The Challenges of President Obama

Every plan

Is defied and resisted;

Your proposals are

Trounced, hammered, and slammed,

And pounced upon

By angry wolves

Of prey.

You’re taken to task and trashed

For any and all things asked.

You have been

And you are daily met with strong opposition

At the very onset.

You are confronted on all fronts,

And faced with obstacles

Placed in your path to hinder

And to bind your hands and feet -

To prevent your success

By contests of wills and might

From men who dare you to rise

As a beam of inspiration or a vision of light.

Through Rejects and objects,

You are thwarted

By means placed in your path for the fall.

Enemies circle about to snare,

To trip,

To impede

And hamper.

To foil and deter any progress

Which could possibly be generated,

Initiated or otherwise created.

I’m reminded of King David,

Who cried unto the Lord,

When

Surrounded all about by enemies alike.

“My foes like bulls have surrounded me,

Strong bulls of Bashan have hedged me in.

Against me they opened their mouths wide,

Like a ravening and roaring lion.

“I am poured out like water,

And all my bones are out of joint…

My strength is dried up like a fragment of clay

Pottery…

For like a pack of dogs

They have encompassed me;…

But be not far off from me,

O Lord;

O my Help, hasten to my aid.” Ps 22:12-15

There are many mighty enemies

In this American land

Who have formed a tightly wounded band

To strip you of your sword,

To make you as shattered glass;

A splintered and broken man.

Like Donny Hathaway sings,

These are trying times.

And yours have been made a bed of

Many thorns

With oppositions lying in wait to readily revile, and scorn,

Ridicule and mock.

“But the swords of the wicked shall enter their own hearts,

And their bows shall be broken.” Ps 17:15

The Lord will hear…

As unto David -

“This poor man cried

And the Lord heard him,

And saved him out of all his troubles.” Ps. 34.6

“He hears and answers out of His holy hill.” Ps. 3:4

Be still,

Give pause

For the Lord will

Be the undertaker

Of your cause.

So, my dear son,

“Wait and hope for

And expect the Lord;

Be brave and of good courage,

And let your heart be stout and enduring;

Yes, wait for and hope for and expect the Lord. Ps.” 27:14

I pray for you as David prayed -

“Hear my prayer, O, Lord,

And let my cry come to You,

Hide not Your face from me in the day when I am in distress;

Incline Your ear to me,

In the day when I call, answer me speedily.” Ps. 102:1-2

I ask of the Lord,

“Let the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart

Be acceptable in Thy sight,

O Lord, my strength and my Redeemer.” Ps. 19:14

God bless you,

My dear President Obama.

I pray

Men will look upon you

And question -

What manner of man is this?!

Because they will be awed by the wisdom, intellect and insight

Which is poured into you by the Holy Spirit anointing!!

I am a strong supporter,

Ruth Ce. Jones

After the Storm

It’s Sunday morning

After the storm

I’m Sitting here

In the rapture of blustering winds

Whooshing their Sunday dew

Over the meadow

Wailing Like rushing waters

Cascading in the sunlight

Peeping through the clouds

Shimmering in soft white.

Tree Limbs sway

Bending low

Giving honor to the One

Who makes the wind blow

Leaning left

Leaning right

Under the umbrella of the daunting dome

Even as the day glows

In the light of the noon

Day sun.

Tree branches reach up

In shout outs to the sky

As in a church choir

Filled with the spirit of a new dawn

Singing in a new song…

This I the day that the Lord hasmade

I will rejoice and be glad in it.

When the storm

Fell,

The gale winds sent

Waves surging and gushing overthe walls

Of the time

Washing away the sands of the beach

Whilst

The forces of nature exploded

In furious rapids and fierce torrents

Whipping and tossing

Churning and rolling over

Into

And through the streets

And byways

Over the terrestrial landscape

From across seas

To the resounding sounds of Mother Nature’s elements

In motion

Expending her wonder-working potions

In sending transforming

Seawaters charging in the fury

Liken to brigades of battle-ready forces

Storming

Upon bridges over trouble waters

Lapping up on the shore

Raging against the tides of the mind

Spent in habitation and occupation

With Fears and trembling,

Nervous anticipation

And great expectation

Of strong gusty winds

Propelling violent rolling waters careening

Through rivers and streams,

Hurling crashing ocean waves

To challenge the surfs to rise high and mighty

In the forces of a hurricane name

Irene.

Storm clouds loomed above

While some daring frolickers dashed in and out

And gleefully danced about

Venturing in risks

To experience the bliss

Of such a time as this

As The ballooning clouds

Swelled overhead

Like heavy-laden blankets of grey white

Stuffed cottony expanse

Spread

Out over the whole of the skyway

Pouring out

Feeders of showers

From the hurricane eye

Circulating in her orbit

Of splash and crash

Splatter and spray

In large plops and drops

Of rain water patterns

Swallowing up the pier

Like a giant mouth opened wide

To spew out the foaming surf tide

Plummeting onto the ground floor

To valleys low

Cross river beds

And lakeside homesteads.

The Thunderstorm clouds

Threatened the sky

Like a colonized outer space

Station

Bubbling over

To storm,

To roar,

To pour out

Like a riled tempest in a teapot,

To erupt

In a turbulent ride

On the rivers of life

In ferocious downpours

Of rushing waters overflowing,

Swarming like spawns

Flooding into the lots and plots

Laid waste.

By the taste

Of Irene’s potent force and

Splendid spell-bounding bathing beauty

In her stunning, astounding,

And remarkably breathtaking

Day of being

A mighty force of nature.

“Isn’t it beautiful outside?

That hurricane just made it evenmore pretty.” Isaiah Jones

Praise God!!

I Didn’t Know About You

“I Didn’t know about you”

Until

Flying Solo

I heard your song

Singing to me

The sweet melody

Of “Ruby My Dear.”

I thought I had glimpsed

Something of heaven above;

I was so in love

With the

“Trinkle, Tinkle”

Of notes

On floats

Carrying chords of play sailing into the day

Like lights

Spinning ‘round

To “Epistrophy” heights

Up

Over

Beyond

Heady fueled trips

Into wistful reflections

Driven by flights

Of whimsical fantasy

To “Straight…” ways

And gateways

“Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea.”

Through

To the “Underground’

Of the true “Blue

Monk”

I Didn’t know about you

About this being your story;

This being your song

“Praising the Savior all the day long...”

Swinging on “Locomotive” rhythms

“Off  ‘F’ Minor”

With Coltrane’s tenor sax

Playing in back

To fly me to the moon

       (Like when I hear Arthur Prysock croon)

I get “Nutty”

Gliding “Alone in San Francisco

Dreaming “Monk’s Dreams”

In “Light blue”

Off shore streams

From Riley drums and Gales bass modes

To wind-swept piano keys

Stirring …”No chaser”

In the mix of sweet water sifted

In the glass

Of a cool jazzed

“Japanese folk song”

Exploring

Tempos

And textures

Measured in rhythmic paces

And countered beats

Under the “Pannonica” tree top

“In Action at the Five Spot”

“Round midnight”

Or “After Hours at Minton’s”

In the dim café light

Over coffee and cigarettes

Smoky hue.

I didn’t know about you

But now

“We see”

The thunder pops

The lightning shocks;

Waves rushing in

Against the tide

Of contemporary exhibitions.

With the inhibitions

Of “Well, You Needn’t”

Standing aside

“Crepuscule with Nellie”

To let the wind-storm

Come ashore

And blow

With the sand and seas

Under the tutelage

Of lithe fingers on piano keys

High and low

In red and blue degrees

Of syncopation and exploration

Into the deep

Improvisations

Twist

Up tempo

To break

And stop short

On some faraway cue.

I didn’t  know about you

Even though

I heard you play

I knew your name.

But that was in another day

Long ago

When

I knew you when.

But since then

I came closer

Near

And put your fingertips

To my ear

When you called my name

Out loud

To hear

“Functional”s bluesy hymnal

Taking me back

To when I wuz

A girl barefooted in my backyard

In the southern Georgia dust.

I must

Replay it again and again

Like I do

With “Ruby My Dear.”

They bring you in so near -

Encircling the “Brilliant Corners” of your ingenious mind.

“The Essential… “

“The Unique…”

“All the Things You Are.”

My Thelonious!

So this is

My song

To you

(Dedicated to Thelonious Monk)

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