This book is a collections of poems written from 1980-2009. A collection of poems that will have something for all types of folk in this life. It will also give you pause to think about your belief system and what it means to you. These poems look at life from a personal point of few from the author and will show how the author looks at life at certain points of his life while dealing with different types of folk and situations along his life's journey. It will show the angry, disappointment, happiness and love with life along the way. In the end poems are about life and the roads you take until your world has ended at a certain point.
POEMS FROM MY HEART AND SOUL
By Melvin Avery EdwardsAuthorHouse
Copyright © 2010 Melvin Avery Edwards
All right reserved.ISBN: 978-1-4490-2485-7Contents
Forward..............................................................viiAcknowledgments......................................................ixFriends To The End...................................................1Thoughts From A Black Man............................................11Love.................................................................27Dedicated To My Sister Madeline Patricia Edwards.....................45For All The Women Who Make Life Great................................53Christmas............................................................63Different Thoughts About Life On This Earth..........................73Conclusion...........................................................89
Chapter One
FRIENDS TO THE END
A friend is someone you can trust with your life and know that they will not let you down when you need them the most. You hope they will be around on this earth for as long as you are.
FRIENDS NEVER END
When I first saw you, you were just another face in the crowd Someone not to be remembered right away Then I met you and begin to talk with you It was like when you turn on the light in the room Suddenly you can see the whole room so it was with you I began to see the real person you are Not just someone to be lusted after But someone real, to love, to hold, to be friends with Someone who would make a man happy to be alive Happy that he has you in his life Happy to share whatever he has with you To give you everything your heart desires To walk in the park, holding hands Not caring about what's going on in this world Knowing that as long as he has you by his side he can face anything In this world and win But I realize that this can never be For you belong to another We are like two ships passing in the night, never to touch I am in one ship, wishing to reach you, to touch you, to share you To love you as a man is supposed to love a woman But you're already sharing your ship with another, happy with life For even though I cannot have you the way I want Friendship is a life of beauty also For a friend can be someone to share life with Someone to hold you when you are down Someone to listen when you need to talk To be there when others have let you down For anyone can make love to another, but all cannot be friends So my friend, turn not your back on me Never let anything interrupt our friendships And I will be there when you need me And you when I need you To fight the battles of this world For a friend is like a life raft on a ship Like a glass of water to a thirsty man So let not our friendship end Because of the stupid people of this world For even though I cannot have you for my own I can always have you as a friend And you also will have a friend Till this world is no longer here A FRIEND THAT SAVES He is the one I look up to when I'm feeling down He is the only one that can always take away my frown He is the one who is always there when I am feeling blue He is the one who will always be there telling me the true He's there no matter what the time of day or night He's holding me when I am full of fright on a sleepless night He is my friend, He is my friend, and Jesus will have mercy on me He is the one who makes my world, Jesus have mercy on me He's there when people have gone away and left you all alone He is the one I can depend on when all other hope is gone He is the one who is there when family and friends turn their back on you He is the one who will always be there to help you make it through this life He is there when you seem to be going downhill and will love you no matter what you do He is the one that will pull you through and keep you from feeling blue He is my friend, He is my friend, and Jesus will have mercy on me He is the one who makes my world, Jesus have mercy on me He is my King, Life and Friend when everyone around is wearing a frown He will one day lead me to Heaven where I will turn in my frown for a crown He will fill my soul with joy and happiness for the rest of my days on earth He will be there when death has taken me away from this place He will finally let me see Him face to face because of His saving grace He will know that I have always wanted His saving grace while on this earth He is my friend, He is my friend, and Jesus will have mercy on me He is the one who makes my world, Jesus have mercy on me FRIEND
A friend is someone who inspires you and helps you to become a better person Someone who is there when you are down and there when things are good Someone who doesn't judge you or put you down when you make a mistake Someone who believes in you even when you don't believe in yourself Someone who is willing to help you in times of need and not say you own them for life Someone who doesn't have to put you down to feel good about themselves Someone who is patient with you, even when you make the same mistakes over and over again Someone who is willing to guide you in the right direction and teach you what they know Someone whose dream for you is to be as successful as you can be and more Yes, you are the kind of friend who makes people want to be a success You make people what to be better human beings and help others You inspire people to be better than they thought they were able to be Your friendship shows people what God wants us to be towards each other Your teachings make people want to be all that they can be in this life You help to make the world a better place each day that you are in it You inspire me to want to be the type of friend you are to me to everyone I come in contact with For you live God's words, do unto others as you would have them do unto you And as long as God grants me breath in my body I will always count you as my friend THAT SPECIAL LADY When I was just a little boy, I didn't know what to do But I always had this lady, who helped make my dreams come true And without this special lady, those little dreams would have been blue That's why I will always call her when I do not know what to do in this life That's why I will call her mama until the day I die and leave this earth to see the man upstairs And as I became older and looked back on my life, mama always knew what was best This lady was special in all the things she's done for me while I was a child She taught me how to live, how to save and to forgive others when they treated me wrong But most of all she taught me how to make this world a better place to live That's why I will call her mama until the day I die and leave this earth to see the man upstairs And now that I am grown I realize that she has always been my best friend Remember all those little things she used to do that no one seems to see or care about But I will have her memories for all the years of my life while on this earth And all those little things she did helping me to see the reality of life That's why I will call her mama until the day I die and leave this earth to see the man upstairs And now that she is old it's my turn to do all these things she did for me To make her life much easier and help her with everything she needs to do Now I know within my heart I will never be able to do all those things she did for me I will give my best friend all the love she gave to me all my years in this life and not let her down That's why I will call her mama until the day I die and leave this earth to see the man upstairs A FRIEND SHINES AT CHRISTMAS Throughout the year you can always depend on a good friend in everyway No matter if the chips are down, your friend will never let you stray They are always there when life seems to pull you down Letting you know whatever you do that Christ will help remove that frown They let you know throughout the year that Christ is always there And that no matter what else happens Christ will always treat you fair Your friend is not like others whose light shine a dreary gray Your friend's light is always bright to help you find your way A friend does not always want something in return for what they do They only want the best for you to keep you from feeling blue They only want you to have the best and find the road that is right For only through this road will you find the light of Christ However when you are depressed, a friend's light shines a special way And helps you always find the path that leads to back towards Christ's way Your friend let's you know they are there whenever you need someone And that no matter what time of day or night your friendship is always number one Be thankful if you have a friend who will always be there to help guide your way For I am sure that Christ will bless you both as you as past along His way
Chapter Two
THOUGHTS FROM A BLACK MAN
Being black in America means waking up knowing that you will always be different from everyone else, no matter where you go or what you become in this life. However, you should not hold hate in your heart for those that treat you this way, for they are the ones that need understanding and love the most.
A BLACK MAN'S FATE
To be born a black man is like being born to condemnation in Hell For this man most always prove himself in every walk he takes in life He is forever looked upon as someone to be feared and despised Whenever he walks down the street, people are always thinking that he will do them harm Thinking that he is a criminal, even when he has done nothing wrong Thinking that this black man is the cause of all the crime in this society Thinking that he is nothing more than a savage waiting to strike his next victim Always thinking that he should be in jail so that their streets will be safe again And that people can rest easy in their beds at night once he is locked away To be born a black man is like being born to a condemnation in Hell For when the police have anything to do with him, there is no respect There is only the belief that he is guilty of a crime, and they most lock him up There is no treatment of him as a human being, only that of a mad dog on the loose Thus, it is all right to beat him and chain him up like a dog All right to lie upon him to keep him in jail far away from decent human beings All right for a society to spit upon him, like he is the scum of the earth To make him feel as if he should never have been born on this planet To make him feel that his life is useless, and that even if he succeeds he still has failed To be born a black man is like being born to a condemnation in Hell Even among his own people he forever must defend his manhood To always feel that he has to be able to prove to other black men that he is a man Always battling with one another, killing one another, lying upon one another Always believing that he cannot trust anyone, not even his woman, for she has turned on him Forever making him feel that no matter what he does it's not good enough For to trust someone might mean to spent all your time in jail, or death itself To wake up to know that no matter what you do, you most do it alone For there is no trust, no love, even in your own neighborhood To be born a black man is like being born to a condemnation in Hell You go through your whole life being confused, abused, and misused Forever knowing that no matter what path you take there is no respect for you No matter how much money you have, you are still looked upon as just another nigger With a society waiting for you to make a mistake, so that they can put you in jail for life And the police willing to lock you up and lie about you just because you happen to be a black man But you must go on, because if you stop you might as well be put to death No matter if you have to fight the whole world, you must let people know that you are someone Someone who lives, breaths, and has emotions just like anyone else Someone who wants the respect of others, just as they want you to respect them ONE-DAY PEACE One day people will be able to sit down and talk to each other without fear of what's going to happen afterwards Men will be able to talk of peace without the threat of violence All colors will come together and become one People will stop killing each other for no reason Neighbors will be neighbors again Doors will not have to be locked, for everyone will look out for each another Love will be spread like wild fire, from one heart to another God will be praised on every corner and in every house For surely if we are to have peace with each other God will have to be somewhere around Not just when we need each other; but in our hearts at all times For the key to any happiness is for God to have the front seat, and for us to ride and listen. For if you are always talking you will miss what God has to say One day we will all be free with happiness in God's house Don't be a lost soul falling into darkness Come to the light of the Lord SILENCE Oh God can you hear the crying of this black child's heart as he sits along in the dark? Can you hear him asking for your help and mercy as his father beats him every day of his life? Can you hear him asking you to talk with him to let him know you are real in his time of sorry and pain? Can you hear him calling your name late into the night when he is full of fright? Can you hear the crying of his sisters and brothers who are hungry waiting for dad to come home? Can you feel their hungry pains when they have not eaten food for days and they do not understand? Can you hear them start to forsake God's love when they begin to believe it's not real? Can you hear them say we are all along for they do not hear God's voice? Silence! Silence! Silence! Can you hear when men are raping him and tearing him all apart late into the night? Can you hear your child asking you to save him from this as they abuse this child for years? Can you see that his heart is beginning to see nothing but hate as he faints from all the pain? Can you see this child run away and ask the police for help and relieve him from his pain? Can you see the police tell him to go back home for you get no help tonight? Can you feel that he has turned away and will not ask for your help for the rest of life on earth? Can you feel that he cannot feel love in his heart again for he does not believe he has a friend? Can you see that he thinks that he is all along and will not believe that God can stop the pain? Silence! Silence! Silence! Can you see that this black man has grown-up and hates all of mankind as well as God for his pain? Can you see that he knows nothing but misery and knows not love for self or God? Can you hear his heart crying inside for he knows not how to love himself or to rid his pain? Can you hear his voice deep inside him crying out your name and asking for your help? Can you not speak to this heart who wants so hard to believe that God is real this in this life? Oh God help me this night a black man says and show me that the love you said you had for me? Can you not see his heart is cold and in much need of God's everlasting love on this night? Silence! Silence! Silence! Oh! Dam this awful silence that will never save my life! USING WHAT YOU HAVE Many things in life do not change, God knows if they only would It would make life that much simpler so that you could do only what's right You would know which direction to take when things are going down The way to change it is not life itself but to change the way you think Don't always look for the easy way out because there really isn't one The short cuts you thought were there are but images of fantasyland The pot at the end of the rainbow or the horse shoe that brings good luck is nothing but a change of mind because you are your only luck Life is a game that must be played with the rules that are already there You can't create your own rules and expect to win You must remember that all you have tried has been tried time and time again For many people such as you have been looking for that gold at the rainbow's end So take the cards you have and play those cards and you will have nothing to regret You will know in the end that you have tried with all your will and might So if things get bad don't look around for the easy way out Just play by the rules and in the end you will win with plenty of time to share (Continues...)
Excerpted from POEMS FROM MY HEART AND SOULby Melvin Avery Edwards Copyright © 2010 by Melvin Avery Edwards. Excerpted by permission.
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