"He Used God's Name in Vain by Saying that He Loved Her" by Jamila Lyiscott

(Inspired by 1 John 4:16)

If God is Love
Then Love cannot be lust
It cannot simply be a good feeling
If God is Love
Then It must be eternal
It must be the most tangible intangibility
In a world where the intangible is rarely sought
If God is Love
It cannot be wavering, fickle, or in between
It cannot be unsure
It cannot be self-seeking
If we are Love
(I mean, really Love)
We ought to be transcendent
We have to be secure
If God is Love
Then It must be undefeatable
Powerful
With the ability to verbalize and materialize change
It must be able to mold the formless
and make formless the self-molded
If God is Love
Then It is sternly soothing
It is timeless and vigilant
It must be self-sacrificing and long-suffering
If God is Love
Then my mind must beat faster when I feel it
For the heart is fickle
If God is Love, and I am God, and Love is me
Then It, I, Him must be sure

"I Could Not Stand" by Teresa RoseMarie (Peggy)

Were it not for the hand of the Lord,
I could not stand.
Were it not for His lovingkindness and compassion,
My heart would melt within me,
and I would be consumed by my grief.

Were it not for the Master's guidance,
I would be blind.
Were it not for His tender words,
the beauty and warmth in hugs and smiles
would fade,
as I reach further into myself.

All praise, glory,and honor,
Were it not for the Wonderful Counselor,
Were it not for His glorious presence,
Were it not for the hand of the Lord,
I could not stand.

"Make His Praise Glorious" by Zoisha Salexia Case

Let’s yield our hearts to the king above
Let’s give him the chance to bless us with his love
If we close our eyes and open our hearts we will hear him speak and all our worries will depart
Don’t ask me how he does it, I don’t understand
Let’s just accept his healing and marvel at his powers so grand
He loves us all more than we can comprehend
So when we feel we need someone, he can be that true and faithful friend
God is the one who planted the roses on the earth
He is the one who blessed each of us before our birth
He made the green pastures so his animals could graze
It is also him we should thank for the beautiful sunset on which our eyes graze
How would we know when life is good if we never experience pain?
How could we recognize sunshine if we never saw rain?
What a mighty God, what stupendous power
He is there for us, every minute, every hour
Our life may not be easy, in fact it might be quite rough
But through it all Our God is always by our sides so let’s make his praise glorious

"Dear Friend" by Teresa Rose Marie (Peggy)

Dear friend,
I did listen
and decided to do
as you have said.
I sat down
with paper and pen
to count my blessings, instead
of moaning and groaning
and bathing in my complaints.
the most wonderful thing unfolded,
as I went along
and counted.
I felt so calm,
I had to smile,
and began to sing a song.
For I realized
how blessed I've been.
And that this
dark cloak of sadness
was something,
of which I was truly in need.
For each time I wore that robe,
I held on so close to God,
my heart and mind
were set in prayer,
and filled with His precious word.
He lifted me out,
and up so high
I was always able to cope.
My precious Savior
held my hand,
and led me
on the road of hope!
So I'm responding
to your letter dearest friend,
and giving you the same advice.
Dear friend,
take pen and paper,
and your blessings,
please begin to write!

(Untitled) by Darren Sands

I had a dream that I loved you like
mama's macaroni and cheese
like
warm rain
like
the first rays of sunlight that light up your face
on sunday morning
like
a hug from a long lost friend
like
how your fingers work when you braid
and like
blueberry butter.


and i like
the way
you are so cynical and passionate and delicate
about everything
all at once.
surely,
this comes easy to you.
and though I cannot understand it,
this love for you
was first expressed through Him in agony
on the cross

"Hate" by Jamila Lyiscott

What do these young black people hate about themselves so much?
It shouldn’t be what…it should be, why do they hate themselves?
Why do we foster this ignorant state?
Why do we proudly enslave ourselves in civil battles with self-induced hate?
Why do we depreciate ourselves with the inappreciation of fallen kings that lie in enslaven graves?
As the footprints of our forefathers collect dust on the roads they’ve paved
Little black girls don’t have fathers to call them beautiful
So now they fall for lies
Seeking beauty between their thighs
Found fulfillment of that paternal void in some loser’s eyes
Because he looks just like their daddy
Little black girls are getting with their daddies and being discarded
And it’s this metaphysical incest that has us functionally retarded
So the fall of the Black kingdom is simply being disregarded
As we hate

But this Hate
It did not originate in the bellies of our docking ships
This Hate
Was an electrical transcendence through the master’s mocking whips
It’s not the black plague, it’s the black Hate that resonates throughout my Hood
Fighting good
Saying these baby daddies would be these baby’s daddies if they weren’t baby daddies
But if they were Fathers
Its like this Hate is fighting harder
It has the Hood possessed
Lord save us! We’re lost in concrete woods and sending sparks up in distress
Red and blue S.O.S

And where is happiness?
It dangles off the fingertips of God in the form of crowns for Kings and Queens
But we don’t want that
We’d rather be self-inflicting fools harnessing anger like Hate fiends
So we Hate in this life without the thoughts to appreciate the One that reigns above it
We Hate
And Willie Lynch got us thinking that we love it
And even though I come from Bed Stuy
I’m here to tell you that I’m in this world, but I’m not of it
I’m here for change

"Enraptured Love" by Daniel Bleau

Enraptured in love
Love,Love,Love
flowing smoothly from
the heavens above

Twirling round and round
until it hits the ground

Boom, Bang,Pow
The impact is oh so hard

the effect is great
its more than worthwhile

Its what I've been waiting on
All my life I have waited

Its all I ever wanted
Its all I ever needed
Enraptured love,love,love
enraptured love from above

"Can I Pray with You?" by Teresa Rose Marie (Peggy)

Hi there,
are you ok?
Just thought I'd pass by
and visit with you today.
Some how, yesterday,
I looked at you,
and even though you smiled,
there was just this far away look
in your eyes.
So I wondered
how I could help you.
No, you don't have to
tell me your troubles,
I know that life
tosses us here and there
and trials burst many bubbles!
But I wondered,
Can I pray with you?
It will only take a while,
that's ok,
I know your heart is full,
yes, it's ok to cry.
In His great compassion
Jesus will hear you
and take you up in His arms.
Though the storms are blowing,
He is the anchor
hold still and feel no alarm.
No matter how rough,
How loud,
How cloudy,
Focus on what He has said.
The Shepherd of your soul
will always lead you,
in His bosom
you can always lay your head!
Can you think of a friend, besides the Master,
who'll walk with you along the way?
My friend,
I just wanted to drop by,
to hold your hands and pray.

"Bubbling" by Keri S. Smith

In this bubble, there is a desert
there is darkness
Thirst, fear and sadness
Over and over and over again

He looks at me
I don't see
I am distracted by a pointless journey
Confused by a pointless purpose
I miss his reminder

He never stops watching
I am weary of the journey
Frustrated by the waste
The pain forces me to stop, reevaluate....remember
I look at him

I can't believe I didn't remember
I created that bubble, that desert
His was always a better plan, ultimate fulfillment
Somehow, I still return to the created bubble
He patiently waits
Until I burst it once and for all

"Blind Skind-ed" by Jamila Lyiscott

I have never seen a White man...not once

I have seen broken souls wield whips of language
I have seen bleeding spirits stand strong in ignorance

But I have never seen a White man...
So I've never seen a White man's God

I've seen hands of power inflict weary mates and call it Love
But Love itself maintains its purity

I've seen the word 'Love' painted onto tongues that have fists that fight with insecurity...
But Love maintains its purity...

So I've never seen a White man ...
or a White man's God

I've seen the word 'God' gilded onto lies
I've seen the word 'Jesus' graffittied onto slaveship bellies by pointy toothed devils that knew that Love is so easily confused with the impurity that might choose to bear its name

But I've never seen a White man...

I've never even seen a Black man
...OR his God

I've seen LORD God of hosts
Lord of all nations
Never God of skins

Sorry White man...you have no God
Sorry Black man...you have no God

But We do.

"He Sent You." by Teresa Rose Marie (Peggy)

I'm so glad that you passed by,
I need someone to talk to.
Life's been pressing me hard,
there's so much that I'm going through.
I truly need a friend
to kneel with me and pray,
to ask the blessed Savior,
to come by this way.

Please pull up a chair
and talk with me for a minute,
don't look around the room
at all the mess you see in it.
My mind is so confused,
my heart aches, my head pains,
but this moment of sweet fellowship,
will surely bring me gain!

I'm so glad you talked with me,
the assurance that you gave,
that Jesus loves and cares for me
you held my hands and we prayed.
It left me with this awesome feeling
of peace, to go through this day,
Oh my blessed friend in Christ,
I'm glad He sent you my way.