia, liked your opening lines but these too struck me,
ReplyDelete"Words splattered in red ink
Cursed with a black pupil
As the dot on every i".
I agree with Claudia. The opening is spectacular.
ReplyDeleteThe line that I kept coming back to was: "A child abused a mother ignores to save herself." It's one of those things we can understand and yet not really comprehend. Peace, Linda
ReplyDeleteyour poetry is always filled with such power, such rhythm, such intensity, i hear drums beating and see the blood you speak of.
ReplyDeletelife is written in stone...and yet, there is always the chisel.
For me this speaks of life's contradictions that are so obvious but never shouted. It's in the silence of these contradictions that life's words are splattered with red ink like warning signs. Very carefully placed words and very powerful
ReplyDeleteGreat imagery,o that Gil-Scott Heron was actually played in the streets. Well done.
ReplyDeleteBig up GSH... ^^^
ReplyDeletehey that 1st stanzas got balls but the 2nd damn near blew my balls of their hinges or cords or whatever connects my nads up - enough about my nuts... this is the dogs bollocks...
Just in case :)
ReplyDeleteDog's Bollocks;
In UK slang terms the "dog's bollocks" means the best. It comes from the habit of male dog's licking their testicles (bollocks) and that they must taste good as they spend so much time in this activity
(UK) Slang for something that is the cremé-de-la-creme, the leader in it's field
Does this poem know what it wants to be, once it gets focused?
ReplyDeletenice grit anthony...A child abused a mother ignores to save herself
ReplyDeleteall too real on the streets i walk...you whip it up a storm there in that second half of this...
I think Arron's comments are funny & informative. Liked your vibrant poem! Always your own voice.
ReplyDeleteStriking poem, indeed, Mr Desmond.
ReplyDeleteYour words are like sharp stones thrown to modernity in a telegraphic way: nothing is missing and nothing is too much.
All lines are powerful, but these are my favourite ones:
If God's love is biased how will
I wake up in the morning
With his love as my only desire
I don't dare to compare my way of writing with yours, of course, and one of the reasons is that my mother tongue is Spanish, but when I was reading your poem, there came to my mind one I wrote in 2008, "Slaves of ourselves". If you are curious about it, you can read it here:
http://dulcinaandgnome.wordpress.com/thestonethrone/
Nice to meet you.
:)
I love that opening line!
ReplyDelete"A child abused a mother ignores to save herself
ReplyDeleteLike an empty collection plate" Anthony you describe poverty of spirit as well as material wealth with such clarity...yet your words are rich, rich, rich.
This poem ..... leaves me thunderstruck. I loved the lines
ReplyDelete"Words splattered in red ink
Cursed with a black pupil
As the dot on every i"
But the whole poem ROCKS!
I find truth in both... but I also think evil is not of God's doing but I understand many people think this way. I like both as they are powerful... I just don't see these two paragraphs together. I kind of lost my "train of thought" from the first to the second. But that may be just me, I'm new to poetry.
ReplyDeleteThis was a powerful piece! I adore the fact that your imagery painted emotions before my eyes as I read...wonderful!!!!
ReplyDeleteGolden Anthony, pure gold. Every couplet and tercet full of discernible meaning and new revelation. I am and always will be your fan
ReplyDeletePowerful write - I agree with Arron - the dog's bollocks!
ReplyDeleteAnna :o]
Life is written in stone
ReplyDeleteIncredible!
This is set up brilliantly to attack the thoughts the entire way through. Wonderfully done ~ Rose
ReplyDelete"The dot on every i"
ReplyDeleteI love how the lines in this poem conflict and contrast.
One perspective illuminating the other.