Poetry Month

The Signs of the Time
Ismail Sami Muhammad

Seagulls flying into the inner city
Birds of prey it’s not so pretty
Just when you thought things were fine
We’re now witnessing the signs of the time

If you observed what’s going on around you
You would ask yourself “Have I been true?”
I think we should concentrate this hour
Because we must answer to a Higher Power

When we learn of terror attacking our border
It’s time to get our house in order
We got relaxed when things were fine
Now we’re witnessing the signs of the time



(untitled)
By Mikel Bonds

These feet of mine
Have walked a thousand miles
And yet they go on searching
Forever searching, traveling
the world. In pursuit of a truth
A truth that may never be found
The answer to all my questions
The end to all my pain
These concealed emotions
I keep inside myself are hammering
Hammering against the walls
Of an eternal prison
And soon like teardrops in the rain
To be released forever shattering
My existence



Wayfaring People
By: Ismail Sami Muhammad
When you look at the world today
You see that the world has become
a place of wayfaring and wondering people,
many have lost their way of the path of God, they can no longer read the signs of the time, they can no longer read the signs
of the heavenly order,
there’s no more mourning in your life
when you get truth,
we need more casting stones,
when you get the truth,
no more casting stones,
when you get the truth, no more lying,
no more hatred, No more war
all you will have in society is peace,
love, and developement of a human being.







BACK IN DA DAY
By: Doreen Ambrose-Van Lee
Remember back in the day
When rubbing alcohol
Cleaned the scratches
On LP’s and 45’s
And placing a nickel on
A phonograph needle
Kept the party alive
When Now-n-laters were a dime,
And playing catch-a-girl-kiss-a-girl
wasn’t a crime.
When you ran home after school,
To watch the Flintstones and
Giligan’s Island,
To see if those 7 crazy castaways
Would ever make it to dry land.
When slogans like ‘When you give
A kid a book you give a kid a break’,
And a ‘Mind is a terrible hing to waste’,
Were generated for kids sake.
When you dropped a piece of candy
Then picked it up and kissed it up to God,
But you didn’t dare perform that ritual
In front of your mom’ cause you knew it was odd.
When party rap was the in thing,
And when you went to a party
A gift or a card with a dollar in it
Is what you’d bring.
When colorful plastic jackets
And jelly bean sandals were all the rate,
And you got your first summer job and
$3.35 was the minimum wage.
When you wore high water pants or floods,
And you friends make jokes about them
That were all duds,
When it was a treat to go downtown
To watch a Bruce Lee or Spike Lee flick,
And you’d eat popcorn and cotton candy.
Until it made you sick
When someone called you mama,
It was sure to cause all kinds of drama,
But the street fight ended,
Without a doubt,
When the street lights went out.
When family reunion’s were something
You looked forward to attending
You got a chance to meet new relatives
And with the old ones
There was time for fence mending.
When you could ride around all Sunday
On Super transfers,
When you chased rainbows that didn’t curse.
Life was a little bit simpler back then,
So that is where I prefer to take my pen,
And conjure up memories from days gone by,
In these perilous times
Is there any  question why?