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I
Listen, my children! “Stony the road we trod…”
Listen, my children! “…with a steady beat…we
have come over the way…through the blood
of the slaughtered…[and now here]…we stand…”
Understand! They dared and told the ancestors
that they could not, but they did! They ran
and they hid! They hid and they ran.
Over the mountains of many states, they ran;
through the shadowed valleys of death
of many states, they ran; threading neck-deep
waters between the banks of many rivers,
they ran; often stepping on wet bones.
To the steady beat of ancestral drums echoing, they ran
and they hid—God their guide and their cover.
Oh, they ran and they sang: “Ain’t gon’a let nobody
Lawdy, turn me ‘round…” Oh, they sang: “…before I be
a slave…” Oh, they just kept on running and singing:
“Woke up this morning with my mindset on freedom…”
Yes my children, they just kept on running and hiding.
Running and hiding, and when they felt tired, they prayed
back their strength; for they knew as was written, “…they
that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they
shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run
and not be weary; they shall walk, and not faint.”
So listen carefully my children, don’t you go and get weary
because the struggle goes on and the finish line looks far.
Be aware; your ancestors have left you an easier road
to trod—a path soaked with their blood, sweat, and tears;
a path marked with the footprints of their faith and hope:
treading the footprints of this path, surely you will overcome.
II
Now hear this: True liberation has not yet been won;
there is still a lot of work yet to be done.
Just ponder where we were and now where we are;
it has been like 1 step forward…2 steps backward.
Indeed, we need to regroup; we have yet to reach the bar.
Realize that we are Mandingo warriors; not Susyphus’
weaklings; we are children of the light of that eastern star.
Yes, we set a precedent with the election of a Black President
but they came and reclaimed the White House resident.
Oh, their history remains inundated with their tricky incidents;
and ourstory remains impregnated with strong comeback events
During the trod, we have sometimes traveled as if fools;
praises be, the Most High has today gifted us with new tools.
Let us now realize that unevaluated approaches led to tragedies;
we must now confront our foes with new God-given gifted strategies.
Let us be mindful and forever know: the roaring tides and waves
of political immorality, bigotry, and racism are as destructive
and deceitful as they were so many centuries ago.
Thus, the proverbial question of “Where do we go from here?”
can no longer be a pondering thought! No, we can’t go back
to the slavery where we have come from—“Hell no; we won’t go!
Forward ever, backward never!”
Listen my children; today there is no time
For kicking-back and chilling:
The time is up and it’s time to get up
And it’s time to get the work done.
Time is up and it’s time to get up
And follow the coming rising sun.
It’s time to get up: “sho’s yu born;
Only the worker dies; mission-work goes on.
We got to get this mission done no matter how;
Let us praise God that “…feet don’t fail me now.”
