Porcelain's Prospect

Porcelain's Prospect

Sitting on the shelf of the fine china cabinet
Behind glass doors in a room's desolate corner
Polished porcelain ponders its primary purpose
Free even from a smudge, but still feels worthless
No stains, scrapes or chips on its painted surface
Glazed over in rumination, a ceramic aberration
Watching the other dishes from its lofty display
With dismay, wondering if it will be used one day
Missing the conversations around the dinner table
Flirting with the forks and spooning with desert
Cleaned and towel-dried from some crumbs and dirt
Even envious of those broken against counters, smashing
Or thrown across the room in fits of folly or passion
But it still remains untouchable, a precious plate
Crafted by an artisan's hands, but lamenting its fate
All are afraid for its quality, too unique to imitate
It simply sits and reflects with eternal moments to muse
Yet all it really wants is to be handled and used

JMC
1/27/08
(c) 2008

King’s Betrayal

King's Betrayal

Why is it that every boulevard with the name MLK
Still struggles each day with crime and gunplay
People will quote one line of "I have a dream…"
But in the end they don't even know what it means
I see his face on a T-shirt or his voice on a track
He is a symbol of pride, the symbol of dignified black
Yet the fact remains that we still have segregated brains
Ignorance and apathy are the thickest of all man's chains
How can some celebrate virtue when they live in vice
Now a hero is the man with stunna shades and the ice
I have a dream where every man can rise to be a King
When we'll free up education and cut off the puppet string
Victims of the system is what some choose to portray
Instead of healing broken families and fighting moral decay
A legacy locked away making the present seem like the past
While people hide behind an African mask of "free at last"

They made a holiday but the war has still not been won
Everywhere I look I see the ties that bind are coming undone
We need another one like the Reverend to run and take charge
For the pestilence of prejudiced thinking is still at large
The only voices I hear calling are those far on the fringes
Angry extremists who've already flown off their hinges
Stop the negative thinking and the behavior of animals
Tearing down one another with the appetites of cannibals
We must reach to pull back the community from sinking sand
With fullness of cooperation, hand in hand with our fellow man
The youths have been sold on gilded glamour and fool's gold
Keeping them pacified on porno and music videos they behold
It's the time to make goals and actively seek a better solution
Too many lost souls are stifling in this poisonous pollution
They've given him his honor and they've given him his day
But I pray, people don't betray the memory of Doctor MLK

JMC
1/23/08
(c) 2008

"Nothing in the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity." - Martin Luther King, Jr.

Mere Moment

Mere Moment

The air tastes sweeter when you close your eyes
And look at life through the yielding lens of wonder
In a mere moment of tranquility you will realize
That the sun shines brighter and leaves your skin
A little warmer, where you can bask in radiance
It brings a fragrance of love, wrapped in its wafts
You know that here is your resting place, a paradise
For there is a nest for the bird and a hole for the fox
But how much more are you, child of Zion, time to arise
Planted in you is a seed where the ground is fertilized
Sometimes you have to prune back down to the root
Make room for new growth, emerge like a green shoot
Tear away the tangles, back to the tender heart of youth
Humble and innocent with ears and eyes for the Truth
It is here where you can be nurtured in confidence
Igniting the eternal flame, internal light the same
As the solar ray which pierces through the stratosphere
A cleansed mind burns away the fog of doubt and fear
And evaporates the stagnant pool of tears below your feet
Indeed the world and its trials only last for awhile
But this is your domicile, open up your eyes beloved
Stride forward and bless creation with your knowing smile

JMC
1/5/08
(c) 2008