The Obama Poetry Project

Mel BrakE Press is very pleased to publish its first and one of many poetry chapbooks from both noted and emerging writers from across the globe.

We hope that you enjoy reading, "The Obama Poetry Project".


The Obama Poetry Project
Written by Mel Brake


FIRST STAGE
The Awakening

Rise Up Young Black Boy
New Morning
Hope

SECOND STAGE
The Tribulation

Speck of Brown
Vote for me
America
Milky White
Time for change
Terrance Becoming

THIRD STAGE
The Second Coming

Obama Obama
Dreaming
Black is
First Lady Black American Style

FOURTH STAGE
Revelation

Sun Brother
Dark Child
Black Love
I am Obama

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DEDICATIONS

For my mother who we affectionately call Dot and Dot Dot by her grandchildren
She has supported me through the years when I was afraid to just be me.

For my sisters Hazel and Betty with whom I shared almost all of my secrets.

For my big brothers Joe, William and Harold who fought for me because
I am a lover and not a fighter.

And for my father who helped bring me into this world.

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ACKNOWLEDGMENT


I would like to thank the editors who previously published
poetry works of mine which appear in the following publications.

Fox Chase Review 2008, “First Lady Black American Style”

Adoration of the Sol CD/Chapbook, “Rise Up Young Black Boy”

Adoration of the Sol: Deuce, The Musical, “Hope”


I would also like to send a special thanks to Saniyyah Tyler for her
supportive friendship and editing acumen of this book and previous works.

As well as, thanking my family ancestors who have offered wisdom and guidance.
And last but not least, Terrance Jones who I hope for all the best in life and may this book be an inspiration to his life’s journey.

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INTRODUCTION

My reason for writing The Obama Poetry Project is my attempt as an American poet
to capture through poetry what I was thinking and feeling in the aftermath of Barack Obama’s election as the first Black President of the United States of America on
November 04, 2008.

I was at a recent poetry reading when a black woman remarked that she was hoping that someone would read poetry about Obama’s election. I just happen to have been that poet.

In addition, I wanted to share a black perspective of what his election could mean for the future of people from all walks of life. In the selection process of which poems would be the best indicator of capturing this viewpoint, I selected some poems that were written prior to his election, but they make a bold enough statement and made enough sense to be included in this collection.

Obama’s election is a major and dramatic watershed event and will have reverberations that will be felt around the world for the present and future generations to come. I pray that this body of work act as a unifying and healing agent for all Americans and all people who should lay their eyes upon it.

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The First Stage
The Awakening

RISE UP YOUNG BLACK BOY

Rise up
Young black boy

I’ll give you
The strength
That you need

Rise up
Young black boy

I‘ll give you
The strength
That you need

Just call my name
You can depend
On me

I will be there
In your need

I will be
Your strength
Just believe

Rise up
Young black boy

I’ll give you
The fight
For you to be

Rise up
Young black boy

I’ll give you
The fight
Yes indeed

Just call my name
You can depend
On me

You are the one
We need to lead

Open your heart
And let go
All that you grieve

Rise up
Young black boy

Rise up
Rise up
Rise up

Young
Black
Boy

NEW MORNING

It’s a new morning
The sun rise up
Again

To say
Hello
Like
A good
Friend

It’s a new dawning
So raise your
Head up on high

The blue sky
Limitless
And very neigh

It’s a new morning
The chill
That was in
Air

Has
Scattered
Like cats
Here and there

It’s a new dawning
People come out
Because you
Are free

Break off
Your shackles
And worries
And be happy

Cause it’s a new morning
The sun rise up
Again

To say hello
Like a good friend

It’s a new dawning
So raise your
Head up on high

The blue sky
Limitless
And very neigh

It’s a new morning
Blue children
Do understand

That there
Be peace
Throughout
The land

It’s a new dawning
White light
Is here again

For hope and
Love for every
Woman child and man

It’s a new morning

HOPE
Dedicate to Jamar Brake

Hope
Lives within
Me

And it will
Show

Like a
Flower

With
Sunlight

She will
Grow

Hope
Lives within
Me

This much
I know

Like
River

She rampant
And will flow

But I am
The one

Whose caught
In despair

I need to
Climb
The mountain top

To breathe
Fresh air

I need to
Climb
The mountain top

To breathe
Fresh air

Hope
Lives in
Within
Me

I want to
Believe

Like
The new
Child

Clings
To her mother
Knees

But I am
The one

Stuck in
A wheel
Chair

I need to climb
The mountain top

To breathe
Fresh air

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Second Stage
The Tribulation

SPECK OF BROWN

Specks
Of brown
In a sea
Of white
Cotton

Since
The early
20th century
My people
Have serviced
Your people

As indenture
Servants

We have cleaned
Your homes

We have cared
For little Johnnie

We have fought
Off your husbands

But
Have gone
Unnoticed

Like the borrowers
We don’t ask for
Much

And need
Much less
To make
Our way
In your
Convoluted world

We have lived in
The richest of neighborhoods
But are counted among the poorest

We are specks of brown
In a sea of white cotton

Since the election
Of Obama

We have been spotted
For a change

Words of Victory
Headlines our local newspapers
But what has changed for
Specks of brown

VOTE FOR ME

Is a vote
For Obama
A vote for me

Time for a change

Is a vote
For Obama
A vote for my
Black son

Time for a revolution

Is a vote
For Obama
A repudiation
Of racist policies

Time for reparation

The day after
The election
Brown and Black
People

Shared
A sense of disbelief
And a smile that
Was sent to us by
Our ancestors
400 light years
Away

Time for a celebration

Is a vote
For Obama
A vote
For symbolism

Is a vote
For Obama
A vote for real change for me

AMERICA

I am dying
And I have
A Child

I am giving
Up my last
Breath

But
I am not giving
Up my last
Hope

I may not
Live to see
Her
Grow
And mature

Into a woman

I may not
Walk her
Down
The aisle
At her wedding

I may not
Wipe her
Tears away
As she experiences
Life without a father

I may not
Do a lot
Of things
With her
But

I will see
That she is
Left with everything
That she needs

Who shall
I leave my
Precious child
With

Who shall
Be her
Voice
On a cold
Winter that
Lays ahead for her

Who shall
Care for my
Child

America

MILKY WHITE

I am taking
My maiden’s
Name
Obama

As a man
Who has
Never been
Married
Into the Obama
Family

I can still
Appreciate
The benefits
Of the Obama
Brand

He spent
Millions
On a marketing
Campaign
To sell Americans
On such a funny name

He took some
Lessons from
The “O” Lady
In Chicago

Saturated the
Market until
Your product
Becomes a household
Word

Like Oreos
Cookies
That goes
Good with
Carnation Evaporated Milk

Time FOR A CHANGE

Inspired by “A Change Is Gonna Come”
Written by singer songwriter Sam Cooke

“But I know A change
Is gonna come
Oh yes it will”

Change
Like the
Chains
That bind
Our ankles
And feet

Change
Like the
Ships
That carried
Us away
From our
Homelands

Change
Like the
Hard times
That we
Suffered
Generation
After
Generation
After
Generation
After
Generation

Change
That was
Promised

That was made
To us
And nothing
Changed

“But I know
A change
Is gonna come
Oh yes it will”

Change
Like a
Descendant
Of an African father
Running for
The White House

Change
Like the
The American
People
Saying
No
To unconstitutional
Laws passed
By Congress

Change
Like the
First contact
From
Lightships

Change
What
Do we
Want

Change
When
Do we want
It

Change
Now

Change
Forever

All we need
Is Change

“But I know
A change
Is gonna
Come
Oh yes it will”

TERRANCE BECOMING

Terrance
Sits
On the sofa
With a blank
Stare

For a young
Man of 14
He has adult
Problems

Is he concerned
About his court
Hearing
A new girl friend or
How to get a
New leather jacket

I want to ask
Him what is the
Matter

What is his
Problem

Why is he so
Quiet
For a child
Who always
Has a lot to say
When he is on
His cell

I brought
Him over
To clean my home
And make
A little bit
Of cash
For himself

After he
Cleans out
The dirt and grime

He asks to
Take a shower

And takes
The phone
In for a bath too

I sit him
Down and
Try to explain
Why Obama’s
Election
Is so important
To black people

Who were told
During the modern
Era that their
Children can
Be anything
They want to believe

But our parents and grandparents
Who told us
Did not believe
It

Terrance sits
On my sofa
And I tell him
To look at me
While I speak
To him

That he can
Really be anything
That he wants to be
Really

I want to take
Him to the inauguration
But I wonder

What type of
Choices will he
Make for himself
To better his life
Or not

What’s to become
Of him

What will become
Of him

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Stage Three
The Second Coming

OBAMA OBAMA

This man
Is like no
Other man

Obama
Obama

This man
Has a name
Like
No other man’s
Name

Obama
Obama

Except
For his father

He is like
The brother
Who has
Come

Very
Far

Twinkle
Twinkle
Little star

Come and
Light the
World on fire

Things were
Pretty
Dim

Before
Obama came
In

1961

He lived
And traveled

Many parts
Of the world
Like
The Christ child

This man
Is like no
Other man

It’s been
A long time
Coming

But I know
A change

Is going
To come

Obama
Obama

This man
Is like no
Other man

He has an
Unusual plan
To set the
World right

For those
Who placed
Him on a pedestal
To do their bidding
Beware

This man
Is like no
Other man

It’s been
A long time
Coming

But I know
A change

Is going
To come

Obama
Obama

Dreaming


In August

In the 6o’s

Dr Martin Luther King

Stood up to racial
Injustice

In Washington DC

At
The US
Mall

And

Said

To a divided nation

“I have
A dream”


In August

40 years

Later

Another

Soon to be

Famous

Black man

Spoke to
The world

From a soon
To be united
Nation

And said

I am hope

I am the promise

I am the dream

BLACK IS

Black
Is in

And its
Not a trend

Like a circle
As it was
In the beginning

To times
When God
Said

Let there be light

Black
Is back

Unlike
The baby Jesus
Who could not find
Room in the inn

Black
Is accepted

Black
Is in

And its
Fashionable

Like the
Dresses wore
By Michelle Obama

To the two little
Blacks girls
Playhouse in the White House

To their black daddy
Ruler of the free world
Black is definitely
IN


FIRST LADY BLACK AMERICAN STYLE

She is
Black and
Beautiful

She is hip
To what’s
In style
And has
A style
Of her own

She is
Breadwinner and
Head of
Household

She raises
Her children and
Her husband
If she chooses
To have one

She is out
Spoken
Out in front

And
In the middle
Of every situation
That matters to her

She is strong and
Powerful

She carries
The burden of
The world
Within her legs

And birth
To maturity
Boy-man from
Her belly

She is reserve and
Demure

She prefers to spend
Her time
Alone

When she
Is in pain

Because

She has
The power to
Heal herself

She is
Michelle Obama
Dorothy
Hazel
Betty
And Saniyyah

She charts her
Own course

And
Writes her
Own chart

Like many
Heroic
Black women
Before her
She stands
On their shoulders

Like the French
Statue of Liberty

She sets
Her aim

High

From
The poor
House

To
The White House

With

Black American
Style

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Fourth Stage
Revelation

SUN BROTHER

He comes
From the east
Not the dark side
Of the moon

He comes
From the east
Not Eden

He comes
From the east
From the stars

Not Bethlehem

When the sun
Shines
Itself

White
Bright
Light

Not our
Sun

But the sun
From
Whence
He comes

Our time is now

He is not
The first
Or the last

That shall
Come

To our
World

He comes
From the
East

Sirian
Brother of
Light

DARK CHILD

We are
The dark
Children

We are
The children
Of the black moon

We are
Dirty like
Mud from
The bottom
Of world

We are black
Like inner space

We are
The dark
Children

We are
Children
Of The Black Madonna

We are
In the shadows
Of the Fire Star

But we are
Light
And the absence
Of

We are
The children
Of African

We are
The dark seeds of
Man and woman

We are
Multiple and
Originators
Of the Cosmos

When our father
Said let there be
Light

We the
Children of
The Night

Scattered
Ourselves
Across
The Invisible
Universe

BLACK LOVE

Black love
Is back

Like a romantic
Renaissance movie

Romeo
And Juliet

Barack
And Michelle

A black man
Professes to love
A black woman

For the whole
World to witness

The way
He looks at her
Could melt
All the ice in
Antarctica

The way
He looks at her
Could build a
Foot bridge
From Africa to
America

Black love
Has reemerged
From the days
When it was taboo
Like the

Faith and beliefs
That a black man and
Black woman
Practiced

In days
When if a black
Man loved a black
Women

Both of them
Were beaten
Punished
And shunned

When in black
Communities
They are married
In secret

When in black
Communities
Their black babies
Were taken away
And never seen again

But it was
Not always
That way
Because before
These dark ages

Black love
Was the love
That mighty
African
Nations
Rested its
Feet upon
And build
Powerful
Civilizations

That was
When a
Black man
Loved a
Black women

Black love
Is back

Like a romantic scene
On a Sunday Lifetime
Movie

But this
Time
It’s real
and poppin'

I AM OBAMA

I am Obama
And I have come

I have come
To bring you

Enough bread to eat
Ample clothing to wear
Plenty of sheltering from the elements

I have come
To foster peace among nations
And to end all strife among men

I am Obama
And I have come

I have come
To bring you

The love of the Mother Goddess
The love between man and women
The love of Peace and The Earth

I am Obama
And I have come

I have come
From the wildness
Of 40 days and 40 nights

I have to come
To tell you

That I am He
Who was prophesied
By Enoch

Like King Arthur
The Second

I have come
To regain
What was lost

I have come
To reclaim
What was truth

I have come
To reaffirm
Heaven on Earth

That the end of
Times is near

That the war
Of Armageddon
Has been fought

That the times
Of milk and honey
Is neigh

I am Obama
And I have come

I am the revelation

I am the truth

I am the Light

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About the Author

Mel Brake is a Philadelphia based poet who was born with a gift for writing. He has been writing poetry for a number of years, but in the past few years decided to showcase his work publicly. His first readings were at funerals when he was asked to write a piece for family members and friends.

After receiving requests for copies of his works at funerals, he signed up for a poetry writing work shop and showed up at open mic’s where he learned how to be come an effective writer from such Philadelphia poets and luminaries as Kristin Glow, Rosemary Cappello and many others.

He prefers to write free verse and it has been said that although his writing style is simple and complex because he uses few choice words, he takes up plenty of space in poetry journals because his form of writing is long handed. He writes about different subject matters from the mystical/spiritual to the social/political and whatever is in between.

His work has appeared on TV, radio, print and the internet outlets and his work can be found at www.blogtalkradio.com/Mel-Brake or www.melbrakEpress.webs.com

For comments about this publication, please write to:
Mbrake1@msn.com