Poetry Like Fire: The Pursuit of What Matters by JJC

The Pursuit of What Matters
by JJC

Day in and day out, we strive to keep up with our families and friends
We want the big car, the suburban home and lifestyle, the new gadgets
What has life come to mean these days?
Despite our affluence, our moods are darkened.
We worry about everything as if we could change something
Core values are long abandoned. Mistrust is everywhere.
We compete against others and ourselves. Happiness is hard to come
We seem to forget that people's ability to act on behalf of
What matters to them is fundamental to happiness

It is time to get out of this false sense of comfort and security
It is time to explore our environments and appreciate the small things
That are keen on bringing the most joy to us
It is time to fall in love once again with our childhood games and stories
It is time to realize that happiness is not a given. It is a goal that can set us free
But pursuing what truly matters is worth the effort

Healing Art Touch: Touch Me Here, Do Not Touch Me There

Healing Art Touch: Touch Me Here, Do Not Touch Me There


Touch is connecting

Touch is bonding. It is healing and communicative

Even newborns can relate to it

Touch is an essential form of human communication

We touch to support and comfort

We poke; we nudge; we hug; we grip elbows

We tap knees and pat others' back

We fling our arms around others

We give bear hugs


Friends, acquaintances, and colleagues giggle, dole out hugs

Give shoulder rubs and high fives

"Keep your hands to yourselves" cry the corporate lawyers and HR managers.

It is just a reminder of what the kindergarten teacher taught years ago

When is touching appropriate in our world these days?

When is it a friendly sign of affection at school, church or at the workplace?

HR managers cringe it may interpreted as a sexual come on.

Yet, the psychologist agrees touch is a great way to express empathy, sympathy.

We embrace those who are grieving the loss of their loved ones

We back slap a player on the gridiron and baseball field

Keep your hands off; keep them to yourself!

In politics and at the workplace, keep your hands off of pretty interns,

pregnant women and your boss

How long will it take you to understand and appreciate all the huggings

going on in the next cubicle? How long will it take you to fall for

all the arm pattings, shoulder squeezing and stroking going on around us?

Are you petrified yet? Then just remain frozen by inaction.

Our actions reverberate and touch others whether we want it or not

We are interdependent in this global village

New Book on Rosa Parks: "Witnessing Rosa Parks on the Bus"

Overview of the book: "Witnessing Rosa Parks on the Bus"

Rosa Parks pioneered change and leadership. She sat on the bus so men and women could fight for their dignity and their human rights. This book is a tribute to this amazing civil rights leader and many others. It is a flashback, a focus on all the men and women who marched and stood up so we can now enjoy the fruits of freedom. Barack Obama championed what Martin Luther King promised in his famous speech "I Have a Dream."

Use Paypal to buy this book right now:

Buy "Witnessing Rosa Parks on the Bus" right on this site.

The Pursuit of What Matters by JJCharles

The Pursuit of What Matters
by JJCharles, author of various books
http://bestsellerpicks.blogspot.com

Day in and day out, we strive to keep up with our families and friends
We want the big car, the suburban home and lifestyle, the new gadgets
What has life come to mean these days?
Despite our affluence, our moods are darkened.
We worry about everything as if we could change something
Core values are long abandoned. Mistrust is everywhere.
We compete against others and ourselves. Happiness is hard to come
We seem to forget that people's ability to act on behalf of
What matters to them is fundamental to happiness

It is time to get out of this false sense of comfort and security
It is time to explore our environments and appreciate the small things
That are keen on bringing the most joy to us
It is time to fall in love once again with our childhood games and stories
It is time to realize that happiness is not a given. It is a goal that can set us free
But pursuing what truly matters is worth the effort

"Witnessing Rosa Parks on the Bus" Book Published at SmashWords.com: Get Your Copy Today and Read Free Sample!

You have been reading the poems. Now you can buy the book, the e-book:

Here are some quick links you can use:

Quick links:

* Witnessing Rosa Parks on the Bus's book page:

http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/2183

* Javascript online reader: http://www.smashwords.com/reader/read/2183
* HTML online reader: http://www.smashwords.com/extreader/read/2183

Book synopsis (provided by the author):

Determination, dedication, hard work, the "can do" American spirit, and hope of a new season of change inspired this woman to sit on the bus. Rosa Parks sat so all the others could stand up. She remained seated despite all the stares and bad comments. Today, we find a lot of Rosa Parks in all socio-economic strata. We find the hard-working men and women all over the country.

"On the Bus with Rosa Parks by and With Rita Dove" Interview

Nikky Finney wins 2011 National Book Award for Poetry

Nikky Finney's poetry explores people and events in African American life: from Rosa Parks to Condoleezza Rice to a woman waiting for rescue on a rooftop during Hurricane Katrina.


Denise Low Postings: Nikky Finney wins 2011 National Book Award for Poetry

Nikky Finney's start her acceptance speech with "We begin with history..."
Find more at http://poetrybusinessblog.blogspot.com

Portrait of Hope and Courage: Harriet Tubman's Escape to Freedom, Underground Conductor and Heroine

She is one of the women who changed modern America.

New Orleans Running of the Bulls

The Running of the Bulls in New Orleans, Louisiana


In Las Vegas, we already have the Taj Mahal, Les Champs Elysees
Paris already has a replica on the famous Vegas strip
Venice, Italy, is already copied many times;
New York has the statue of Liberty
Why not the San Fermin, Pamplona, Spain-style Running of the Bulls?
After all, Ernest Hemingway brought its pleasures to us in his writings
Papa knew New Orleans would be a good fit
What's next? A replica of Brazilian or Caribbean-style carnival?
New Orleans is already famous for its Mardi Gras celebration

Every year in July, the big Easy Rollergirls become the menacing bulls
Chasing revelers dressed in white shirts and shorts or pants
with some cloth of red about their neck or waist
From one bar to the next, the pre-party is getting started with a few drinks
To cool down the nerves and the rising heat
The Rolling Elvi are leading the parade. Onlookers are asking for favors
They want to be hit by the plastic horns of the Big Easy Rollergirls
The Encierro has been going on for quite a while. Everyone is having fun

All the street's a stage at San Fermin in Nueva Orleans
Los pastores, founding fathers of the Running of the Bulls are happy
Tourists have a new appreciation for the city of fun
Between Mardi Gras and the Running of the Bulls season, they have a lot
To be thankful for. After all, New Orleans is unlike any other city in the U.S.A.
It's gumbo time. The mixture of Creole, Caribbean, Spanish, Irish, Jewish and countless others gives Nueva Orleans its potpourri flavor.
Long live New Orleans, Long Live Running of the Bulls, New Orleans style!
Let the big party get started in the French Quarter, on Bourbon Street and others!




Other resources you can browse:

Read about the Running of the bulls in New Orleans in the Atlantic Monthly




Get more information about Nolabulls and the encierro right here

PoetryBusinessblog Supports Rihanna and Stands Against Domestic Violence

Just think

Could this be Rosa Parks's face?

Could this be Myrlie Evers-williams's body?

Could this be any of the famous Black pioneers

Who fought for our freedom?

There can not be any blame from any system here

Just think about the self-destruction, the drive-by shooting

The violence that exists in our home and neighborhood

Just think that this incident brings tears to Obama's eyes

Bill Cosby can not eat when he witnesses this type of self-hatred

Just think about who is going to value you first?

A chimp did not do this to this young woman's face

A lover, not a stranger, caused this much pain

Self-love and self-respect should be the names of the game

From now on. will you join hands and be a role model?

1965 Mug Shot: Freedom Riders' Twist in Time

Freedom Riders

Volunteers who were willing to risk their lives to cause change
White as well as black college students participated in sit-ins and rides
They wanted to leave a legacy. They were tired of the separate bathrooms and lunch counters.
John Lewis was among them. He got stepped on, beaten, thrown into jail.
Now he rises up to represent all those who walked with him.
The cycle of hatred was broken once for all. The Greyhound buses bear testimony to these old habits.

Farewell Wall Street, Hello to the Next Financial Center

Farewell Wall Street
by JJC

The world wakes up and says hello to
Hong Kong, Shangai, Lisbon, Singapore and Tokyo
After all, 17th-century Amsterdam has long given
Way to 19th-century London which ceded to
20th-century New York.
There is a shifting of the financial centers
Bust follows boom in all financial capitals
Nobody knows whom to trust any more
Rich today, but poor tomorrow
There is Madoff Ponzi scheme to deal with
The dot-com boom is followed by the real estate bust
Foreclosures destroy the American Dream
In the midst of the recession, homeowners get depressed
Nobody remembers the recent good times: easy credit, equity, remodeling etc
First came bailout, then the stimulus package arrived on the scene

Shame on The New York Post Cartoonist and Editor for Chimp Cartoon: New York Post Regrets Cartoon

Department of Justice Director, Eric Holder, is asking for an end to racism and other stereotypes. The New York Post's cartoon causes many people to wonder about its motive. Now it is issuing an apology to all those it offended.

"The New York Post apologized on Thursday to those offended by an editorial cartoon that critics said was racist because it likened President Barack Obama to a chimpanzee.
The newspaper acknowledged that the cartoon published on Wednesday had drawn controversy because African-Americans and others saw it as a depiction of Obama.
"This most certainly was not its intent; to those who were offended by the image, we apologize," the paper said in an editorial on its website headlined "That Cartoon."

Odes to Myrlie Evers-Williams, Wife of Slain Civil Rights Leader, Medgar Evers

The Women of NAACP: Myrlie Evers-Williams and Rosa Parks

Myrlie Evers-Williams became a young widow

who had three children to raise by herself

She heeded her late husband's last word, "take care of my children."

The assassination of Medgar Evers, a WWII veteran who wanted to see change

had a lasting impact on the Evers children, Myrlie and the rest of the country

Medgar became a sacrificial lamb, the strong and intelligent NAACP field director

Myrlie was not ready to forget the seeds her husband had planted
"Evers fought segregation of schools and public places, struggled to increase black voter registration, led business boycotts, brought attention to the murders and lynchings of Blacks, like the slaying of black teenager Emmett Till, planned protest to allow negroes access to Mississippi's public beaches...."

Myrlie raised her children and continued to work for the advancement of colored people
She became the chair of NAACP from 1995 to 1998.

She kept her promise to her husband, Medgar Evers who wanted to see change
in Jackson, Mississippi.

Through the work of many others and after many years, change has come to America

"“I am just so thankful that I have lived long enough -- and have been able to participate in -- this change," said Myrlie Evers-Williams.

Medgar Evers and Martin L. King had laid down their lives for the movement to change

During all these years, Myrlie has witnessed and kept the flames of freedom going.

Rosa Sat So We Can Now Fly

Rosa Sat Poem

Rosa sat so
Martin could walk
[She was tired of giving in for far too long]
Martin walked so
[Martin walked and marched with his followers. He was a true leader]
Obama could run
[Without the works of those leaders laboring even during slavery, 1950s, 1960s
Obama would not be able to be where he is at right now]
Obama ran....so our
Children could fly
[Without the sacrifices of Medgar Evers,Emmet Till, Martin Luther King and countless others, the greatest chapter of world history and transfer of power would not be written]

Oprah Winfrey Shines in Red: The Women Who Wear Red

Rosa Parks Sat on the Bus to Stand Up for All Americans

(Here is a great book about this famous but humble Civil Rights Leader by Rita Dove)


CNN reports, "It was so unbelievable that this woman -- this one woman -- had the courage to take a seat and refuse to get up and give it up to a white gentleman," said Rep. John Conyers, a Michigan Democrat, who watched the drama unfold as a teenager.

"By sitting down, she was standing up for all Americans."

My Heart's Delights

My Heart's Delights
by JJC on Feb 3, 2009

Surrounded by tons of moving steel

Rolling every which way

on the freeway and nearby highway

Amidst all sorts of noise

And while witnessing the nakedness of trees

in the vast peach and nectarine orchards,

Little by little, I felt consumed by the beauty

of the distant snow-capped Sierra Mountain range

It was an overcast day anywhere in the Central Valley

Selma, Parlier, Reedley and the rest of the Valley floor

appeared to lie quietly in the sudden darkness for a few days

Yet, half of the far-away mountain tops was lit by sunlight

that projected its rays on specific spots in the background

The foreground of this natural painting had darker hues


On the road to Reedley, CA, I lifted my eyes and gazed once more

upon the snow-covered peaks which looked like hands raised

to praise the Most High

At that very moment, I was stirred to cry out "Rejoice in the Lord.

He will give you the delights of your heart."

His glory and grace anointed me. My cup overflowed.

I reached the abundance of his love and felt the touch of his hands

Rosa Parks's Arrest; Rosa Parks's Montgomery Ride

Rosa Parks's Montgomery Ride
by JJC, Feb. 2009

Tired and hungry, Rosa only cared about catching a ride
Her job at the department store meant the world to her
But she quietly cared about how her black brothers and sisters
were being treated by the government and the Montgomery bus officials
After a long day and after witnessing all the hard news, she wanted to sit down
Rosa got on the bus in Montgomery, Alabama. Instead of going to the back of the bus
She sat down in a seat at the front. All hells broke loose!
Dogs could be unleashed on her frail body. She could be flushed out of the seat
with powerful water hoses besides all the stares from fellow passengers
"'Who does she think she is to brave the front seat of the bus'"
The bus driver got into her face and asked her to move.
But Rosa parks refused. The news about Rosa Parks's arrest traveled quickly
among the Black residents of Montgomery and the Black leaders had to have a plan

The event of December 1, 1955 led to the December 5, 1955 Montgomery Bus boyccott. Montgomery city officials would soon realize that if the Blacks walked to work and school instead of riding the public bus, the city would lose money.

Black and White civil rights leaders gave as many rides as they could in their own private cars. But the majority of passengers walked many miles for many weeks.

"If Black people could not sit wherever they wanted, then they would refuse to take the buses."

That peaceful protest was very successful. Driving While Black, Martin L. King was arrested by local police who said he was speeding.

Car pools were organized by black as well as white leaders. The boycott lasted over a year.

Finally, the Supreme Court of the United States proclaimed that laws separating whites and blacks on the Montgomery buses had to end.

Witnessing Rosa Parks on the Bus

Rosa Parks Sat on the Bus After a Long Journey

Martin Luther King was a student of Henry David Thoreau
who protested slavery and other unjust laws
Nobody thought that the Morehouse College student
would become a civil rights leader
Nobody thought much about Rosa Parks either
A seamstress who rode the public bus to and from her job
at a department store
Martin L. King embraced non-violence championed by Mahatma Gandhi
Rosa has long been a member of her local chapter of NAACP
Rosa refused to give up her seat. She was tired of giving in
She stared down the bus driver and the other passengers
All of them wanted her out of the prime seat. None of them was defending her
Change was about to come in the 1950s and 1960s.
Who would have thought that this single act would be
the start of the modern civil rights movement?
Everyone counts. Rosa sat so we can stand up together

Rev. Joseph Lowery's Great Benediction Could Pass For Obama's Inaugural Poem

God of our weary years, God of our silent tears, thou, who has brought us thus far along the way, thou, who has by thy might led us into the light, keep us forever in the path we pray, lest our feet stray from the places, our God, where we met thee, lest our hearts drunk with the wine of the world, we forget thee.

Shadowed beneath thy hand, may we forever stand true to thee, oh God, and true to our native land.

We truly give thanks for the glorious experience we've shared this day.

We pray now, oh Lord, for your blessing upon thy servant Barack Obama, the 44th president of these United States, his family and his administration.

He has come to this high office at a low moment in the national, and indeed the global, fiscal climate. But because we know you got the whole world in your hands, we pray for not only our nation, but for the community of nations.

Our faith does not shrink though pressed by the flood of mortal ills.

For we know that, Lord, you are able and you're willing to work through faithful leadership to restore stability, mend our brokenness, heal our wounds, and deliver us from the exploitation of the poor, of the least of these, and from favoritism toward the rich, the elite of these.

We thank you for the empowering of thy servant, our 44th president, to inspire our nation to believe that yes we can work together to achieve a more perfect union.

And while we have sown the seeds of greed — the wind of greed and corruption, and even as we reap the whirlwind of social and economic disruption, we seek forgiveness and we come in a spirit of unity and solidarity to commit our support to our president by our willingness to make sacrifices, to respect your creation, to turn to each other and not on each other.

And now, Lord, in the complex arena of human relations, help us to make choices on the side of love, not hate; on the side of inclusion, not exclusion; tolerance, not intolerance.

And as we leave this mountain top, help us to hold on to the spirit of fellowship and the oneness of our family. Let us take that power back to our homes, our workplaces, our churches, our temples, our mosques, or wherever we seek your will.

Bless President Barack, First Lady Michelle. Look over our little angelic Sasha and Malia.

We go now to walk together as children, pledging that we won't get weary in the difficult days ahead. We know you will not leave us alone.

With your hands of power and your heart of love, help us then, now, Lord, to work for that day when nations shall not lift up sword against nation, when tanks will be beaten into tractors, when every man and every woman shall sit under his or her own vine and fig tree and none shall be afraid, when justice will roll down like waters and righteousness as a mighty stream.

Lord, in the memory of all the saints who from their labors rest, and in the joy of a new beginning, we ask you to help us work for that day when black will not be asked to get in back, when brown can stick around ... when yellow will be mellow ... when the red man can get ahead, man; and when white will embrace what is right. That all those who do justice and love mercy say Amen.

Elizabeth Alexander's Inaugural Poem for President Barack Obama

Praise song for the day.


Each day we go about our business, walking past each other, catching
each others' eyes or not, about to speak or speaking. All about us is
noise. All about us is noise and bramble, thorn and din, each one of
our ancestors on our tongues. Someone is stitching up a hem, darning a
hole in a uniform, patching a tire, repairing the things in need of
repair.

Someone is trying to make music somewhere with a pair of wooden spoons
on an oil drum with cello, boom box, harmonica, voice.

A woman and her son wait for the bus.

A farmer considers the changing sky. A teacher says, "Take out your
pencils. Begin."

We encounter each other in words, words spiny or smooth, whispered or
declaimed; words to consider, reconsider.

We cross dirt roads and highways that mark the will of someone and
then others who said, "I need to see what's on the other side; I know
there's something better down the road."

We need to find a place where we are safe; we walk into that which we
cannot yet see.

Say it plain, that many have died for this day. Sing the names of the
dead who brought us here, who laid the train tracks, raised the
bridges, picked the cotton and the lettuce, built brick by brick the
glittering edifices they would then keep clean and work inside of.

Praise song for struggle; praise song for the day. Praise song for
every hand-lettered sign, the figuring it out at kitchen tables.

Some live by "Love thy neighbor as thy self." Others by "First do no
harm," or "Take no more than you need."

What if the mightiest word is love, love beyond marital, filial,
national. Love that casts a widening pool of light. Love with no need
to preempt grievance.

In today's sharp sparkle, this winter air, anything can be made, any
sentence begun.

On the brink, on the brim, on the cusp -- praise song for walking
forward in that light.

How will "Praise Song for the Day" Poem by Elizabeth Alexander Go Down in History

According to a guest writer on Mike Chasar's Popular Culture and Poetry, the poem did not resonate with the crowd and the world. Many viewers and poetry lovers made their own opinions of the poem too.

Check the review of the poem at Praise Song for the Day

Names of Change: Oprah Shines in Red; Muhamad Ali and Lonnie on Inauguration Day

New Names of Change In America: Michelle Obama Designer, Jason Wu; Colin Powell and E. Wiezel , Elizabeth Alexander, Obama Roots in Africa, Asia Etc.

Read Elizabeth Alexander's Inaugural Poem right here: http://poetrybusiness.blogspot.com

Welcome to Rosa Parks Poetry of Hope PoetryBusinessblog! Rosa Parks's Arrest

Rosa Parks's Montgomery Ride

Tired and hungry, Rosa only cared about catching a ride
Her job at the department store meant the world to her
But she quietly cared about how her black brothers and sisters
were being treated by the government and the Montgomery bus officials
After a long day and after witnessing all the hard news, she wanted to sit down
Rosa got on the bus in Montgomery, Alabama. Instead of going to the back of the bus
She sat down in a seat at the front. All hells broke loose!
Dogs could be unleashed on her frail body. She could be flushed out of the seat
with powerful water hoses besides all the stares from fellow passengers
"'Who does she think she is to brave the front seat of the bus'"
The bus driver got into her face and asked her to move.
But Rosa parks refused. The news about Rosa Parks's arrest traveled quickly
among the Black residents of Montgomery and the Black leaders had to have a plan

The event of December 1, 1955 led to the December 5, 1955 Montgomery Bus boyccott. Montgomery city officials would soon realize that if the Blacks walked to work and school instead of riding the public bus, the city would lose money.

Black and White civil rights leaders gave as many rides as they could in their own private cars. But the majority of passengers walked many miles for many weeks.

"If Black people could not sit wherever they wanted, then they would refuse to take the buses."

That peaceful protest was very successful. Driving While Black, Martin L. King was arrested by local police who said he was speeding.

Car pools were organized by black as well as white leaders. The boycott lasted over a year.

Finally, the Supreme Court of the United States proclaimed that laws separating whites and blacks on the Montgomery buses had to end.
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