Thoughts of a Poet E-Book

Eugene Boyd O.

• Herausgeber: Spines
• Kategorie: Poesie und Drama
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2024

Beschreibung

Eugene O. Boyd has dedicated his time to the educational community, civil rights, and to inner city youth development. He has an undergraduate degree from Chicago State University and a master degree from Governor State University.

Leseprobe

THOUGHTS OF A POET

EUGENE O. BOYD

Thoughts of a Poet

Eugene O. Boyd

All rights reserved

Copyright © 2024 by Eugene O. Boyd

No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.

Published by Spines

ISBN: 978-965-578-510-4

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Grateful acknowledgments to the dedicated teachers, fellow writers, and avid readers whose shared passion for literature has enriched my world in countless ways.

A special thank you to my beloved wife, Vaunasha, whose unwavering support and encouragement have been my pillars of strength. To my cherished daughter, Stacey, whose love and inspiration brighten daily. Deep appreciation for my son, Eugene III, for his meaningful contributions and commitment. Last but not least, heartfelt thanks to my grandson, Zayne, for bringing joy and laughter into our lives.

Each of you has made this journey more meaningful, and I'm profoundly thankful for your presence in my life.

Eugene O. Boyd

CONTENTS

Your Knight in the Night

When I Grow Up

Dad

I Am in Love with the Boss

What I Would Do to Save the World

The Escape of a Slave

It Is Because of You

Once upon a Star

Spaces to Fill

Basketball Love

In the Heat of the Night

A Tribute to Phyllis Wheatley

Pushing a Daisy

Endangered Species

Definition of Poetry

The Bus and the Brown Bag

Fast Eddie

A Brother Went to Vietnam

Baby Boy (Eugene III)

Baby Boyd (Stacey Vaun)

Especially For You: Mother’s Day

I Remember Daddy

Listen, I Have Something to Say

Lorraine

Mayor Harold Washington

My Journey

Nigeria

When Stars Sparkles and Shine

Wise Men: Communication from Beyond

1865

A Girl from the City

At Home

Civil Rights Are They Fasting Fast

The Dan Ryan Expressway

Doorman

Freedom Ring

Funk City

Excellence

Foundations

Half and Half

If I Could Paint A Picture

Imagination

Introduction: Urban Congestion

Mad Benjamin

Momma Boyd

No

A Drive By

Rap! Society’s New Problem

Preview of Life

Social Acceptance

Solitude

Somebody

Son

That One over There

The Black Child

The Dream of Love

The Fifth of…

The Race

The Short Drive Through Life

The World Has We Know It

Thoughts

To Be Born into Slavery

To Make the Music Play

Under the Light of the Moon

Visions

Where Do We Go From Here

Winter Fest 77

You & Me

Your Blue Hat

My Brothers Ain’t Going

Death at an Early Age

Drugs: A Portrait of Despair

When I Look at You

What Makes Me Different from Them

Minority Gets a Chance

If Only I Was Raised Right

Meta

Sunshine

You inspire me

Summer

Through the Eyes of the Beholder

Me, Where Are You

Chicago

Rock Bottom

Across the Many Miles

Leroy

The street called home

The Foolish Captain

The King of Kings

Conversations

Any Time in June

Social Protest

Black Blood Is Red Too

Uncle Tom and Uncle Sam

RIP

In the Land of Milk and Honey

Here I Stand

Sounds of Sirens

The Children Better Watch Out

Irma and Georgia

The Black Child

Ten Years from Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow

Love Is Love Is

Shoe

Why I Fly the Flag

It’s Mother’s Day 2021

Before and After

Elements of Genocide

Everyone Have A Brother Named the Blues

Graffiti

Grandma’s Kitchen

Miscellaneous Thoughts

Once Upon a Basketball

Suddenly Somebody

The Library

The Rooster’s Crow

The Selective Service Card

The Theory Is Not True

The Wall

We See You

Baby Girl, I Love You

Gestures & It Is You

Home of the Brave

Love Is

My South African Queen

My Star You Are

Pipe’s Dream

Shoe Shine Boy

Terror in the Night

Ain’t Nobody Crying

The Tub

Golden Girl

I Love When You Hold Me Tight

Let Me Tell You

Lonely Hearts Do Cry

Mother’s Day

A Gentle Giant Who Walked Tall

Miscellaneous Thoughts

The New York Drive

YOUR KNIGHT IN THE NIGHT

If you would let me

I will be your night in the night

I will come to you, my dear

and make you feel right

Being your knight in the night

I would come from the roof above,

dressed in my shining black

I will sway you with my love.

I will bring you a flower

clinched between my teeth,

with a bottle of wine

it would be me that you seeth.

Being your night in the knight,

I will be soft and warm,

I will come to you, my dear

in a blizzard or a storm

Your knight in the night,

I will make all your dreams come true,

I will give massages and caresses,

and I will always love you.

WHEN I GROW UP

When I grow up,

I am going to do my best

to make sure that everyone is OK

and that no one is homeless.

When I grow up

all people will go to work

and not just fade to black

just to die and be put to dirt.

When I grow up

everyone’s rights will be equal

and not to be played in the media

like some TV or movie sequel.

When I grow up

we will fix the ozone layer

and give guidance to the kids

to be a judge, entrepreneur, or even the Mayor.

When I grow up

there will be hope

and no more drive-bys

or guns and dangerous dope.

When I grow up,

I hope that kids can be free

and be whatever they want

so they can live and be.

DAD

He guided me,

he played with me,

he schooled me,

helped me.

He prepared me,

he disciplined me

he explained to me,

he warned me,

he brothered me,

he gave to me

he stayed with me,

he cared for me,

he marveled at me,

he joked with me,

he talked to me,

he understood me,

he was a hero to me,

he prayed with me.

He loved me.

I AM IN LOVE WITH THE BOSS

I have something to tell you

and to me, this might cost:

I discovered the other day

that I am in love with my Boss.

I tried to say ‘yes mam, no mam’

but it just did not work

because she looks so good

in her business pants suit and shirt.

When she walks into the room

the earth just shutters,

I try too hard to control my emotions

but my heart just flutters.

I just like it when

she is straight forward and fair

and when she leans to see my reports

while touching me with her hair.

I like when she says

“come to my office, we need to meet”,

because in my mind it's like ‘yeah boy,

I am going to knock her off her feet.’

It is okay to be in love with your Boss

if she is a wonderful God-fearing woman.

In my positive work environment

she is oh-so-pretty and always has a plan.

I always try to please the Boss

to get my next promotion

by sharing my lunch with her

to develop her love and devotion.

So it is ok my dear friend

if you run into this type of issue,

it can make your heart cry too

so be sure to have a box of tissues.

I have something to tell you

and to me, this might cost:

I discovered the other day

that I am in love with my Boss.

WHAT I WOULD DO TO SAVE THE WORLD

If I had it my way

and could save this very world

I would make sure a boy stays a boy

and a girl stays a girl.

There would be no senseless killing

that is driving many families mad,

the removal of unneeded handguns

that keeps our community sad.

If I could save the world

I would make sure everyone had a job

so people could support themselves

and then they won’t have to rob.

There would be medical help too

for people strung out on drugs,

we would have free hospital care

and most of all love and hugs.

There would be monitored television

and age-restricted music videos;

if not enforced by the parents

your television would have to go.

To save a changing world

where many schoolchildren listen to rap,

I would have an age code for music

to put our children back on the right map.

There would be many days

when we would plant a tree

instead of all the drive-bys

and even shooting at me.

There would be an everlasting love

and a daily food feast;

everyone would sign a contract

to do their best to ensure the peace.

These are a few things that I would do

for every boy and girl

to help them stay alive

and to make this place a better world.

THE ESCAPE OF A SLAVE

Cows mooing, hay crunching

Dogs barking, darkness still

Chickens crackling, heat sweltering

Heart-pounding, bugs biting

Teeth clattering, feet shuffling

Eyes puffy, knees shaking

Horses galloping, stomach groaning

Body smelling, tree sleeping

North Star, prayer quoting

Wife crying, freedom-seeking.

IT IS BECAUSE OF YOU

It is because of you

that kings would have a lengthy war

because of your tenderness and beauty

that they had never seen before.

It is because of you

that King Kong had such a soft heart

to exhibit human qualities

which would cause his sudden depart.

It is because of you

that an F student can get an A

and grow up to be an important doctor

with a wonderful family, house, and good pay.

It is because of you

that a man confesses his deepest love

and echoes this concept universally

with the blessings of God above.

It is because of you,

in part, the population continues to grow

making the world a better place

as children’s self-esteem glows.

It is because of you

that we mature and leave our safety nest

after all your nurturing love

that makes us the very best.

It is because of you

that kings would have a lengthy war

because of your tenderness and beauty

that they had never seen before.

ONCE UPON A STAR

Once upon a star

time, now, now, now,

there was such a beautiful girl

who would make you say Wow!

Her beauty is magnificent

like a shining star above

with such kindness in heart

and she is as granite

producing a universal love.

She is a wonderful person

and can make your mind rotate,

she is so special like oxygen

in her earthly state.

The magnetic pull she possesses

causes a gravitational force.

She is warm, tender, and soft,

yes, and majestic of course.

A love that is so great

as strong as granite;

she is one of a kind

like no other on the planet.

When the evening darkness comes

her radiance begins to shine,

a sight for eyes to see.

I am glad that you are mine.

SPACES TO FILL

As we travel through this life,

we all will have spaces to fill

if not in our loving heart

By giving the homeless money or a meal.

Some spaces are a constant reminder

that makes life such a thrill

while other spaces make us dream

for a family or a house on a hill.

There are so many spaces in life,

some that we will never get to fill

so remember to live and enjoy time

and that you should foot the bill.

Again, consider time as precious spaces

and not just something to kill

because those majestic spaces of life

will be around forever until.

BASKETBALL LOVE

I love you, Baby

I love you like a basketball

and when I’m with you,

I can do it all.

I think of you, baby

with my basketball at my side

and when I see you love

you make me want to drive.

I love you, baby

when you take a fast break,

It is so good, baby

you know, like eggs and steak.

I love you, baby

when you squeeze my joints,

you make me feel like

I just scored 47 points.

Love is like basketball

when I am the MVP,

the way that you shake and bake

when you full court press me.

Life is love and basketball

like having a triple-double

having hugs, kisses, and romance

where love is the bubble.

I love you, baby

just like the rim above.

Also, remember baby that

when I play basketball,

I make love.

IN THE HEAT OF THE NIGHT

When the world’s at rest

in the heat of the night

he tosses and turns, in a smoke-filled room

a strange monkey he must fight.

Growing up as a kid,

he received many family hugs.

However, that’s all in the past

since his indulgence in drugs.

Sometimes I would ask him,

does he hope that the devil would leave?

He would only nod his head

cause the monkey comes, a regular need.

I told him I’d pray for him

when he nods and looks so dumb

and mumbles non-syllable words

as his body and mind are numb.

In the heat of the night,

that monkey would begin to swang

I would see him grip his punctured body

then start sweating and thang.

That monkey was invisible

but he caused great aches and pain.

He would raise the body temperature

then strip him of his name.

When he couldn’t sleep,

he tried to scratch that odd urge.

However, that monkey was a strong creature

moved in a hungry surge.

Soon he lost his lady friend,

his last resource in the world.

She acted mature no longer

but like an abused, damaged girl.

One evening he was dreaming,

his dream was an illusion:

the dream explained in essence

that death is a future conclusion.