Come Ye (an excerpt)

What strength you hold 
in the palm of your hands
the stride of your walk
the root of your stand
Come Ye righteous Warriors
and make a bridge for me
What price will you pay 
for your soul to know freedom
the battle is a spiritual war
as sure as slavery is genocide
and homeless Africans 
is stolen pride, wake-up 
Jihad at your door...
Come Ye Warriors
Come Ye Soldiers
Come Ye Armies of God
Come Ye Men both young and old
I have carried the weight for too long
Come Ye like your Ancestors came
brave, bold & strong
Come Ye armies of God and chant a prayer for me
chant a prayer for me...chant a prayer for me...

by Shonnese C.L. Coleman (1st published in "The Stride of Our Walk...The Root of Our Stand" - 2001)

Sister Celebration (an excerpt)

Sisters celebrating
evolving and elevating
trailblazing and transcending
we are the beginning and the ending
Celebrating sisters so serious
our souls see inside sun-nurtured nations
kneeling in honor of she
she is sanctified rhythm walking on water
riding the tide turbulent sometimes
calling forth the spirits of ancestral fire
in the bodies of babies, grandmothers and we
We are sisters celebrating
uniting forces and creating beautiful things
masterful are you and me...

by Shonnese C.L. Coleman (1st published in "Revelation Art Poems" - 2008)

You can't steal my dance...

There will never be
a dance more powerful
a move more thrilling
a leap more heroic
spins more rapid
extensions more lengthy
back-bends more flexible
than the dance...that dance
that lives in your soul
that fuels your passion
and resolves your peace

by Shonnese C.L. Coleman

...in the beginning

From the Alpha to the Omega

at morning dew to midnight blue

In waters deep to skies unseen

I am one within the beginning

Forefather's energies command my soul

there is no room for fear

They take me to the land I have never walked

feed me slices of daystar I have never tasted

place me in the pocket of the moon

and cradle me 'til the morrow

I am one within the beginning

by Shonnese C.L. Coleman 

1st published in "The Stride of Our Walk...The Root of Our Stand" A Collection of Performance Poetry

The Few

You should know by now
those like we, we who believe
we who see...are the few
the far reaching...between...
loud and spacious...rooms 
we exist to assist...when you are quiet
exploring the corners of your mind
kind we are, you should know by now
those like we, we who believe
we who see...are the few
the few who will still 
kneel to take a stand

by Shonnese C. L. Coleman

Born in the Summer - an excerpt

I was born in the middle of the summer...
early am...the month of July. 
I cry and smile when I'm happy...
my silence tells you when I'm not...
thinking long, dreaming vividly, walking rapidly in my destiny...
each passing year I cherish more...
growing wiser, grateful, loved monumentally by my mother, my family, my friends...
those that matter...learning new ways to reciprocate that love, to celebrate daily...
this journey on earth we share...a child of God...I AM...
still dancing the road of my story...the road to free...
hugging that cool breeze when it visits on hot humid days in July...
I was born in the middle of the summer 
and every drop of sweat on my brow proves it!  

by Shonnese C.L. Coleman

The Hudson

The Hudson River, Pier 45

This river drips...rushes...drains into the Atlantic

Ocean waves hello and goodbye at each onlooker

The story of its origin is visible in mountains

an origin deep low-flow in the center of a valley

the gray blues and sharp-edges rising and falling

when wind blows...toes grip wood planks above

disturbing the peace on humid summers eve

some still grieve for what drifts in its depths...

but tonight we dance...we dance on the Hudson

and bless the waters that nurtures our every move

              by Shonnese C.L. Coleman, 7/18/17 NYC