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There on the wall, they hung—
Two crosses—one with a hung man
And the other as bare as could be—
Both crosses hung nailed to the wall.
On the full cross the man’s hands
Where stretched out and his legs
Were crossed—his head—wrapped
With thorns hung down.
Hanging there it was as if he was
Thinking of saying to himself, “Man,
I’m as tired as a dead river dried up;
I so hope the run was worth it.”
Refocusing on the bare cross,
It could be seen that its emptiness
Gave it a great smooth shine
Like a dresser with many full drawers;
Being the kid I was—grappling with
Symbolism—here’s what I molded in
My limited life experiences with respect
To the three days around which life is lived:-
Confusing, confusing, were those three days
Which were supposed to be so simply related
With respect to yesterday being the day before
But what the heck was that never to be tomorrow?!
As I gradually aged I began to understand
That today was just that, today, and that yesterday
Was today’s tomorrow that would be the day
That yesterday’s wants and desires would be fulfilled.
But that just did not make sense in terms of making sense
For while it could be seen that today was yesterday’s
Tomorrow and would become tomorrow’s yesterday
It was never clarified when tomorrow is its day.
As it would be one day during my late teens
I heard some say “Yesterday was good and today better,
So I hope to see you tomorrow and hope it will be
The best day we will ever have had together:-”
This made me ponder if they hoped to see the person
Or were they hoping to see the coming of tomorrow
Then it dawns upon me that I need to figure out
What this thing called hope was and is all about;
As I aged I progressively grasped—more importantly
I began to understand—the meaning and symbolism of
Hope with respect to today, yesterday, and tomorrow
And can relate it to the three days of those two crosses:-
That cross with the hanging man upon it
Is symbolic of yesterday’s trials and tribulations
And the bare one symbolizes what has been overcome
Today as well as assured hope in what else will be overcome;
Thus, we American branches with African roots must realize that
Our Ancestors of yesteryears survived their trials and tribulations
With hope and determination that today we would overcome much
And be blessed with faithful hope in completing the liberation sojourn.
Today we must ensure that our children have an understanding
Of the symbolism of today, yesterday and tomorrow along with
That of the symbolism of the two crosses and their three days
As we too, ascend the liberation rainbow over into full liberty.
Well—as for me—this is as simple as it gets at this time,
Aging on—I hope—I now await further coming revelations
That I may further enlighten the children I mentor today;
Thus, lend me your thoughts to share with today’s tomorrows.
