For hundreds of years the black man has been crying
with inner tears, striped from his manly dignity and
identity, his self love has been ripped.

He witnesses over again his son’s body being lynched
in the enemy’s clench,and his daughter suffering great
pain from being raped and spiritually slain.

The black man harbors a lot of anguish that tugs on his
tarnished soul, but his divine love fights to keep
him whole.

His strength of an ox allows him to stand strong
to carry the burdened until freedom comes along.
He remains firm in his faith even when he is
being whipped as blood from his skin drips.
With his limbs decapitated, he is not physically
stagnated.

The black man endures years of deception and
rejection in every place because of his colored face.
Yet his will power of determination makes him
over look discrimination.

Century’s of captivity as a slave have some men
scarred from enslaved views that are bound
in their minds.

In spite of all the hardship he endures, his inner
godly peace sustains him from grief.
No other race can explain the endurance of a black
man’s pain he hides inside where injustice resides.

Still the black man’s soul struggles to run free and his
humble ways makes his strength a mystery.

He exemplifies a true hero of life and unpleasant
strife, but his faith continues to rise.
Yet he has a spiritual majestic power that shines
from his eyes.

(c) By Naomi Johnson