Still and Yet We Rise

The Republic is deep into its Fifth Crisis and it is up to We, the People, to come out of the stupor of consumerism and reclaim our rightful place as the true sovereigns of the Republic by resuming and reasserting our role as citizens.
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You may write us down in history
With your bitter, twisted lies,
You may trod us in the very dirt
But still, like dust, we’ll rise.

Does our sassiness upset you?
Why are you beset with gloom?
'Cause we walk like we’ve got oil wells
Pumping in our living rooms

Just like moons and like suns,
With the certainty of tides,
Just like hopes springing high,
Still we'll rise.

Did you want to see us broken?
Bowed head and lowered eyes?
Shoulders falling down like teardrops,
Weakened by our soulful cries?

Does our haughtiness offend you?
Don't you take it awful hard?
'Cause we laugh like we've got gold mines
Diggin' in our own backyards

You may shoot us with your words,
You may cut us with your eyes,
You may kill us with your hatefulness,
But still, like air, we'll rise.

Does our sexiness upset you?
Does it come as a surprise?
That we dance like we've got diamonds
Nestled between our thighs?

Out of the huts of history's shame
We rise
Up from a past that's rooted in pain
We rise
We’re a multicolored ocean, leaping and wide,
Welling and swelling we ride in on the tide.

Leaving behind nights of terror and fear
We rise
Into a daybreak that's wondrously clear
We rise
Bringing the gifts that our ancestors gave,
Out of the hovel, the jail and the grave

We are the dreams and the hopes of the Republic,
We are the spirits of the patriots,
We are the voices long unheard,
We are the claims about to come due
We are the final word
We are finally one people and we will now be heard!

We rise,
We rise,
We rise!

By Maya Angelou
With minor adaptations by Larry Conley for the Fifth Crisis [12 December 2000 to Present] 09 October 2011

We Have This Day!

“Be these the best of times or the worst of times, they are the only times we have. Therefore, let us not waste a single moment, a single hour, a single day.”

We have this day

Let us rise to the challenges of this day. There is much to be done, there is much we can do.

There is no value in resenting what must be attempted and accomplished. Just get it done, and then there will be nothing to resent and an endless array of possibilities open before us.

There surely are difficulties, and we can ease them. There are injustices, and we can right them.

There is uncertainty, and we can spread cheer and confidence. There is darkness, and we can shine our lights upon one another and into a world hurtling into a gathering storm.

Let us stop attending to our fears, looking for excuses or reasons to put off the effort until a quieter and more optimum time.

Let us focus instead on the real value that will flow from acting right now to stride toward the realization of what might and ought to be.

On this very day, we can cooperate and create value that has never existed before. In whatever circumstances we may find ourselves, we can add to the richness of life.

Let us add energy to our moments as our transform our burdens and transmute looming threats into blooming triumphs.

Let us resolve to give the gifts of our commitment, our confidence and our action to this day our. And the treasures we build will last long after the day is over.

“For Two Who Have Fallen”

In Honor of Steve Jobs and Fred Shuttlesworh

I stare at the screen;
I hold my breath.
Two authentic heroes have been taken by death.
As my mind reels and synapses fire in my brain

When I wonder, will we ever see their like again;
They gave us so much; they gave us their best.
I wrestle with loss; I struggle for breath;
For what we have just lost is hard to conceive.

That bugler so smooth; that thief in the night,
Has done it again and flaunted his might.
It is hard to fathom; it is hard to survive;
These two are dead when we need them alive.

Tears well up and seek to fall from my eyes;
I must not go down; I must stand; I must rise.
No matter how many times we lose such good men;
We must never falter; we must never fail; we must carry on clear to the end.

The reports and the comments flood into the air;
We must again prove we’ll care and we’ll dare.
Let us gather our strength and summon our resolve.
Not to mourn what we have lost, but to honor their lives.

Bless these two heroes;
One whose last name was Jobs and one whose last name end with Worth
Let us not forget what they gave us;
From the day of their birth right on through to their last moment on Earth

Comfort their families, comfort their friends;
Comfort a world and a nation that will not see them again.
Soon the bugles fall silent, yet the battle goes on
We owe it to them to do what needs done.

Let us vow to continue the struggle for truth;
Let us hold true to the path they have blazed.
Though different they were as two people could be;
They each in their own way set an example for you and for me.

Their examples are immortal and they stay with us still
They have shown us the way; they have roused our goodwill.
Never forget, though now they repose in the true endless sleep;
We’ll be judged in the end by the faith that we keep!