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richardmurray

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  1. The Freeman's Complaint , a late response to the Slave's complaint https://www.deviantart.com/hddeviant/art/1208702353 Share your favorite juneteenth art in the comments.
  2. The good news is that these authors will have a readership get old with them and they can utilzie the aging readerbase into other books
  3. The Freeman's Complaint , a late response to the Slave's complaint 06/19/2025 A poem for Juneteenth The Freeman's Complaint , a late response to the Slave's complaint Forever! was wrote by my forebear long ago a dreamy exaltation, to know to reach where our ancestors sew before unwanted immigrant woe However! I ponder unsure from where I lo no shackles , white heritage tow to embrace the easy Aquilow forlease my black blood 's coveto However! time give far more than the past can kno Black moderns have freedom to grow to other plus our old blood's mow Forever! is not for most one ro However! I can see a wisdom's cando my forebears want stars unsow to accept failed plans but trow and be past vowfree to any pro Nowever! I wish all skinkin good fortuno even if path's differ in glow or I doubt success while a said tow Now to happiness , Forever! so from Richard Murray NOTES: To my poem "forever" meaning for eternally "exaltation" meaning a rising "to know" meaning toward knowing "immigrant" meaning one who moved permanently away "however" meaning how eternally "ponder" meaning to think "unsure" meaning not safe "lo" meaning to look "heritage" meaning that which is carried "Aquilow" cognate meaning Aquila latin for eagle and low, ala low eagle, a referral to the USA "forelease" cognate meaning fore- before lease to loosen , to loosen before "coveto" meaning to a little while potent covet , covet meaning extreme passionate desire, -o postfix meaning smaller in size while same in value "kno" meaning know "modern" meaning of the now, the time of this publication "mow" meaning thing to be cut down "ro" meaning road "cando" meaning illumination, light from, short of candor [said can-dough] "stars" meaning descendents "unsow" meaning not sow, sow meaning put in a place, [ say sow like sew] "trow" meaning have belief or faith in "vowfree" meaning free of vows, vow is a verbal pledge, an attestation, "pro" meaning toward , a way forward "nowever" meaning now eternally "skinkin" meaning kin of the skin , phenotype "fortuno' meaning good fortune, in particular good luck or good fortune, fortune can be negative LAST LINES first line from the last line of The Hope Of Liberty, page 10 , THE SLAVE'S COMPLAINT.[ Forever! ] MORE INFORMATION Forum post https://aalbc.com/tc/topic/11687-juneteenth-poetry-the-freemans-complaint/ From DEviantart The Freeman's Complaint , a late response to the Slave's complaint https://www.deviantart.com/hddeviant/art/1208702353 Community Post [ https://aalbc.com/tc/events/event/338-juneteenth-good-news-calendar/ ]
  4. First work published in the usa by a black person in 1865 , circa after the thirteenth amendment, by the only person to publish poetry while enslaved in the history of the U.S.A. is attributed to George M Horton. He published three works while planned four in total, to my knowledge through Wikipedia. The Hope of Liberty (1829) This was Horton's first true attempt to buy his freedom. Most of the poems in the collection were themed around antislavery either indirect or directly. One was a thank you poem towards his publisher. Three previously published poems of were reworked and put into other poems in the collection. The editorial "Explanation" that opens The Hope of Freedom speaks of Horton's desire to emigrate to the new colony of Liberia; the collection was published so as to encourage donations. TEXT The Hope of Liberty. Containing a Number of Poetical Pieces. Raleigh: J. Gales & Son, 1829. https://docsouth.unc.edu/southlit/horton/menu.html The Museum (never published) Professor William Green of UNC-Chapel Hill, was editing the manuscript but the collection as a whole as never published. Many poems instead were published elsewhere or in his following collections. Poetical Works (1845) Published in Raleigh, North Carolina, this collection consisted of 45 poems, none directly about being enslaved or slavery in general. The reason for this was Horton expressed he was no longer inspired to write about slavery. Also due to North Carolina being more actively pro-slavery nearing the Civil War, Horton believed a collection similar to his first would not be published. TEXT The poetical works of George M. Horton : the colored bard of North-Carolina : to which is prefixed The life of the author by Horton, George Moses, 1798?-ca. 1880; Heartt, Dennis, 1783-1870 Publication date 1845 https://archive.org/details/poeticalworksofg00hort/page/24/mode/2up The Naked Genius: The Colored Bard of North-Carolina (1865) Horton wrote 132 poems between the years 1820 - 1865 which were compiled into this collection. Forty-three poems were reprinted from previous collections or those already published in newspapers, in large, the theme of the collection was to thank his sponsors and those helping to give him his freedom, including President Lincoln and Union Army Generals. Horton hoped this collection would set him apart from the title of Slave Poet and give him distinction from his poetry. As well as further prove the capability of Black men. TEXT I wasn't able to find. If anyone finds it, do tell. MY POEM in honor to George M Horton The Freeman's Complaint , a late response to the Slave's complaint Forever! was wrote by my forebear long ago a dreamy exaltation, to know to reach where our ancestors sew before unwanted immigrant woe However! I ponder unsure from where I lo no shackles , white heritage tow to embrace the easy Aquilow forlease my black blood 's coveto However! time give far more than the past can kno Black moderns have freedom to grow to other plus our old blood's mow Forever! is not for most one ro However! I can see a wisdom's cando my forebears want stars unsow to accept failed plans but trow and be past vowfree to any pro Nowever! I wish all skinkin good fortuno even if path's differ in glow or I doubt success while a said tow Now to happiness , Forever! so from Richard Murray NOTES: To my poem "forever" meaning for eternally "exaltation" meaning a rising "to know" meaning toward knowing "immigrant" meaning one who moved permanently away "however" meaning how eternally "ponder" meaning to think "unsure" meaning not safe "lo" meaning to look "heritage" meaning that which is carried "Aquilow" cognate meaning Aquila latin for eagle and low, ala low eagle, a referral to the USA "forelease" cognate meaning fore- before lease to loosen , to loosen before "coveto" meaning to a little while potent covet , covet meaning extreme passionate desire, -o postfix meaning smaller in size while same in value "kno" meaning know "modern" meaning of the now, the time of this publication "mow" meaning thing to be cut down "ro" meaning road "cando" meaning illumination, light from, short of candor [said can-dough] "stars" meaning descendents "unsow" meaning not sow, sow meaning put in a place, [ say sow like sew] "trow" meaning have belief or faith in "vowfree" meaning free of vows, vow is a verbal pledge, an attestation, "pro" meaning toward , a way forward "nowever" meaning now eternally "skinkin" meaning kin of the skin , phenotype "fortuno' meaning good fortune, in particular good luck or good fortune, fortune can be negative LAST LINES first line from the last line of The Hope Of Liberty, page 10 , THE SLAVE'S COMPLAINT.[ Forever! ] HOPE OF LIBERTY TEXT version THE HOPE OF LIBERTY. CONTAINING A NUMBER OF POETICAL PIECES. BY GEORGE M. HORTON. RALEIGH: Printed by J. Gales & Son. 1829. Page 3 EXPLANATION. GEORGE, who is the author of the following Poetical effusions, is a Slave, the property of Mr. James Horton, of Chatham County, North-Carolina. He has been in the habit, some years past, of producing Poetical Pieces, sometimes on suggested subjects, to such persons as would write them while he dictated. Several compositions of his have already appeared in the Raleigh Register. Some have made their way into the Boston newspapers, and have evoked expressions of approbation and surprise. Many persons have now become much interested in the promotion of his prospects, some of whom are elevated in office and literary attainments. They are solicitous that efforts at length be made to obtain by subscription, a sum sufficient for his emancipation, upon the condition of his going in the vessel which shall first afterwards sail for Liberia. It is his earnest and only wish to become a member of that Colony, to enjoy its privileges, and apply his industry and mental abilities to the promotion of its prospects and his own. It is upon these terms alone, that the efforts of those who befriend his views are intended to have a final effect. To put to trial the plan here urged in his behalf, the paper now exhibited is published. Several of his productions are contained in the succeeding pages. Many more might have been added, which would have swelled into a larger size. They would doubtless be interesting to many, but it is hoped that the specimens here inserted will be sufficient to accomplish the object of the publication. Expense will thus be avoided, and the money better employed in enlarging the sum applicable for his emancipation.--It is proposed, that in every town or vicinity where contributions are made, they may be put into the Page 4 hands of some person, who will humanely consent to receive them, and give notice to Mr. Weston R. Gales, in Raleigh, of the amount collected. As soon as it is ascertained that the collections will accomplish the object, it is expected that they will be transmitted without delay to Mr. Weston R. Gales. But should they ultimately prove insufficient, they will be returned to subscribers. None will imagine it possible that pieces produced as these have been, should be free from blemish in composition or taste. The author is now 32 years of age, and has always laboured in the field on his master's farm, promiscuously with the few others which Mr. Horton owns, in circumstances of the greatest possible simplicity. His master says he knew nothing of his poetry, but as he heard of it from others. GEORGE knows how to read, and is now learning to write. All his pieces are written down by others; and his reading, which is done at night, and at the usual intervals allowed to slaves, has been much employed on poetry, such as he could procure, this being the species of composition most interesting to him. It is thought best to print his productions without correction, that the mind of the reader may be in no uncertainty as to the originality and genuineness of every part. We shall conclude this account of GEORGE, with an assurance that he has been ever a faithful, honest and industrious slave. That his heart has felt deeply and sensitively in this lowest possible condition of human nature, will easily be believed, and is impressively confirmed by one of his stanzas, Come, melting Pity, from afar, And break this vast enormous bar Between a wretch and thee; Purchase a few short days of time, And bid a vassal soar sublime, On wings of Liberty. Raleigh;July 2, 1829. Page 5 PRAISE OF CREATION. Creation fires my tongue! Nature thy anthems raise; And spread the universal song Of thy Creator's praise! Heaven's chief delight was Man Before Creation's birth-- Ordained with joy to lead the van, And reign the lord of earth. When Sin was quite unknown, And all the woes it brought, He hailed the morn without a groan Or one corroding thought. When each revolving wheel Assumed its sphere sublime, Submissive Earth then heard the peal, And struck the march of time. The march in Heaven begun, And splendor filled the skies, When Wisdom bade the morning Sun With joy from chaos rise. The angels heard the tune Throughout creation ring: They seized their golden harps as soon And touched on every string. When time and space were young, And music rolled along-- The morning stars together sung, And Heaven was drown'd in song. Ye towering eagles soar, And fan Creation's blaze, And ye terrific lion's roar, To your Creator's praise. Responsive thunders roll, Loud acclamations sound, Page 6 And show your Maker's vast control O'er all the worlds around. Stupendous mountains smoke, And lift your summits high, To him who all your terrors woke, Dark'ning the sapphire sky. Now let my muse descend, To view the march below-- Ye subterraneous worlds attend And bid your chorus flow. Ye vast volcanoes yell, Whence fiery cliffs are hurled; And all ye liquid oceans swell Beneath the solid world. Ye cataracts combine, Nor let the pæan cease-- The universal concert join, Thou dismal precipice. But halt my feeble tongue, My weary muse delays: But, oh my soul, still float along Upon the flood of praise! ON THE SILENCE OF A YOUNG LADY, ON ACCOUNT OF THE IMAGINARY FLIGHT OF HER SUITOR. Oh, heartless dove! mount in the skies, Spread thy soft wing upon the gale, Or on thy sacred pinions rise, Nor brood with silence in the vale. Breathe on the air thy plaintive note, Which oft has filled the lonesome grove, And Iet thy melting ditty float-- The dirge of long lamented love. Coo softly to the silent ear, And make the floods of grief to roll; And cause by love the sleeping tear, To wake with sorrow from the soul Page 7 Is it the loss of pleasures past Which makes thee droop thy sounding wing? Does winter's rough, inclement blast Forbid thy tragic voice to sing? Is it because the Fragrant breeze Along the sky forbears to flow-- Nor whispers low amidst the trees, Whilst all the vallies frown below? Why should a frown thy soul alarm, And tear thy pleasures from thy breast? Or veil the smiles of every charm, And rob thee of thy peaceful rest. Perhaps thy sleeping love may wake, And hear thy penitential tone; And suffer not thy heart to break, Nor let a princess grieve alone. Perhaps his pity may return, With equal feeling from the heart, And breast with breast together burn, Never--no, never more to part. Never, till death's resistless blow, Whose call the dearest must obey-- In twain together then may go, And thus together dwell for aye. Say to the suitor, Come away, Nor break the knot which love has tied-- Nor to the world thy trust betray, And fly forever from thy bride. THE LOVER'S FAREWELL. And wilt thou, love, my soul display, And all my secret thoughts betray? I strove but could not hold thee fast, My heart flies off with thee at last. The favorite daughter of the dawn, On love's mild breeze will soon be gone: I strove but could not cease to love, Nor from my heart the weight remove. And wilt thou, love, my soul beguile, And gull thy fav'rite with a smile? Nay, soft affection answers, nay, And beauty wings my heart away. Page 8 I steal on tiptoe from these bowers, All spangled with a thousand flowers; I sigh, yet leave them all behind, To gain the object of my mind. And wilt thou, love, command my soul, And waft me with a light controul?-- Adieu to all the blooms of May, Farewell--I fly with love away! I leave my parents here behind, And all my friends--to love resigned-- 'Tis grief to go, but death to stay: Farewell--I'm gone with love away! ON LIBERTY AND SLAVERY. Alas! and am I born for this, To wear this slavish chain? Deprived of all created bliss, Through hardship, toil and pain! How long have I in bondage lain, And languished to be free! Alas! and must I still complain-- Deprived of liberty. Oh, Heaven! and is there no relief This side the silent grave-- To soothe the pain--to quell the grief And anguish of a slave? Come Liberty, thou cheerful sound, Roll through my ravished ears! Come, let my grief in joys be drowned, And drive away my fears. Say unto foul oppression, Cease: Ye tyrants rage no more, And let the joyful trump of peace, Now bid the vassal soar. Soar on the pinions of that dove Which long has cooed for thee, And breathed her notes from Afric's grove, The sound of Liberty. Oh, Liberty! thou golden prize, So often sought by blood-- We crave thy sacred sun to rise, The gift of nature's God: Page 9 Bid Slavery hide her haggard face, And barbarism fly: I scorn to see the sad disgrace In which enslaved I lie. Dear Liberty! upon thy breast, I languish to respire; And like the Swan unto her nest, I'd to thy smiles retire. Oh, blest asylum--heavenly balm! Unto thy boughs I flee-- And in thy shades the storm shall calm, With songs of Liberty! TO ELIZA. Eliza, tell thy lover why Or what induced thee to deceive me? Fare thee well--away I fly-- I shun the lass who thus will grieve me. Eliza, still thou art my song, Although by force I may forsake thee; Fare thee well, for I was wrong To woo thee while another take thee. Eliza, pause and think a while-- Sweet lass! I shall forget thee never: Fare thee well! although I smile, I grieve to give thee up forever. Eliza, I shall think of thee-- My heart shall ever twine about thee; Fare thee well--but think of me, Compell'd to live and die without thee. "Fare thee well!--and if forever, Still forever fare thee well!" LOVE. Whilst tracing thy visage I sink in emotion, For no other damsel so wond'rous I see; Thy looks are so pleasing, thy charms so amazing, I think of no other, my true-love, but thee. With heart-burning rapture I gaze on thy beauty, And fly like a bird to the boughs of a tree; Thy looks are so pleasing, thy charms so amazing, I fancy no other, my true-love, but thee. Page 10 Thus oft in the valley I think, and I wonder Why cannot a maid with her lover agree? Thy looks are so pleasing, thy charms so amazing, I pine for no other, my true-love, but thee. I'd fly from thy frowns with a heart full of sorrow-- Return, pretty damsel, and smile thou on me; By every endeavor, I'll try thee forever, And languish until I am fancied by thee. ON THE DEATH OF AN INFANT. Blest Babe! it at length has withdrawn, The Seraphs have rock'd it to sleep; Away with an angelic smile it has gone, And left a sad parent to weep! It soars from the ocean of pain, On breezes of precious perfume; O be not discouraged when death is but gain-- The triumph of life from the tomb. With pleasure I thought it my own, And smil'd on its infantile charms; But some mystic bird, like an eagle, came down, And snatch'd it away from my arms. Blest Babe, it ascends into Heaven, It mounts with delight at the call; And flies to the bosom from whence it was given, The Parent and Patron of all. THE SLAVE'S COMPLAINT. Am I sadly cast aside, On misfortune's rugged tide? Will the world my pains deride Forever? Must I dwell in Slavery's night, And all pleasure take its flight, Far beyond my feeble sight, Forever? Worst of all, must Hope grow dim, And withhold her cheering beam? Rather let me sleep and dream Forever? Something still my heart surveys, Groping through this dreary maze; Is it Hope?--then burn and blaze Forever? Page 11 Leave me not a wretch confined, Altogether lame and blind-- Unto gross despair consigned, Forever! Heaven! in whom can I confide? Canst thou not for all provide? Condescend to be my guide Forever: And when this transient life shall end, Oh, may some kind eternal friend Bid me from servitude ascend, Forever! ON THE TRUTH OF THE SAVIOUR. E'en John the Baptist did not know Who Christ the Lord could be, And bade his own disciples go The strange event to see. They said, Art thou the one of whom 'Twas written long before? Is there another still to come, Who will all things restore? This is enough, without a name-- Go, tell him what is done; Behold the feeble, weak and lame, With strength rise up and run. This is enough--the blind now see, The dumb Hosannas sing; Devils far from his presence flee, As shades from morning's wing. See the distress'd, all bath'd in tears, Prostrate before him fall; Immanuel speaks, and Lazarus hears-- The dead obeys his call. This is enough--the fig-tree dies, And withers at his frown; Nature her God must recognize, And drop her flowery crown. At his command the fish increase, And loaves of barley swell-- Ye hungry eat, and hold your peace, And find a remnant still. Page 12 At his command the water blushed, And all was turned to wine, And in redundance flowed afresh, And owned its God divine. Behold the storms at his rebuke, All calm upon the sea-- How can we for another look, When none can work as he? This is enough--it must be God, From whom the plagues are driven; At whose command the mountains nod, And all the Host of Heaven! ON SPRING. Hail, thou auspicious vernal dawn! Ye birds, proclaim the winter's gone, Ye warbling minstrels sing; Pour forth your tribute as ye rise, And thus salute the fragrant skies The pleasing smiles of Spring. Coo sweetly, oh thou harmless Dove, And bid thy mate no longer rove, In cold, hybernal vales; Let music rise from every tongue, Whilst winter flies before the song, Which floats on gentle gales. Ye frozen streams dissolve and flow Along the valley, sweet and slow; Divested fields be gay: Ye drooping forests bloom on high, And raise your branches to the sky, And thus your charms display. Thou world of heat--thou vital source, The torpid insects feel thy force, Which all with life supplies; Gardens and orchards richly bloom, And send a gale of sweet perfume, To invite them as they rise. Near where the crystal waters glide, The male of birds escorts his bride, And twitters on the spray; He mounts upon his active wing, To hail the bounty of the Spring, The lavish pomp of May. Page 13 Inspiring month of youthful Love, How oft we in the peaceful grove, Survey the flowery plume; Or sit beneath the sylvan shade, Where branches wave above the head, And smile on every bloom. Exalted month, when thou art gone, May Virtue then begin the dawn Of an eternal Spring? May raptures kindle on my tongue, And start a new, eternal song, Which ne'er shall cease to ring! ON SUMMER. Esteville fire begins to burn; The auburn fields of harvest rise; The torrid flames again return, And thunders roll along the skies. Perspiring Cancer lifts his head, And roars terrific from on high; Whose voice the timid creatures dread, From which they strive with awe to fly. The night-hawk ventures from his cell, And starts his note in evening air; He feels the heat his bosom swell, Which drives away the gloom of fear. Thou noisy insect, start thy drum; Rise lamp-like bugs to light the train; And bid sweet Philomela come, And sound in front the nightly strain. The bee begins her ceaseless hum, And doth with sweet exertions rise; And with delight she stores her comb, And well her rising stock supplies. Let sportive children well beware, While sprightly frisking o'er the green; And carefully avoid the snare, Which lurks beneath the smiling scene. The mistress bird assumes her nest, And broods in silence on the tree, Her note to cease, her wings at rest, She patient waits her young to see. Page 14 The farmer hastens from the heat; The weary plough-horse droops his head; The cattle all at noon retreat, And ruminate beneath the shade. The burdened ox with dauntless rage, Flies heedless to the liquid flood, From which he quaffs, devoid of guage, Regardless of his driver's rod. Pomacious orchards now expand Their laden branches o'er the lea; And with their bounty fill the land, While plenty smiles on every tree. On fertile borders, near the stream, Now gaze with pleasure and delight; See loaded vines with melons teem-- 'Tis paradise to human sight. With rapture view the smiling fields, Adorn the mountain and the plain, Each, on the eve of Autumn, yields A large supply of golden grain. ON WINTER. When smiling Summer's charms are past, The voice of music dies; Then Winter pours his chilling blast From rough inclement skies. The pensive dove shuts up her throat, The larks forbear to soar, Or raise one sweet, delightful note, Which charm'd the ear before. The screech-owl peals her shivering tone Upon the brink of night; As some sequestered child unknown, Which feared to come in sight. The cattle all desert the field, And eager seek the glades Of naked trees, which once did yield Their sweet and pleasant shades. The humming insects all are still, The beetles rise no more. The constant tinkling of the bell, Along the heath is o'er. Page 15 Stern Boreas hurls each piercing gale With snow-clad wings along, Discharging volleys mixed with hail Which chill the breeze of song. Lo, all the Southern windows close, Whence spicy breezes roll; The herbage sinks in sad repose, And Winter sweeps the whole. Thus after youth old age comes on, And brings the frost of time, And e'er our vigor has withdrawn, We shed the rose of prime. Alas! how quick it is the case, The scion youth is grown-- How soon it runs its morning race, And beauty's sun goes down. The Autumn of declining years Must blanch the father's head, Encumbered with a load of cares, When youthful charms have fled. HEAVENLY LOVE. Eternal spring of boundless grace, It lifts the soul above, Where God the Son unveils his face, And shows that Heaven is love. Love that revolves through endless years-- Love that can never pall; Love which excludes the gloom of fears, Love to whom God is all! Love which can ransom every slave, And set the pris'ner free; Gild the dark horrors of the grave, And still the raging sea. Let but the partial smile of Heaven Upon the bosom play, The mystic sound of sins forgiven, Can waft the soul away. The pilgrim's spirits show this love, They often soar on high; Languish from this dim earth to move, And leave the flesh to die. Sing, oh my soul, rise up and run, And leave this clay behind; [illegible] ing thy swift flight beyond the sun, Nor dwell in tents confined. Page 16 ON THE DEATH OF REBECCA. Thou delicate blossom; thy short race is ended, Thou sample of virtue and prize of the brave! No more are thy beauties by mortals attended, They now are but food for the worms and the grave. Thou art gone to the tomb, whence there's no returning, And left us behind in a vale of suspense; In vain to the dust do we follow thee mourning, The same doleful trump will soon call us all hence. I view thee now launched on eternity's ocean, Thy soul how it smiles as it floats on the wave; It smiles as if filled with the softest emotion, But looks not behind on the frowns of the grave. The messenger came from afar to relieve thee-- In this lonesome valley no more shalt thon roam; Bright seraphs now stand on the banks to receive thee, And cry, "Happy stranger, thou art welcome at home." Thou art gone to a feast, while thy friends are bewailing, Oh, death is a song to the poor ransom'd slave; Away with bright visions the spirit goes sailing, And leaves the frail body to rest in the grave. Rebecca is free from the pains of oppression, No friends could prevail with her longer to stay; She smiles on the fields of eternal fruition, Whilst death like a bridegroom attends her away. She is gone in the whirlwind--ye seraphs attend her, Through Jordan's cold torrent her mantle may lave; She soars in the chariot, and earth falls beneath her, Resign'd in a shroud to a peaceable grave. ON DEATH. Deceitful worm, that undermines the clay, Which slyly steals the thoughtless soul away, Pervading neighborhoods with sad surprise, Like sudden storms of wind and thunder rise. The sounding death-watch lurks within the wall Away some unsuspecting soul to call: The pendant willow droops her waving head, And sighing zephyrs whisper of the dead. Page 17 Methinks I hear the doleful midnight knell-- Some parting spirit bids the world farewell; The taper burns as conscious of distress, And seems to show the living number less. Must a lov'd daughter from her father part, And grieve for one who lies so near her heart? And must she for the fatal loss bemoan, Or faint to hear his last departing groan. Methinks I see him speechless gaze awhile, And on her drop his last paternal smile; With gushing tears closing his humid eyes, The last pulse beats, and in her arms he dies. With pallid cheeks she lingers round his bier, And heaves a farewell sigh with every tear; With sorrow she consigns him to the dust, And silent owns the fatal sentence just. Still her sequestered mother seems to weep, And spurns the balm which constitutes her sleep; Her plaintive murmurs float upon the gale, And almost make the stubborn rocks bewail. O what is like the awful breach of death, Whose fatal stroke invades the creature's breath! It bids the voice of desolation roll, And strikes the deepest awe within the bravest soul. ON THE EVENING AND MORNING. When Evening bids the Sun to rest retire, Unwearied Ether sets her lamps on fire; Lit by one torch, each is supplied in turn, Till all the candles in the concave burn. The night-hawk now, with his nocturnal tone, Wakes up, and all the Owls begin to moan, Or heave from dreary vales their dismal song, Whilst in the air the meteors play along. [illegible] ength the silver queen begins to rise, [illegible] spread her glowing mantle in the skies, [illegible] from the smiling chambers of the east, [illegible] the eye to her resplendent feast. Page 18 What joy is this unto the rustic swain, Who from the mount surveys the moon-lit plain; Who with the spirit of a dauntles Pan Controls his fleecy train and leads the van; Or pensive, muses on the water's side, Which purling doth thro' green meanders glide, With watchful care he broods his heart away 'Till might is swallowed in the flood of day. The meteors cease to play, that mov'd so fleet And spectres from the murky groves retreat, The prowling wolf withdraws, which bowl'd so bold And bleating flocks may venture from the fold. The night-hawk's din deserts the shepherd's ear, Succeeded by the huntsman's trumpet clear, O come Diana, start the morning chase Thou ancient goddess of the hunting race. Aurora's smiles adorn the mountain's brow, The peasant hums delighted at his plow, And lo, the dairy maid salutes her bounteous cow. ON THE POETIC MUSE. Far, far above this world I soar, And almost nature lose, Aerial regions to explore, With this ambitious Muse. My towering thoughts with pinions rise, Upon the gales of song, Which waft me through the mental skies, With music on my tongue. My Muse is all on mystic fire, Which kindles in my breast; To scenes remote she doth aspire, As never yet exprest. Wrapt in the dust she scorns to lie, Call'd by new charms away; Nor will she e'er refuse to try Such wonders to survey. Such is the quiet bliss of soul, When in some calm retreat, Where pensive thoughts like streamlets roll, And render silence sweet; Page 19 And when the vain tumultuous crowd Shakes comfort from my mind, My muse ascends above the cloud And leaves the noise behind. With vivid flight she mounts on high Above the dusky maze, And with a perspicacious eye Doth far 'bove nature gaze. ON THE CONSEQUENCES OF HAPPY MARRIAGES. Hail happy pair from whom such raptures rise, On whom I gaze with pleasure and surprize; From thy bright rays the gloom of strife is driven, For all the smiles of mutual love are Heaven. Thrice happy pair! no earthly joys excel Thy peaceful state; there constant pleasures dwell, Which cheer the mind and elevate the soul, Whilst discord sinks beneath their soft control. The blaze of zeal extends from breast to breast, While Heaven supplies each innocent request; And lo! what fond regard their smiles reveal, Attractive as the magnet to the steel. Their peaceful life is all content and ease, They with delight each other strive to please; Each other's charms, they only can admire, Whose bosoms burn with pure connubial fire. Th' indelible vestige of unblemished love, Must hence a guide to generations prove: Though virtuous partners moulder in the tomb, Their light may shine on ages yet to come. With grateful tears their well-spent day shall close, When death like evening calls them to repose; Then mystic smiles may break from deep disguise, Like Vesper's torch transpiring in the skies. Like constellations still their works may shine, In virtue's unextinguished blaze divine; Happy are they whose race shall end the same-- Sweeter than odours is a virtuous name. Such is the transcript of unfading grace, [illegible] eflecting lustre on a future race. [illegible] virtuous on this line delight to tread, [illegible] magnify the honors of the dead-- Page 20 Who like a Phoenix did not burn in vain, Incinnerated to revive again; From whose exalted urn young love shall rise, Exulting from a funeral sacrifice. On hearing of the intention of a gentleman to purchase the Poet's freedom. When on life's ocean first I spread my sail, I then implored a mild auspicious gale; And from the slippery strand I took my flight, And sought the peaceful haven of delight. Tyrannic storms arose upon my soul, And dreadful did their mad'ning thunders roll; The pensive muse was shaken from her sphere, And hope, it vanish'd in the clouds of fear. At length a golden sun broke thro' the gloom, And from his smiles arose a sweet perfume-- A calm ensued, and birds began to sing, And lo! the sacred muse resumed her wing. With frantic joy she chaunted as she flew, And kiss'd the clement hand that bore her thro' Her envious foes did from her sight retreat, Or prostrate fall beneath her burning feet. 'Twas like a proselyte, allied to Heaven-- Or rising spirits' boast of sins forgiven, Whose shout dissolves the adamant away Whose melting voice the stubborn rocks obey. 'Twas like the salutation of the dove, Borne on the zephyr thro' some lonesome grove, When Spring returns, and Winter's chill is past, And vegetation smiles above the blast. 'Twas like the evening of a nuptial pair, When love pervades the hour of sad despair-- 'Twas like fair Helen's sweet return to Troy, When every Grecian bosom swell'd with joy. The silent harp which on the osiers hung, Was then attuned, and manumission sung: Away by hope the clouds of fear were driven, And music breathed my gratitude to heaven. Page 21 Hard was the race to reach the distant goal, The needle oft was shaken from the pole; In such distress, who could forbear to weep? Toss'd by the headlong billows of the deep! The tantalizing beams which shone so plain, Which turn'd my former pleasures into pain-- Which falsely promised all the joys of fame, Gave way, and to a more substantial flame. Some philanthropic souls as from afar, With pity strove to break the slavish bar; To whom my floods of gratitude shall roll, And yield with pleasure to their soft control. And sure of Providence this work begun-- He shod my feet this rugged race to run; And in despite of all the swelling tide, Along the dismal path will prove my guide. Thus on the dusky verge of deep despair, Eternal Providence was with me there; When pleasure seemed to fade on life's gay dawn, And the last beam of hope was almost gone. TO THE GAD-FLY. Majestic insect! from thy royal hum, The flies retreat, or starve before they'll come; The obedient plough-horse may, devoid of fear, Perform his task with joy, when thou art near. As at the Lion's dread alarming roar, The inferior beasts will never wander more, Lest unawares he should be seized away, And to the prowling monster fall a prey. With silent pleasure often do I trace The fly upon the wing, with rapid pace, The fugitive proclaims upon the wind, The death-bound sheriff is not far behind. Ye thirsty flies beware, nor dare approach, Nor on the toiling animal encroach; Be vigilant, before you buzz too late, The victim of a melancholy fate. Such seems the caution of the once chased fly, Whilst to the horse she dare not venture nigh; This useful Gad-Fly traversing the field, [illegible] ith care the lab'ring animal to shield. Page 22 Such is the eye of Providential care, Along the path of life forever there; Whose guardian hand by day doth mortals keep And gently lays them down at night to sleep. Immortal Guard, shall I thy pleasures grieve Like Noah's dove, wilt thou the [error in typography] reature leave, No never, never, whilst on earth I stay. And after death, then fly with me away. THE LOSS OF FEMALE CHARACTER. See that fallen Princess! her splendor is gone-- The pomp of her morning is over; Her day-star of pleasure refuses to dawn, She wanders a nocturnal rover. Alas! she resembles Jerusalem's fall, The fate of that wonderful city; When grief with astonishment rung from the wall, Instead of the heart-cheering ditty. When music was silent, no more to be rung, When Sion wept over her daughter; On grief's drooping willows their harps they were hung, When pendent o'er Babylon's water. She looks like some Star that has fall'n from her sphere, No more by her cluster surrounded; Her comrades of pleasure refuse her to cheer, And leave her dethron'd and confounded. She looks like some Queen who has boasted in vain, Whose diamond refuses to glitter; Deserted by those who once bow'd in her train, Whose flight to her soul must be bitter. She looks like the twilight, her sun sunk away, He sets; but to rise again never! Like the Eve, with a blush bids farewell to the day, And darkness conceals her forever. HTML version https://1drv.ms/u/c/ea9004809c2729bb/ERJSA4MEpzNOgaUKiipgU-8BpRLnEgnS76h-_xZ3z2O-Mg?e=0rTZND POETICAL WORKS TEXT version POETICAL WORKS OF <BDB®3E(B3B £Go SI ® IB 93? 3D ST $ flie Colored Bard of North-Carolina, TO WHICH I? PREFIXED THE LIFE OF TM AUTHOR WRITTEN BY HIMSELF. HILLSBOROUGH: PRINTED BY D. HEARTT, J845. Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2013 http://archive.org/details/poeticalworksofgOOhort LIFE OF <BIB®IB<BIB mo m<3mT$®289 The Colored Bard of North-Carolina. T^ROM the importunate request of a few individuals, I assume the difficult task of ■writing a concise history of my life. But to open a scene of all the past occurrences of my life I shall not undertake, since 1 should fail by more than two-thirds in the matter. But if you will condescend to read it, I will endea- vor to give a slight specimen entirely clear of exaggeration. A tedious and prolix detail in the matter may not be of any expected, since there is necessarily so much particularity le- quired in a biographical narrative. I was born in Northampton county, N C, near the line of Virginia, and within four miles of the Roanoke River; the property of Wil- liam Horton, senior, who also owned my mother, and the whole stock of her children, which were five before me, all girls, but not of one father. I am the oldest child that my r mother had by her second husband, and she had IV four younger than myself, one boy and three girls. But to account for my age is beyond the reach of my power. I was early fond of music, with an extraordinary appetite for sing- ing lively times, for which I was a little re- markable. In the course of a few years after my birth, from the sterility of his land, my old master assumed the notion to move into Chat- ham, a more fertile and fresh part of country recently settled, and whose waters were far more healthy and agreeable. I here become a cow-boy, which I followed for perhaps ten years in succession, or more. In the course of this disagreeable occupation, I became fond of hearing people read; but being nothing but a poor cow-boy, 1 had but little or no thought of ever being able to read or spell one word or sentence in any book whatever. My moth- er discovered my anxiety for books, and strove to encourage my plan; but she, having left her husband behind, was so hard run to make a little shift for herself, that she could give me no assistance in that case. At length I took a resolution to learn the alphabet at all events; and lighting by chance at times with soma opportunities of being in the presence of school children, I learnt the letters by heart; and fortunately afterwards got hold of some M parts of spelling books abounding with these elements, which I learnt with but little difficulty. And by this time, my brother was deeply excited by the assiduity which he dis- covered in me, to learn himself; and some of his partial friends strove to put him before me, and I in a stump now, and a sorry instrument to work with at that. But still my brother never could keep time with me. He was in- deed an ostentatious youth, and of a far more attractive person than myself, more forward in manly show, and early became fond of po- pularity to an astonishing degree for one of his age and capacity. He strove hard on the wing of ambition to soar above me, and could write a respectable fist before I could form the first letter with a pen, or barely knew the use of a goose-quill. And I must say that he was quite a remarkable youth, as studious as a judge, but much too full of vain loung- ing among the fair sex. But to return to the earlier spring of my progress. Though blundering, I became a far better reader than he; but we were indeed both remarkable for boys of color, and hard raising. On well nigh every Sabbath during the year, did I retire away in the summer sea- son to some shady and lonely recess, when I VI could stammer over the dim and promiscuous syllables in my old black and tattered spelling book, sometimes a piece of one, and then of another; nor would I scarcely spare the time to return to my ordinary meals, being so tru- ly engaged with my book. And by close appli- cation to my book at night, my visage became considerally emaciated by extreme perspira- tion, having no lucubratory aparatus, no can- dle, no lamp, nor even light-wood, being chiefly raised in oaky woods. Hence I had to sit sweating and smoking over my incom- petent bark or brush light, almost exhausted by the heat of the fire, and almost suffocated with smoke ; consequently from Monday morning I anticipated with joy the approach of the next Sabbath, that I might again retire to the pleasant umbrage of the woods, whith- er I was used to dwell or spend the most of the day with ceaseless investigation over my book. A number strove to dissuade me from my plan, and had the presumption to tell me that I was a vain fool to attempt learning to read with as little chance as I had. Play boys importunately insisted on my abandon- ing my foolish theory, and go with them on streams, desport, and sacrifice the day in ath* letic folly, or alibatic levity. Nevertheless vu did I persevere with an indefatigable resolu- tion, at the risk of success. But ah! the op- positions with which I contended are too te- dious to relate, but not too formidable to sur- mount; and I verily believe that those obsta- cles had an auspicious tendency to waft me, as on pacific gales, above the storms of envy and the calumniating scourge of emulation, from which literary imagination often sinks beneath its dignity, and instruction languishes at the shrine of vanity. I reached the threa- tening heights of literature, and braved in a manner the clouds of disgust which reared in thunders under my feet. This brings to mind the verse of an author on the adventurous seaman. * The wandering sailor ploughs the main, A competence in life to gain; The threatening waves around him foam, 'Till flattering fancy wafts him home." For the overthrow and downfal of my scheme had been repeatedly threatened. But with defiance I accomplished the arduous task of spelling, (for thus it was with me,) having no facilitating assistance. From this I entered into reading lessons with triumph. I became very fond of reading parts of the New Testa- ment, such as I could pick up as they lay about at random; but I soon became more fond of reading verses, Wesley's old hymns, and other peices of poetry from various au- thors. 1 became foGnd of it to that degree, that whenever I chanced to light on a piece of paper, so common to be lying about, I would pick it up in order to examine it whether it was written in that curious style or not. If it was not, unless some remarkable prose, I threw it aside; and if it was, I as carefully pre- served it as I would a piece of money. At length I began to wonder whether it was pos- sible that I ever could be so fortunate as to compose in that manner. I fell to work in my head, and composed several undigested pieces, which I retained in my mind, for I knew nothing about writing with a pen, also without the- least grammatical knowledge, a few lines of which I yet retain. I will give you the following specimen. On one very Calm Sabbath morning, a while before the time of preaching, I undertook to compose a divine hymn, being under some serious im- pression of mind: Rise up, my soul, and let ns go Up to the gospel feast; Giid on the garment white as snow, To join and be a guest. Dost thou not hear the trumpet call For thee* my soul, for thee? Not only thee, my soul, but all, May rise and enter free. The other part I cannot now recollect. But in the course of some eight or ten months, Under similar pensive impressions, I compos- ed the following: Excited from reading the obedience of Nature to her Lord in the vessel on the sea. Master, we perish if thou sleep, We know not whence to fly; The thunder seems to rock the deep, Death frowns from all the sky. He rose, he ran, and looking out, He said, ye seas, be still; What art thou, cruel storm, about? All silenced at his will. Dost thou not know that thou art mine, And all thy liquid stoues; Who ordered first the sun to shine And gild thy swelling shores. My smile is but the death of harm, Whilst riding on the wind, My power restrains the thunder's arm, Which dies in chains confined. After having read the travel of Israel from Egypt to the Red Red Sea, where they tri- umphantly arrive on the opposite bank, I was excited to compose the following few lines : Sing, O ye ransom'd, shout and tell What God has done for ye; The horses and their riders fell And perish'd in the sea. Look back, the vain Egyptian dies Whilst plunging from the shore; He groans, he sinks, but not to rise, King Pharaoh is no more. Many other pieces did I compose, which have long since slipped my recollection, and some perhaps better than those before you. During this mental conflict no person was ap- prised of my views except my brother, who rather surmised it, being often in converse with me, and who was equally emulous for literature, and strove to rival me. Though XI he learnt to read very well for one of color, it seems that his genius did not direct him towards Parnassus, for he was rather a Jo- sephus than a Homer; though he could write very well before I could form the first letter as above stated, for I devoted most of my op- portunities to the study of composing or try- ing to compose. At any critical juncture, when any thing momentous transpired, such as death, misfortune, disappointment, and the like, it generally passed off from my mind like the chanting of birds after a storm, for my mind was then more deeply inspired than at other periods. One thing is to be lamented much; that is, that ever I was raised in a family or neigh- borhood inclined to dissipation, or that the foul seed should have been sown in the bosom of youth, to stifle the growth of uncultivated genius, which like a torch lifted from a cell in the midst of rude inclement winds, which, instead of kindling its blaze, blows it out. My old master, being an eminent farmer, who had acquired a competent stock of living through his own prudence and industry, did not de- scend to the particularity of schooling his children at any high rate; hence it is clear that he cared less for the improvement of the mind Xll of his servants. In fact, he was a man who aspired to a great deal of elaborate business, and carried me into measures almost beyond my physical ability. Often has he called me with my fellow laborers to his door to get the ordinary dram, of which he was much too fond himself; and we, willing to copy the ex- ample, partook freely in order to brave the storms of hardship, and thought it an honor to be intoxicated. And it was then the case with the most of people; for they were like savages, who think little or nothing of the re- sult of lewd conduct. Nay, in those days, when the stream of intemperance was little regarded, the living had rather pour a libation on the bier of the dead than to hear a solemn funeral preached from the hallowed lips of a divine ; for Bacchus was honored far more than Ceres, and they would rather impair the fences of fertile lands in their inebriating course, than to assist a prudent farmer in cul- tivating a field for the space of an hour. Those days resembled the days of martyr- dom, and all Christendom seemed to be relaps- ing into dissipation; and libertinism, obsceni- ty and profanation were in their full career; and the common conversation was impregnat- ed with droll blasphemy. In those days sen- XIII filial gratification was prohibited by few; for drinking, I had almost said, was a catholic to- leration, and from 1800 to 1810 there was I scarcely a page of exemplary conduct laid be- fore my eyes. Hence it was inevitably my misfortune to become a votary to that growing evil; and like a Saul, I was almost ready to hold the garments of an abominable rabble in their public sacrilege, to whom the tender of a book was offensive, especially to those who followed distilling on the Sabbath in the midst of a crowd of profligate sots, gambling around, regardless of demon, or Deity! Such scenes I have witnessed with my own eyes, when not a Sunday school was planted in all the sur- rounding vicinities. My old master having come to the conclu- sion to confer part of his servants on his child- ren, lots were cast, and his son James fell heir to me. He was then living on Northh- ampton, in the winter of 1814. In 1815 he moved into Chatham, when my opportunities became a little expanded. Having got in the way of carrying fruit to the college at Chapel Hill on the Sabbath, the collegians who, for their diversion, were fond of pranking with the country servants who resorted there for the same purpose that I did, began also to XIV prank with me. But some how or other they discovered a spark of genius in me, eith- er by discourse or other means, which excit~ ed their curiosity, and they often eagerly in- sisted on me to spout, as they called it. This inspired in me a kind of enthusiastic pride. I was indeed too full of vain egotism, which always discovers the gloom of ignorance, or dims the lustre of popular distinction. I would stand forth and address myself extem- pore before them, as an orator of inspired promptitude. But I soon found it an object of aversion, and considered myself nothing but a public ignoramus. Hence I abandoned my foolish harangues, and began to speak of poetry, which lifted them still higher on the wing of astonishment; all eyes were on me, and all ears were open. Many were at first incredulous; but the experiment of acrostics established it as an incontestable fact. Hence my fame soon circulated like a stream through- out the college. Many of these acrostics I composed at the handle of the plough, and retained them in my head, (being unable to write,) until an opportunity offered, when I dictated, whilst one of the gentlemen would serve as my emanuensis. I have composed love pieces in verse for courtiers from all parts XV of the state, and acrostics on the names of ma- ny of the tip top belles of Virginia, South Ca- rolina and Georgia. But those criticising gentlemen saw plainly what I lacked, and ma- ny of them very generously gave me such books as they considered useful in my case, which I received with much gratitude, and improved according to my limited opportuni- ties. Among these gentlemen the following names occur to me: Mr. Robert Gilliam, Mr. Augustus Washington, Mr. Cornelius Rober- son, Mr. Augustus Alston, Mr. Benjamin Long, Mr. William Harden, Mr. Merryfort, Mr. Augustus Moore, Mr. Thomas Pipkin, Mr. A. Rencher, Mr. Rllerbee, Mr. Gilmer, Mr. William Pickett, Mr. Leonidas Polk, Mr. Samuel Hinton, Mr. Pain, Mr. Steward, Mr, Gatlin, Mr. J. Hogan, Mr. John Pew, Messrs W. and J. Haywood, and several more whose names have slipped my memo- ry; all of whom were equally liberal to me, and to them I ascribe my lean grammatical studies. Among the books given me were Murray's English Grammar and its accord- ant branches; Johnson's Dictionary in minia- ture, and also Walker's and Sheridan's, and parts of others. And other books of use they gave me, which I had no chance to peruse X¥l minutely, Milton's Paradise Lost, Thompr son's Seasons, parts of Homer's Uliad anil Virgil's iEnead, Beauties of Shakespear, Beauties of Byron, part of Plutarch, Morse's Geography, the Columbian Orator, Snow- den's History of the Revolution, Young's IN ight Thoughts, and some others, which my concentration of business did not suffer me tp pursue with any scientific regularity. Mr. Augustus Alston first laid (as he said) the low price of twenty=rfive cents on my com- positions each, which was unanimously es- tablished, and has been kept up ever since; but some gentlemen extremely generous, have given me from fifty to seyenty-flve cents, be- sides many decent and repectable suits of clothes, professing that they would not suffer me to pass otherwise and write for them. But there is one thing with which I am sorry to charge many of these gentlemen. Before the moral evil of excessive drinking had been impressed upon my mind, they flat- tered me into the belief that it wpmM hang me on the wings of new inspiration, which would waft me into regions of poetical perfection. And I am not a little astonished that nature and reason had not taught me better before, after having walked so long on a line which plain? ly dictated and read to me, though young, the lesson of human destruction. This realizes the truth of the sentiment in the address of the Earl of Chatham, in which he spoke of " the wretch who, after having seen the diffi- culties of a thousand errors, continues still to blunder ;" and I have now experienced the destructive consequences of walking in such a devious line from the true centre to which I was so early attracted by the magnet of genius. But I have discovered the bene- ficial effects of temperance and regularity, and fly as a penitent suppliant to the cell of private reflection, sorrowing that I ever had driven my boat of life so near the wrecking shoals of death, or that I was allured by the music of sirens that sing to ensnare the lovers of vanity. To the much distinguished Mrs. Hentz of Boston, I owe much for the correction of ma- ny poetical errors. Being a professional po- etess herself, and a lover of genius, she disco- vered my little uncultivated talent, and was moved by pity to uncover to me the beauties of correctness, together with the true impor- tance of the object to which I aspired. She was extremely pleased with the dirge which I wrote on the death of her much lamented XVIU primogenial infant, and for which she gave m6 much credit and a handsome reward. Not being able to write myself, 1 dictated while she wrote; and while thus engaged she strove in vain to avert the inevitable tear slow trickling down her ringlet-shaded cheek. She was in- deed unequivocally anxious to announce the birth of my recent and astonishing fame, and sent its blast on the gale of passage back to the frozen plains of Massachusetts. This celebrated lady, however, did not con- tinue long at Chapel Hill, and I had to regret the loss of her aid, which I shall never forget in life. At her departure from Chapel Hill, she left behind her the laurel of Thalia bloom- ing on ray £ainJ, and went with all the spot- less gaiety of Euphrooyne with regard to the ■signal services whieii she had done me. In gratitude for all these favors, by which she attempted to supply and augment the stock of servile genius, I inscribe to her the fol* lowing EULOGY. Deep on thy pillar, thou immortal dame, Trace the inscription of eternal fame; For bards tinhorn must yet thy works adore, XIX And bid thee live when others are no more. When other names are lost among the dead, Some genius yet may live thy fame to spread; Memory's fair bush shall not decline to bloom, But flourish fresh upon thy sacred tomb. When nature's crown iefuses to be gay, And ceaseless streams have worn their rocks away; W7hen age's vail shall beauty's visage mask, And bid oblivion blot the poet's task, Time's final shock shall elevate thy name, And lift thee smiling to eternal fame. I now commit my brief and blundering task to the inspection of the public, not pretending to warrant its philology nor its orthography, since grammarians, through criterions them- selves, from precipitation do not always es- cape improprieties ; and which little task, as before observed, I should not have assumed had it not been insisted on by some parti- cular gentlemen, for I did not consider my- self capable of such an undertaking. I trust, therefore, that rny readers will rather pity than abuse the essay of their unqualified writer. I will conclude with the following lines from the memorable pen of Mr. Linn, in XX which he has done honor to the cause of illi- terate genius : *' Though in the dreary depth of gothic gloom, Genius will burst the fetters of her tomb; Yet education should direct her way, And nerve with firmer grasp her powerful sway." INTRODUCTION. The author of the following miscellane- ous effusions, asserts that they are original, and recently written; and they are now pre- sented to the test of criticism, whatever may be the result. It is entirely different from his other work entitled the Museum, and has been written some time since that, and is not so large. The author is far from flattering himself with an idea of superiority, or even equality with ancient or other modern poets. He is deeply conscious of his own inferiority from the narrowness of the scope in which he has lived during the course of his past life. Few men of either a white or colored popula- tion, have been less prompted by a desire for public fame than he whose productions are now before j-ou. He was actuated merely by pleasure and curiosity, as a call to some literary task, or as an example to remove the doubts of cavilists with regard to African ge- gius. His birth was low, and in a neigh- borhood by no means populous; his raising XX11 was rude and laborious; his exertions were cramped, and his progress obstructed from start to goal; having been ever deprived of the free use of books and other advantages to which he aspired. Hence his genius is but an unpolished diamond, and can never shine forth to the world. Forbid to make the least attempt to soar, The stifled blaze of genius burns the more; He still prevails his drooping head to raise, Plods through the bogs, and on the moun- tains gaze. THE OF GEORGE ill. MORTON. THE MUSICAL CHAMBER. I trust that my friends will remember, Whilst I these my pleasures display, Resort to my musical chamber, The laurel crown'd desert in May. Resort to this chamber at leisure, Attend it by night and by day; To feast on the dainties of pleasure, Which cannot be stinted in May. This place is both pleasing and moral, A chamber both lovely and gay, In the shade of a ne'er fading laurel, Whose grace in December is May. Abounding with every fine story, While time passes hurrying aw av, 24 This place is a banquet of glory, Which rings with the ditties of May. The chamber of Chatham and Dolly, A place of a comical play, Gave place unto Lovel's fine folly, The birds and sweet flowers of May. Here Venus attends with her lover, Here Floras their suitors betray, And uncommon secrets discover, Which break from the bosom of May. • Here ever young Hebe sits smiling, The wonders of youth to portray, Excluding old age from defiling The lads and the lassies of May. Call by, little stranger, one minute, Your joy will reward your delay; Come, feast with the lark and the linnet, And drink of the waters of May. Walk in, little mistress, be steady, You 'r welcome a visit to pay; Ail things in the chamber are ready, Resolve to be married in May. 25 A DIRGE. § ,.. rv ; > ,:j:4-. <«£ Deserted of her Spouse,,, she eat lamenting m th© chamber. liast thou gone and left me, ....* Void of faults but.strictly true ? Fly far away . .? , Without delay, , / Adieu, my love, adieu. Hast thou gone and left me, ? Hence to seek another bride ? I must be still, Thou hast thy will, , 'the world is free and wide Qnlyjiadst thou told me .: Ere I drunk the bitter cup, I could with shame, . N o w b ear the blame, And freely give thee up. But I'm left to ponder, „ .. :?>. , Now in the depth of sorrow's gloom, Like some dull sprite, In dead of night, Bewailing o'er her tQmb. 26 Swiftly fly and welcome; It is the fate of fools to rove y With whom 1 know Wedlock is wo Without the stream of love. Where constant love is wanting-, Pleasure has not long to dwell ; I view my fate, Alas, too late I So partner, fare thee wellV But, my love, remember, Hence we meet and face to face, Thy heart shall ache, Thy soul shall quake, The wretch of all disgrace. DEATH OF A FAVORITE CHAMBER MA* O death, thy power I own, Whose mission was to rush, And snatch the rose, so quickly blown, Down from its native bush; The flower of beauty doom'd to pine, Ascends from this to worlds divine. 27 Death is a joyful doom, Let tears of sorrow dry, The rose on earth but fades to bloom And blossom in the sky. Why should the soul resist the hand That bears her to celestial land. Then, bonny bird, farewell, Till hence we meet again % Perhaps I have not long to dwell Within this cumb'rous chain, Till on elysian shores we meef, Till grief is lost and joy complete. THE FEARFUL TRAVELLER IN THE/ HAUNTED CASTLE. Oft do f hear tlxose windows ope And shut with dread surprise, And spirits murmur as they grope,' But break not on the eyes. Still fancy spies the winding sheet,' The phantom and the shroud; And bids the pulse of horror beat Throughout my ears aloud. 58 $ome unknown finger thumps the door, ... From one of faltering voice, Till some one seems to walk the floor With an alarming noise. The drum of horror holds her sound,' , Which will not let me sleep, When ghastly breezes float around, And hidden goblins creep. M ethinks I hear some constant groan,"' The din of all the dead, While trembling thus I lie alone, Upon this restless bed. At length the blaze of morning broke On my, impatient view, _ .. And truth or fancy told the joke, And bade the night adieu *; 'Twas but the noise of prowling rats,' ., Which ran with all their speed, Pursued in haste by hungry cats," Which on the vermin feed. The cat growl'd as she held her prey, Which shriek'd with all its might, And drove the- balm of sleep away Throughout the 'live-long night. 20 *Those creatures crumbling off the cheese Which on the table lay; Some cats, too quick the rogues to seize, With rumblingjost their prey. Thus man is often his own elf, .Who makes the night his ghost, And shrinks with horror from himself, uWhich is to fear the most. TO CATHARINE. J'll love thee as Jong as . I live, Whate'er thy condition may be ; All else but my life would I give, That thou wast as partial to me. JL love jthee because thou art fair, And fancy no other beside ; J languish thy pleasures to share, JVhatever my life may betide. y\l love thee when youth's vital beam Grows dim on the visage of cares; And trace back on time's rapid stream, Thy beauty when sinking in years, rThough nature no longer is gay, .With blooms which the simple adore. 20 Let virtue forbid me to say. That Cath'rine is lovely no more. THE SWAN— VAIN PLEASURES. The Svyan which boasted mid the tide, Whose nest was guarded by the wave, . Floated for pleasure till she died, And sunk beneath the flood to lave. The bird of fashion drops her wing1, The rose-bush now declines to bloom; -The gentle breezes of the spring No longer waft a sweet perfume. Fair beauty with tlmse lovely eyes.? Withers along her vital stream; Proud fortune leaves her throne, and flies From pleasure, as a flattering dream. The eagle of exalted fame, Which spreads his pinions far to sail, Struggled to fan his dying flame, Till pleasure palPd in every gale. And gaudy mammon, sordid gain, Whose plume has faded, once so gay, 31 Languishes mid her flowery train. Whilst pleasure flies like fumes away. Vain pleasures, O how short to last ! Like leaves which quick to ashes burn; Which kindle from the slightest blast, And slight to nothing hence return. THE POWERS OF LOVE. It lifts the poor man from his cell To fortune's bright alcove ; Its mighty sway few, few can tell, Mid envious foes it conquers ill; There's nothing half like love. Ye weary strangers, void of rest, Who late through life have strove, Like the late bird which seeks its nest, If you would hence in truth be blest, Light on the bough of lovo. The vagrant plebeian, void of friends, Constrain'd through wilds to rove, On this his safety whole depends, One faithful smile his trouble ends, A smile of constant love. If JThus did a captured wretch complain, ' Imploring Jieaven above, Till one with sympathetic pain, Flew to his arms and broke the chain, - And grief took flight from love; K jLet clouds of danger rise and roar, And hope's firm pillars move ; With storms behind and death before, O grant me this, I crave rto more, *■ There's nothing half like love.' When nature wakes soft pity's coo The hawk deserts the dove, Compassion melts the creature throughs "With palpitations felt by few, :*' ; The wrecking throbs of love. Xet surly discord take its flight From wedlock's peaceful grove, While Union breaks' the arm of fight, With darkness swallow'd up in light, O what is there like love. TO A DEPARTING FAVORITE. Thon mayst retire, but think of me r lyhen thou art gone afar, 1? JVhere'er in life thy travels be, If tost along the brackish sea, h Qr borne upon the car. Thou mayst retire, I care not where, * .Thy name my theme shall be; With thee in heart I shall be there, Content thy good or ill to share, * If dead* to lodge with thee. Thou mayst retire beyond the 4eep, And leave thy sister train, To roam the wilds where dangers sleep, And leave affection sad to weep In bitterness and pain. g i fi» .. :?v. .* . r Thou mayst retire, and yet be glad To leave me thus alone, Lamenting and bewailing sad; ^Farewell, thy sunk deluded lad May rise when thou art gone. THE TRAVELLER. 'Tis sweet to think of home. When from my native clime, Mfd lonely vallies pensive far J roam9 34 Mid rocks and hills where waters roll sublime, 'Tis sweet to think of home. My retrospective gaze Bounds on a dark horizon far behind, •But yet the stars of homely pleasures blaze And glimmer on my mind. When pealing thunders roll, ^Lnd ruffian winds howl, threat'ning life with gloom, •To Heaven's kind hand I then commit the whole, And smile to think of home. But cease, my pensive soul, To languish at departure's gloomy shrine; Still look in front and hail the joyful goal, The pleasure teeming line. When on the deep wide sea 1 wander, sailing mid the swelling foam, Tost from the land by many a long degree, O, then I think of thee. I never shall forget The by-gone pleasures of my native shore, Until the sun of life forbears to set, And pain is known no more. 65 W<hen nature seems to weep, And life hangs trembling o'er the watery tomb, Hope lifts her peaceful sail to brave the deep, And bids me think of home. My favorite pigeon rest, Nor on the plane of sorrow drop thy train, But on the bongh of h.ope erect thy nest, Till friends shall meet again. Though in the hermit's cell, Where eager friends to cheer me fail to come, Where Zeph'rus seems a joyless, tale to tell, No thought js sweet but home. RECENT APPEARANCE OF A LADY. The joy of meeting one so fair, Inspires the present stream of song ; A bonny belle, That few excell, And one with whom I few compare, Though out of sight so long. It is a cause of much delight, When lads and lasses meet again; But, bonny belle, No long to dwell, jFor soon, upon the wing of flight, We haste away in pain. That long hid form J smile to trace, A star emerging out of gloom, Exal tea* belle, Whose powers impel!, And draw the heart by every grace, The queen of every bloom. Jiong out of sight, but still in mind, Eternal mem'ry holds its grasp," Still, bonny belle, 'Tis sweet to telj. Of thee, when I am left behind Jn sorrow's lonely clasp. MEDITATION ON A COLD, DARK, AND RAINY NIGHT. Sweet on the house top falls the gentle shower, When "jet" bjack darkness crowns the silent hour, When shrill the owlet pours her hollow tone, Like some lost child sequester'd and alone, When Will's bewildering wisp begins to flare, And Philomela breathes her dulcet air, 37 ?Xis sweet to listen to her nightly tune, Deprived of star-light or the smiling moon. ■ "When deadly winds sweep round the rural shed, And tell of strangers lpst, without a bed,". Fond sympathy invokes her dol rous lay, And pleasure steals in sorrow's gloom away, Till fost'ring Somnus bids my eyes to close, And smiling visions open to repose; Still on my soothipg couch I lie at ease, Still round my chamber flows the whistling breeze, Wk Still in the chain of sleep I lie confined,, To all the threat' ning. ills of life resign'd, Regardless of the wand' ring elfe of night* While phantoms break on my immortal sights The trump of morning bids my slumbers end, While from a flood of rest I straight ascend, When on a busy world I cast my eyes, And think of nightly slumbers with surprise. ON AN OLD DELUDED^ SUITOR^ See sad deluded love, in years too late, With tears desponding o'er the tomb of fate, \yhile dusky evening's veil excludes the light Which in the morning' broke upon his sight. 38 Me now regrets his vain, his fruitless plan/ And sadly wonders at the faults of man. 'Tis now from beauty's torch he wheels aside, And strives to soar above affection's tide; 'Tis now that sorrow feeds the worm of pairr With tears which never can the loss regain; 'Tis now he drinks the wormwood and the" gall, And all the sweets of early pleasures pall,' When from his breast the hope of fortune flies, The songs of transport languish into sighs; nd, lovely rose, that beamed as she blew, all the charms of youth the most untrue, She, with delusive smiles, prevail'd to move This silry heart" into the snare of love f Then like a flower closed against thtf beey Folds her arms and turns her back on me. When on my fancy's eye her smiles she shed, The torch by which deluded love was led, Then, like a lark, from boyhood's maze I soar'd, And thus in song her flattering smiles adored. My heart was then by fondling love betray'd, A thousand pleasures bloom'd but soon to' fade, From joy to joy my heart exulting flew, In quest of one, though fair, yet far from true. 39 THE WOODMAN AND MONEY HUNTER, Throughout our rambles much we find ,* The bee trees burst with honey ; Wild birds we tame of every kind, At once they seem to be resign'd; I know but one that lags behind, There's nothing lags but money. The woods afford us much supply, The opossum, coon, and coney ; They all' are" tame and venture nigh, Regardless of the public eye, I know but one among them shy, There's nothing shy but money. And she lies in the bankrupt shade,' The cunning fox is funny ; When thus the public debts are paid', Deceitful cash is not afraid, "Where funds are hid for private trade, There's nothing paid but money. Then let us roam the woods along^ And drive the coon and coney ;' Our lead is good, our powder strong, . To shoot the pigeons as they throng, But sing no more the idle song, Nor prowl the chase for money. 40 THE EYE OF LOVE. I I know her story-telling eye Has more expression than her tongue; And from that heart-extorted sigh, At once the peal of love is rung. When that soft eye lets fall a tear .^ Of doating fondness as we part, The stream is from a cause sincere, And issues from a melting heart. j ....'.;•...„-.' ■"■ "What shall her fluttering pulse restrain,! * The life-watch beating from her soul, When all the power of hate is slain, And love permits it no control. When said her tongue, I wish thee well, Her eye declared it must be true ; And every, sentence seem'd to tell The tale of sorrow told by few. When low she bow'd and wheel'd aside, I saw her blushing temples fade; Her smiles were sunk in sorrow's tide, But love was in her eye betrayM, 41 THE SETTING SUN. *Tis sweet to trace the setting sun Wheel blushing down the west ; When his diurnal race is run, The traveller stops the gloom to shun, And lodge his bones to rest. Far from the eye he sinks apace, But still throws back his light From oceans of resplendant grace, Whence sleeping vesper paints her face, And bids the sun good night." To those hesperian fields by night My thoughts in vision stray, Like spirits stealing into light, From gloom upon the Wing of flight, Soaring from time away. Our eagle, with his pinions furl'd, Takes his departing peep, And hails the occidental world, Swift round whose base the globes are whirl'd, Whilst weary creatures sleep. 42 ■Fee rising fcufcr. The king of day rides on, To give the placid morning birth; On wheels of glory moves his throne* Whose light adorns the eaarth. When once? his limpid mart! Has the imperial course begun, The lark deserts the dusky glader And soars to meet the sun* Vp from the orient deep, Aurora mounts without delay, With brooms of light the plains to sweep. And purge the gloom away. Ye ghostly scenes give wayv Our king is coming now in sight. Bearing the diadem of day, Whose crest expels the night; Thus we, tike birds, retreat To groves, and hide from ev'ry eye; Our slumbering dust will rise and meet Its morning in the sky. The immaterial sun, Now hid within empyieal gloom; 43 Will break forth on a brighter throne* And call us from the tomb. MEMORY. Sweet memory, like a pleasing dream, Still lends a dull and feeble ray ; For ages with her vestige teems, When beauty's trace is worn away. When pleasure, with her harps unstrung* Sits silent to be heard no more, Or leaves them on the willows hung, And pass-time glee forever o'er ; Still back in smiles thy glory steals With ev'ningdew drops from thine eye; The twilight bursting from thy wheels, Ascends and bids oblivion fly. Memory, thy bush prevails to bloom, Design'd to fade, no, never, never* Will stamp thy vestige on the tomb, And bid th' immortal live forever. When youth's bright sun has once declined And bid his smiling day expire, 44 Mem'ry, thy torch steals up behind, And sets thy hidden stars on fire. PROSPERITY. Come, thou queen of every creature, Nature calls thee to her arms j Love sits gay on every feature, Teeming with a thousand charms. Meet me mid the wreathing bowers, Greet me in the citron grove, "Where I saw the belle of flowers Dealing with the blooms of love. Hark! the lowly dove of Sharon, Bids thee rise and come away, From a vale both dry and barren, Come to one where life is gay. Come, thou queen of all the forest, Fair Feroma, mountain glee, Lovelier than the garden florist. Or the goddess of the bee. Come, Sterculus, and with pleasure, Fertilize the teeming field ; 45 From thy straw, dissolved at leisure, Bid the lea her bounty yield. Come, thou queen of every creature, Nature calls thee to her arms ; Love sits gay on every feature, Teeming with a thousand charms. DEATH OF GEN. JACKSON— AN EULOGY. Hark! from the mighty Hero's tomb, I hear a voice proclaim ! A sound which fills the world with gloom, But magnifies his name. JJis flight from time let braves deplore, And wail from state to state, And sound abroad from shore to shore, The death of one so great ! He scorn'd to live a captured slave, And fought his passage through ; He dies, the prince of all the brave, And bids the world adieu ! Sing to the mem'ry of his power. Ye vagrant mountaineers. 45 Ye rustic peasants drop a shower Of love for him in tears. He wields the glittering sword no more, With that transpiercing eye ; Ceases to roam the mountain o'er. And gets him down to die ! Still let the nation spread his fame, While marching from his tomb ; Aloud let all the world proclaim, Jackson, forever bloom. No longer to the world confm'd, He goes down like a star ; He sets, and leaves his friends behind To rein the steed of war. Hark! from the mighty Hero's tomb, 1 hear a voice proclaim ! A sound which fills the world with gloom, But magnifies his name ! MR. CLAY'S RECEPTION AT RALEIGH, April, 1844. Salute the august train t a scene so grand, With kvery tuneful baud \ It The mighty brave, His country bound to save, Extends his aiding hand ; For joy his vofries hoop and stamp,. Excited by the blaze of pomp ! Let ev'ry eye the scene descry, The sons of freedom's land. They look ten thousand stars t lamp tumbler blaze, To give the Hero praise I Immortal Clay, The cause is to pourtray J Your tuneful voices raise j The lights of our Columbian sun, Break from his patriotic throne ; Let all admire The faithful sire, The chief musician plays* Ye bustling crowds give way, proclaims th# drum, And give the Patriot room ; The cannon's sound, The blast of trumpets bound, Be this our father's home ; Haw let the best musician playj 48 A skillful tune for Henry Clay ! Let every ear With transport hear ! The President is come. Let sister states greet the Columbian feast, With each admiring guest ; Thou art our choice ! Let ev'ry joyful voice, Sound from the east to west ; Let haughty Albion's lion roar, The eagle must prevail to soar ; And in lovely form, Above the storm, Erect her peaceful nest. Beyond each proud empire she throws her eye ! "Which lifted to the sky, No thunders roll, To agitate her soul, Beneath her feet they fly ! Let skillful fingers sweep the lyre, Strike ev'ry ear ! set hearts on fire ! Let monarchs sleep Beyond the deep, And howling faction die. 49 Nor h*nee forget tta tesne applauding &*$% When every heart was g-ay ; The universal swell Rnsh'd from the loud to"wn bell '; tn awful, grand array* We see them form the bright parade ; And hark, a gladdening march is play'd ! Along the street, The theme is sweet, For every voice is Clay. To the Capitol the low and upland peers* Resort with princely fears, And homage pay * A loud huzza for Clay ! Falls on our ears ; Loud from his lips the thunders roll* And fill with wonder every soul ; Round the sire of state All concentrate, And W&¥f mortal hears. CLAY'S DEFEAT. 'Tis the hope of the noble defeated ; The aim of the marksman is vain; The wish of destruction completed, The soldier eternally slain; 50 When winter succeeds to ihe smnme'rv The bird is too chilly to sing ; No music is play'd for the drummer, No carol is heard on the wing. The court of n. nation forsaken, An edifice stripn'd of its dome, Its fame from her pinnacle shaken, Like the sigh heaving downfall of Rome. Fali'b, fall'n is the chief of the witty, The prince of republican power ; The star-crown of Washington City Descends his political tower. * The gold-plated seat is bespoken, The brave of the west is before"; The bowl at the fountain is broken, The music of fame is no more. No longer a wonderful story Is told for the brave whig to hear, Whose sun leaves his circuit of glory, Or sinks from the light of his sphere. 51 THE HAPPY BIRD'S NEST. When on my cottage falls the placid shower, When ev'ning calls the labourer home to rest, When glad the bee deserts the humid flower, O then the bird assumes her peaceful nest. When sable shadows grow unshapely tall, And Sol's resplendent wheel descends the •west, The knell of respiration tolls for all, And Hespar smiles upon the linnet's nest. When o'er the mountain bounds the fair g'a- zell, The night bird tells her day-departing jest, She gladly leaves her melancholy dell, And spreads her pinions o'er the linnet's nest. Then harmless Diaii spreads her lucid sail, And glides through ether with her silver crest, Bidding the watchful bird still pour her tale, And cheer the happy linnet on her nest. Thus may some guardian angel bear her light, And o'er thy tomb, departed genius, rest, 52 Whilst thou *halt take thy long eternal flight, And leave some faithful bird to guard thy nest. THE FATE OF AN INNOCENT DOG. When Tiger left his native yard. He did not many ills regard, A. "fleet and harmless cur ; Indeed, he was a trusty dog, And did not through the pastures prog* The grazing flocks to stir, poor dog, The grazing flocks to' stir. He through a field by chance was led* In quest of game not far ahead, And made one active leap ; When all at once, alarm'd, he spied, A creature welt' ring on its side* A deadly wounded sheep, alas ! A deadly wounded sheep. He there was fill'd with sudden fear, Apprized of lurking danger near, And there he left his trail ; Indeed, he was afraid to yelp, 58 Nor could he grant the creature help, But wheel' d and drop'd his tail, poor dog, But wheel' d and drop'd his tail. It was his pass-time, pride and fun, At morn the nimble hare to run, When frost was on the grass ; Returning home who should he meet ? The weather's owner, coming fleet, Who scorn'd to let him pass, alas ! Who scorn'd to let him pass. Tiger could but his bristles raise, A surly compliment he pays, Insulted shows his wrath ; Returns a just defensive growl, And does not turn aside to prowl, But onward keeps the path, poor dog, But onward keeps the path. The raging owner' found the brute, But could afford it no recruit, Nor raise it up to stand ; 'Twas mangled by some other dogs, A set of detrimental rogues, Raised up~at no eommand,"alas ! Raised up at no command. Sagacious Tiger left his bogs, But bore the blame of other dogs, With powder, fire and ball ; They kilPd the poor, unlawful game, And then came back and eat the same ; But Tiger paid for fell, poor dog, But Tiger paid for all. Let ev'ry harmless dog beware Lest he be taken in the snare, And scorn such fields to roam ; A creature may be fraught with grace, And suffer for the vile and base, By straggling off from home, alas! By straggling off from home. The blood of creatures oft is spilt, Who die without a shade of guilt; Look out, or cease to roam ; Whilst up and down the world he plays For pleasure, man in danger strays Without a friend from home, alas ! Without a friend from home. 5S THE TIPLER TO HIS BOTTLE. What hast thou ever done for me? Defeated every good endeavor; I never can through life agree To place my confidence in thee, JNot ever, no, never! Often have I thy steam admired, Thou nothing hast avail'd me ever; Vain have I tliought myself inspired, Say, have 1 else but pain acquired? Not ever, no, never! No earthly good, no stream of health, Flows from thy fount, thou cheerful giver; From thee, affluence sinks to stealth, From thee I pluck no bloom of health, Whatever, no, never ! Thou canst impart a noble mind, Power from my tongue flows like a river; The gas flows dead, I'm left behind, To all that's evil down confined, To flourish more never! With thee I must through life complain, Thy powers at large will union sever; Disgorge no more, thy killing bane, The. bird hope flies from thee in pain. To return more never! ROSABELLA— PURITY OF HEART, Though with an angel's tonguo I set on fire the congregations all, *Tis but a brazen bell that I have "rung* And I to nothing fall; My theme is but an idle air If Rosabella is not there, though I in thunders rave, And hurl the blaze of oratorio flowers, Others I move, but fail myself to save With my declaiming powers; I sink, alas! Ijknow not where, If Rosabella is not there. Though J poirlt o&t the way, And closely circumscribe the path to heaven, And pour my melting prayer without delay, And vow my sins forgiven, I sink^into the gloom despair f( Rosabella is not there, V7 Though I may mountains more, And make tbe vallies vocal with my song, I'm vain without a stream of mystic love, For alt my heart is wrong; I've laid myself a cruel snare, If Iiosabella is not there. From bibliothic stores, I fly, proclaiming heaven from land to land, Or cross the seas and reach their distant shores. Mid Gothic groups to stand; O, let me of myself beware, If Rosabella is not there. Our classic books must fail, And with their flowery tongue* to ashes burn, And not one groat a mortal wit avail Upon his last return; Be this the creature's faithful prayer, That Rosabella may be there. This spotless maid was born The babe of heaven, and cannot be defiled; The soul is dead and in a state forlorn On which she has not smiled; Vain are the virile and the fair* Jf Rosabella be not there. When other pleasures tire, And mortal glories fade to glow ho more, She with the wing of truth augments her fire, And still prevails to soar; All else must die, the good and wise, But Rosabella never dies. FALSE WEIGHT. The poor countryman to a fraudulent lady profess- ing fright Christianity. If thou art fair, deal, lady, fair, And let the scales be oven; Forbid the poising beam to rear, And pull thee down from heaven. Dost thou desire to die in peace, For ev'ry sin forgiven, Give back my right, thy weight decrease, And mount like mine to heaven. Itathcr give over to the poor, Take ten and give eleven ; Or else be fair, I ask no more, 'Tis all required of heaven. And when on thee for pay I call, Which is but four for seven, 59 Keep nothing back, but pay it all, It is not hid from heaven. Remember hence the sentence past, The truth in scripture given, Last shall be first, and first be last, DEPARTING SUMMED. When auburn Autumn mounts the stage, And Summer fails her charms to yield, Bleak nature turns another page, To light the glories of the field. At once the vale declines to bloom, The forest smiles no longer gay; Gardens are left without perfume, The rose and 1 Illy pine away. The orchard bows her fruitless head, As one divested of her store; Or like a queen whose train hashed, And left her sad to smile no more. That bird which breath'd her vernal song, And hopp'd along the flow'ry spray, 60 Now silent holds her warbling tongue, Which dulcifies the feast of May. But let each bitter have its sweet, No change of nature is in vain ; 'Tis just alternate cold and heat, For time is pleasure mix'd with pain. REFLECTIONS FROM THE FLASH OF A METEOR. Psalm xc. 12. So teach me to regard my day, How small a point my life appears ; One gleam to death the whole betrays, A momentary flash of years. One moment smiles, the scene is past, Life's gaudy bloom at once we shed, And sink beneath affliction's blast, Or drop as soon among the dead. Short is the chain wound up at morn, Which oft runs down and stops at noon; Thus in a moment man is born, And, lo! the creature dies as soon. Life'sjittle torch how soon forgot, Dim burning on its dreary shore; 61 Just like that star which downwards shot, It glimmers and is seen no more. Teach me to draw this transient breath, With conscious awe my end to prove, Early to make my peace with death, As thus in haste from time we'move, O heaven, through this murky vale, Direct me with a burning pert ; Thus shall I on a tuneful gale Fleet out my threescore years and ten. TRUE FRIENDSHIP. Friendship, thou balm for ev'ry ill, I must aspire to thee; Whose breezes bid the heart be still, And render sweet the patient's pill, And set the pris'ner free. Friendship, it is the softest soul Which feels' another's pain; And must with equal sighs condole, While sympathetic streamlets roll* Which nothing can restrain* Not to be nominated smart* Of mortals to be seen, 62 She does not thus her gifts impart, Her aid is from a feeling heart, A principle within. When the lone stranger, forced to ream, Comes shiv'ring to her door, At once he finds a welcome home,"*; The torch of grace dispels his^gloom, And bids him grope no more. Friendship was never known to fail The voice of need to hear, When rainless ills onr peace assail, When from our hearts she draws the veil, And drys the falling tear. When dogs and devils snarl and fight, She hides and dwells alone; When friends and kindred disunite, With pity she surveys the right, And gives to each his own. Friendship has not a sister grace Her wonders to exceed ; She is the queen of all her race, Whose charms the stoutest must embrace When in (he vale of need. 03 Friendship is but the feeling sigh. The sympathizing tear, • Constraint to flow till others dry Nor lets the needy soul pass by, JNor scorns to see or hear. ON THE CONVERSION OF A SISTER. "JTis the voice of my sister at home, Resigned lo the treasures above, Inviting the strangers to come, And feast at the banquet of love. 'Tis a spirit cut loose from its chain, 'Tis the voice of a culprit forgiven, Restored from a prison of pain, With th' sound of a concert from heaven. 'Tis a beam from the regions of light, A touch of beatific fire; A spirit exulting for flight, With a strong and impatient desire. 'Tis a drop from the ocean of love, A foretaste of pleasures to come, Distill'd from the fountain above, The joy which awaits her at home. <k A BILLET DOLX Dear Miss : Notwithstanding the cloud of doubts which overshadows the mind of ador- ing fancy, when t trace that vermillion cheek, that sapphire eye of expressive softness, and that symmetrical form of grace, I am con- strained to sink into a flood of admiration be* neath those heavenly charms. Though, dear Miss, it may be useless to introduce a multi- plicity of blandishments, which might either lead you into a field of confusion, or absorb the truth of affection in the gloom of doubts | but the bell of adulation may be told from the distance of its echo, and cannot be heard far- ther than seen. Dear Miss, whatever may be the final result of my adventurous progress, I now feel a propensity to embark on the ocean of chance, and expand the sail of re- solution in quest of the distant shore of con- nubial happiness with one so truly lovely. Though, my dearest, the thunders of parental aversion may inflect the guardian index of af- fection from its favorite star, the deviated nee- dle recovers its course, and still points on- wards to its native poll. Though the waves of calumny may reverberate the persevering mind of the sailiug lover, the morning star of 65 hope directs him through the gloom of trial to the object of his choice. My brightest hopes are mix'd with tears, Like hues of light and gloom ; As when mid sun -shine rain appears, Love rises with a thousand fears, To pine and still to bloom. When I have told hi}- last fond tale In lines of song to thee, And for departure spread my Fail, Say, lovely princess, wilt thou fail To drop a. tear for me? O, princess, should my votive strain Salute thy ear no more, Like one deserted on the main, I still shall gaze, alas! but vain, On wedlock's llow'ry shore. TROUBLED WITH THE ITCH, AND RUB- BING WITH SULPHUR. 'Tis bitter, vet 'tis sweet, Scratching effects but transient case ; Pleasure and pain together meet, And vanish as they please. My rralte, She only balm, To ev'ry bump are oft applied, And thus the rage will sweetly calm ^Vhich aggravates my hide. It soon returns' again ; A frowh succeeds to ev'ry smile ; Grinning I scratch and curse the pain, But grieve to be so vile* In fine, 1 know not which Can play the most deceitful gam<?? The devil, sulphur, or the itch; The three are but the same. The devil sows the itch, /slid sulphur has a loathsome smell, And tfrith my clothes as black as pitch, I stink where'er I dwell. Excoriated deep, By friction play'd on ev'ry part, It oft deprives me of my sleep, And plagues me to my heart. 67 EARLY AFFECTION. I loved thee from the earliest dawn, When first I saw thy beauty's ray; And will until life's eve cornea on, And beauty's blossom fades away; And when all thing's go well with thee^ With smiles or tears remember me. I'll love thee when thy morn is past And wheedling galantry is o'er. When youth is lost in age's blast, And beauty can ascend no more; And when life's journey ends with thee, 0 then look back and think of me. I'll love thee with a smile or frown, JV1 id sorrow's gloom or pleasure's light; And when the chain of life runs down, Pursue thy last eternal flight; When thou hast spread thy wing to flee, Still, still a moment wait for me. 1 love thee for those sparkling eyes, To which my fondness was betray 'd, Bearing the tincture of the skies, To glow when other beauties fade; And when they sink too low to see, Reflect an azure beam on me. 68 THE CREDITOR TO HIS PROUD DEBTOR, Ha, tott'ring-Johny, strut and boast, But think of what your feathers cost; Your crowing days are short at most, You bloom but soon to fade; Surely you could not stand so wide, If strictly to the bottom tried, The wind would blow your plume aside If half your debts were paid. Then boast and bear the crack, With the sheriff at your back; Huzza for dandy Jack, My jolly fop, my Joe, The blue smoke from your segar flies, Offensive to my nose and eyes; The most of people would be wise Your presence to evade; Your pocket jingles loud with cash, And tbus you cut a foppish dash, But, alas! dear boy, you would be trash, If your accounts were paid. Then boast and bear the crack, &c. My duck bill boots would look as bright, Had you injustice served me right; Like you I then could step as light, Before a flaunting maid; As nicely could I clear my throat, And to my tights my eyes devote; But I'd leave you bare without that coat, For which you have not paid. Then boast and bear the crack, &c. I'd toss myself with a scornful air, And to a poor man pay no care; I could rock cross-leg'd on my chair Within the cloister shade; I'd gird my neck with a light cravat, And creaning wear my bell-crown hat; But away my down would fly at that, If once my debts were paid. Then boas! and bear the crack, With a sheriff at your back; Huzza for dandy Jack, My jolly fop, my Joe. REGRET FOR THE DEPARTURE OF FRIENDS. As smoke from a volcano soars in the air, The soul of man discontent mounts from a sigh, 70 Exhaled as to heaven in mystical prayeij Invoking that love which forbids him to die. Sweet hope, lovely passion, my grief ever ehase, And scatter the gloom which veils plea- sure's bright ray, O lend me thy wings, and assist me to trace The flight of my fair one when gone far away. When the dim star of pleasure sets glimmer- ing alone, The planet of beauty on life's dreary shore, And th' fair bird of fancy forever is flown, On pinions of haste to be heard of no more. Hope, tell me, dear passion, thou wilt not for- get, To flourish still sweetly and blossom as Expelling like morning the gloom of regret, When the lark of aifection is gone far away. If hurried into some unchangeable clime, Where oceans of pleasure continually roll, Far, far from the limited borders of time, With a total division of body and soul. 71 Hope, tell me, cigar passion, ifhicb must earth survive, That love will be sweeter when nature is o'er, And still without pain though eternity live, In the triumph of pleasure when time is iiq more. O love, when the day-light of pleasure shall close, Let the vesper of death break on life's dus- ky even; £et the faint sun of time set in peace as it rose, And eternity open thy morning in heaven. Then hope, lovely passion, thy torch shall expire, Effusing on nature life's last feeble ray; While the night maid of love sets her taper on fire, To guard smiling beauty from time far away. FAREWELL TO FRANCES. Farewell ! if ne'er I see' thee more, Thdugri distant calls my flight impel, 78 I shall not less thy grace adore, So friend, forever fare thee well. Farewell ! forever, did I say ? What, never more thy face to see ? Then take the last fond look to-day, And still to-morrow think of me. Farewell ! alas, the tragic sound Has many a tender bosom torn; While desolation spread around, Deserted friendship left to mourn. Farewell! awakes the sleeping tear, The dormant rill from sorrow's eye, Express'd from one by nature dear, Whose bosom heaves the latent sigh. Farewell ! is but departure's tale, When fond association ends, And fate expands her lofty sail, To show the distant flight of friends. Alas ! and if we sure must part, Far separated long to dwell, I leave thee with a broken heart, So friend, forever, fare thee well. I leave thee, but forget thee never, Words cannot my feeling tell, **Faro thed well, and if former, Sjtill forever fare thee well." THE RETREAT FROM MOSCOW. Sad Moscow, thy fate do I see* Fire ! lire ! in the city all cry ; Like quails from the eagle all flee, JEscape in a moment or die. It looks lite the battle of Troy, The stclrm rises higher and higher ; The scene of destruction all hearts must an* noy, The whirlwinds, the smoke,- and the fire* The dread conflagration rolls forth, Augmenting the rage of the wind, Which blows it from soilth unto norths And leaves but the embers behind; It looks l&e Gomorrah? the flame Is moving Still nigher arid nigher, Aloud from all quarters the people proclaim^ The whirlwinds, the sniok«e,, and the firq* Jl dead fumigation now swells, A b^ue circle darkens the air, 74 With tones as the pealing of bells, Farewell to the brave and the fair. O Moscow, thou city of grace, Consign'd to a dread burning pyre, From morning to ev'ning with sorro.w I trace The wild winds, the^ smoke, and the fire. The dogs in the kennel all howl, The wether takes flight with the ox, Appal'd on the wing is the fowl, The pigeon deserting her box. With a heart full of pain, in the night Mid hillocks and bogs I retire, Through lone, deadly vallies I steer by ite light, The wild storm, the smoke, and the fire* Though far the crash breaks on my ear, The stars glimmer dull in the sky, The shrieks of the women I hear, The fall of the kingdom is nigh. O heaven, when earth is no more, And all things in nature expire, May I thus, with safety, keep distant before The whirlwinds, the smoke, and the fire. IMPLORING TO BE RESIGNED AT DEATH. Let me die and not tremble at death* But smile at the close of my day* And then, at the flight of my breath, Like a bird of the morning in May* Go chanting away. Let me did without fear of the dead, No horrors my soul shall dismay, And with faith's pillow Under my head, With defiance to mortal decay, Go chanting away. Let me die like a son of the brave, And martial distinction display, Nor shrink from a thought of the grave, No, but with a smile from the clay* Go chanting away* Let me die glad, regardless of pain, No pang to this world to betray ; Arid the spirit cut loose from its chain, So loath in the flesh to delay, Go chanting away. Let me die, and my worst foe forgive, When death veils the last vital ray ) Since I have but a moment to live, Let me, when the last debt I pay, Go chanting away, fe THE PLEASURES GfF COLLEG# tlFE. With tears I leave these academic bowers, And cease to cull the scientific flowers ; With tears I hail the fair succeeding train, And take my exit with a breast of pain, The Fresh may trace these w6nd£f£ as they smile ; The stream of sciericC like the river Nile, Reflecting mental beauties as it flows, Which all tl^e charms of College life disclose j This sacred current as it runs refines, Whilst Byron sings and Shakspeajre's mirror shines,. First like a garden flower did I rise, When on the college bloom I cast my eyes; I strove to emulate each smiling gem, Resolved to wear the classic diadem » But when the Freshman^s garden breeze was gone'/ Around me spread a vast extensive lawn'; 'Twas there the muse of college life begun, Beneath the rays of erudition's stiri, 'Where study drew the mystic focus down, And lit the lamp of nature with renown ; There first I heard the epic thunders roll, And Homer's light'ning darted through my soul. Hard was the task to trace each devious line; Though Locke and Newton bade me soar and shine ; I sunk beneath the heat of Franklin's blazer And struck the notes of philosophic praise ; With timid thought I strove the test to stand. Reclining on a cultivated land, Which often spread beneath a college bower:. And thus invoked the intellectual shower \ E'en that fond sire on whose depilous crown, The smile of courts and states shall shed re? nown ; Now far above the noise of country strife, I frown upon the glooni of rustic life, Where no pure stream of bright distinction flows, No mark between the thistle and the rose f One's like a bird encaged and bare of food, Borne by the fowler from his native wood, Where sprightly oft he sprung from spray to spray, ^nd cheer'd the forest with his artless lay. 78 Or fluttered o'er the purling brook at will, Sung in the dale or soar'd above the hill. Such are the liberal charms of college life, Where pleasure flows without a breeze of strife; And such would be my pain if cast away, Without the blooms of study to display. Beware, ye college birds, again beware, And shun the fowler with his subtile snare; Nor fall as one from Eden, stript of all The life and beauty of your native hall; Nor from the garden of your honor go, Whence all the streams of fame and wisdom flow; Where brooding Milton's theme purls sweet along W7ith Pope upon the gales of epic song; Where you may trace a bland Demosthenes, Whose oratoric pen ne'er fails to please; And Plato, with immortal Cicero, And with the eloquence of Horace glow; There cull the dainties of a great Ainsworth, Who sets the feast of ancient language forth; Or glide with Ovid on his simple stream, And catch the heat from Virgil's rural beam; Through Addison you trace creation's fire, And all the rapid wheels of time admire ; Or pry with Paley's theologic rays, And hail the hand of wisdom as you gaze; Up Murray's pleasant hill you strive to climb, To gain a golden summit all sublime, And plod through conic sections all severe, Which to procure is pleasure true and dear. The students' pensive mind is often stung, Whilst blundering through the Greek and Latin tongue; Parsing in grammars which may suit the whole, And will the dialect of each control. Now let us take a retrospective view, And whilst we pause, observe a branch or two. Geography and Botany unfold Their famous charms like precious seeds of gold; Zoology doth all her groups descry, And with Astronomy we soar on high; But pen and ink and paper all would fail, To write one third of this capacious tale. Geography presents her flowery train, Describes the mountain and surveys the plain, Measures the sounding rivers as they grow, Unto the trackless deeps to which they flow: She measures well her agriculture's stores, Which meet her commerce on the golder* shore, Includes the different seasons of the year, And changes which pervade the atmosphere? Treats of the dread phenomena which rise In different shapes on earth, Or issue from the skies; She points in truth to Lapland's frozen climq? And nicely measures alt the steps of time; Unfolds the vast equator's burning line', Where all the stores of heat dissolve anc( shine; Describes the earth as utfperceived she rolls* Her well-poised axis placed upon the poles*.* Botany,whose charms her florists well display, Whose lavish odpurs swell the pomp of May? Whose purling wreaths the steady box adorn, And fill with fragrance all the breeze of morri. Through various means her plants are oft ap? plied, Improved by art, and well hy nature tried; Thro' her, the stores of herbage are unroll'd, All which compose the vegetable world; tjven the sensitives, which feel and shrink, From slightest touches, though they cannot think, Nor yet rejoice, void of the power to fear, 01 dr sense to smell, to see, to taste, or hear. Zoology, with her delightful strain, f)oth well the different animals explain; From multipedes to emmets in the dust. And all the groveling reptiles of disgust; She well descries the filthy beetle blind, "With insects high and low of every kind; She with her microscope surveys the mite, Whi.eh ne?er could be beheld by naked sight; Thence sne descends into the boundless deep, Where dolphins play and monsters slowly creep; pxplofes (he fotfmiug main from shore to shore, And hears With aive tfie dshing sea bull roarj Traces enormous whales exploding high Their floods of briny water to the sky; Desribes the quadrupeds of ever shape. The bear, the camel, elephant and ape, And artful monkey, which but lack to tatk7 And like the human' kind uprightly walk. Astronomy, with her aerial powers, Lifts iis above this dfeafy globe of Ours; Throughout the realms of ether's vast expanse, Her burning wings our towering minds ad- vance^ ^Measures her tropic well from line tp line. 8* And marks her rolling planets as they shine; Describes the magnitude of every star, And thence pursues her comets as they roll afar. But nature never yet was half explored, Though by philosopher and bard adored; Astronomer and naturalist expire, And languish that they could ascend no higher; Expositors of words in every tongue, Writers of prose and scribblers of song, Would fail with all their mathematic powers, And vainly study out their fleeting hours. Sir Walter Baleigh, Pen and Roberson, With Morse and Snowden, who are dead and gone, They all were, though mused their lives away, And left ten thousand wonders to display. And though the fiery chemists probe the mine. The subterraneous bodies to define; Though melting flames the force of matter try, Rocks mix'd with brass and gold to pieces fly; And those who follow the electric muse, Amidst the wilds of vast creation loose Themselves like pebbles in the swelling main, And strive for naught these wanders to ex- plain; 88 Galvin himself, the monarch of the whole, Would blush his empty parchments to unroll. These different branches to one ocean go, "Where all the streams of life together flow, Where perfect wisdom swells the tide of joy, A tide which must eternity employ; A boundless sea of love without a shore, Whose pleasure ebbs and flows forever more; Volume Divine ! O thou the sacred dew, Thy fadeless fields see elders passing through, Thy constant basis must support the whole, The cabinet and alcove of the soul; It matters not through what we may have pass'd, To thee for sure support we fly at last; Encyclopedias we may wander o'er, And study every scientific lore, Ancient and modern authors we may read, The soul must starve or on thy pastures feed. These bibliothic charms would surely fall, And life grow dim within this college wall, The wheels of study in the mind would tire, If not supported by thy constant fire; Greatest of all the precepts ever taught Maps and vocabularies dearly bought, Purns with his harp, Scott, Cambell, and their flowers, 84 Will shrink without the? everlasting showers; Theology, thou sweetest science yet, Beneath whose boughs the silent classics sitf And thus imbibe the sacred rays divine, Which make the mitred faculty to shine; O for a gleam of Buck, immortal muse, With elder Scott and Henry to peruse; These lines which did a secret bliss inspire, And set the heads, the hearts, the tongues, on fire. Such is the useful graduate indeed, Not merely at the bar in law to plead, . Nor a physician best to heal the flesh, But all the mystic power of soul and flesh; On such a senior let archangels smile? And all the students imitate his style. Who bears with joy the mission all divine, The beams of sanctitude, a Paul benign; Whose sacred call is to evangelise, A gospel prince, a legate of the skies, Whose bright diploma is a deed from heaven, The palm of love, the wreath of sins forgiven. THE GRADUATE LEAVING COLLEGE, What summons do I hear ? The morning peal, departures knell ; If My eyes let fall a friendly tear* And bid this place farewell. Attending servants come; The carriage wheels like thunders roar, To bear the pensive seniors home, Here to be seen no more. Pass one more transient night, The morning sweeps the college clean; The graduate takes his last long flight, No more in college seen; The bee, which courts the flower, Must with some pain itself employ,3 And then fly, at the day'd last hour,* Home to its hive with joy* TO THE KING OF MACEDONIA.' Phillip, thou ajt piprtal ! Thou may'st with pleasure hail the dawn,- And greet the morning's eye ; Remember, king, the night comes on, The fleeting day will soon be' gone, Not distant, loud proclaims the funeral tone, Phillip, thou hast to die. 86 With thee thy dame, the queen of birds, May spread her wing to fly; Or smile to trace the numerous herds, Thunders from the Lord of lords, I hear some peal surpassing human words, Philip, thou hast to die* Thou rrtayst thy mighty host survey And neighboring kings defy, Whilst round thy retinues flit gay, Beneath thy pomp's imperial ray, Make merry on the tide of joy to day, To-morrow thou shalt die. I heave to hear the day's last peal, A sorrow teeming sighj The morning's fluttering bird has flowri, The roses fade, so quickly blown,- The lofty king falls robeless from his throne, Philip was born to die. 'Twas thus the haughty king of France Strove to ascend on high; Lifting his adamantine lance, He bade his dauntless war-»horse pnince, Defied the World, and rode the car of chance, To rage, to fume and die. Thus vile, thus obstinately vain, . He pours his distant brag, 87 Regardless of his millions slain, Regales his pale surviving train, Was but wraped in his infernal chain, Dies on the ocean crag. This faithful lesson read to all Creation, far and nigh, It is the fate, from Adam's fall, The swain, the king, the low, and tall, The watchman of the grave must give the call, Mortal, thou hast to die. DIVISION OF AN ESTATE. It well bespeaks a mail beheaded, quite Divested of the laurel robe of life, "When every member struggles for its base, The head; the power of order now recedes, Unheeded efforts rise on every side, With dull emotion rolling through the brain Of apprehending slaves* The flocks and herds, In sad confusion, now run to and fro, And seem to ask, distressed, the reason why That they are thus prostrated. Howl, ye dogs! Ye cattle, low ! ye sheep, astonish'd, bleat ! Ye bristling swine, trudge squealing through the glades, m Void of an owner 10 impart your fooiH Sad hoVses, lift your heads and heigh atoudf And caper frantic from the dismal scene j Mow the last food upon your grass-clad lea^ And leave a solitary home behind, In hopeless widowhood no" longer gay ! The traveling sun of gain his journey erfds In unavailing pain J he sets with tears;' A king sequester' d Striking from his throne, Succeeded by a train of busy friends, Lffce stars which rise with smiles, to mark the flight Of awful Phoebus to another World f Stars after stars in fleet succession rise Into the wide empire of fortune clear, Regardless of trie donor of their lamps/ Li£e heirs forgetful of parental care, Without a grateful smile or filial tear^ Redound in rev'rerice to expiring age. But soon parental benediction flies Like vivrd meteors ; in a moment gone, As though they ne'er had been. But 0\ the state, The dark suspense hr whiph poor vassals stand, Each mind upon the spire of chance hangs' fluctuant ; 89 The day of separation is at hand ;' Imagination lifts her gloomy curtains, Like ev'ning's mantle at the flight of day, Thro' which the trembling pinnacle we spy, On which we soon must stand with hopeful smiles, Or apprehending frowns ; to tumble on The right or left forever. PRIDE IN HEAVEN. On heaven's ethereal plain, With hostile rage ambition first begun, When the arch rebel strove himself to reign And take Jehovah's throne. Swift to the fight the seraphim On floods of pride were seen to swim, And bold defy the power supreme^ And thus their God disown. High on a dome of state, From azure fielcls he cast his daring eye, Licentious trains his magazines await, At whose command they fly. The gloom excludes celestial charms, When all the angels rush to arms, Heaven shakes beneath the vast alarms, And earth begins to sigh. 90 Eternal mountains move, And seven-fold thunders rock the hills below. While starry throngs desert the worlds above, Beneath Jehovah's brow. O Lucifer, thou morning son, To glut thy pide what hast thou done ? Sing, 0 ye heavens, the plague is gone, And weep, thou earth, for wo. Creation felt the fall, And trembling nature heay'd a dismal groan; For that rebellion brought her into thrall, She must her fate bemoan ; See angels fall no more to rise, And feed the worm that never dies ; No ear of grace can hear their cries, And hoarse lamenting tone. Weak nature lay exposed, And felt the wound in pleasing hate conceal'd; And, void of fear, the secret charm disclosed Which ev'ry ill reveaj'd. The venom struck through ev'ry vein, And every creature felt the pain; But undefiled a lamb was slain, By which the wound was heal'd. 01 TO MISS TEMPE. Bless'd hope, -when Tempe takes her last long flight, And leaves her lass-lorn lover to complain, Like Luna mantling o'er the brow of night. Thy glowing wing dispels the gloom of pain. Yes, wondrous hope, when Tempe sails afar, Thy vital lamp remains to burn behind, While by-gone pleasure, like a setting star, Reflects her glory o'er the twilight mind? Thy glowing wing was never spread to tire, Expanded o'er the mansion of the brave, To fan and set the heaving breast on fire, That soars in triumph from affliction's wave. Then, Tempe, dart along the ocean drear, Hope yet forbids my cheerful soul to weep, But marks thy passage with affection's tear, And hails thee on the bosom of the deep. Farewell, since thou wilt leave thy native shore, I smile to think I am not left alone ; Auspicious hope shall yet my peace restore, When thou art from the beach forever gone. 92 MAN A TQBCH. Blown up with painful care, and hard to light, A glimmering torch, blown in a moment out; Suspended by a webb, an angler's bait. Floating at stake along the stream of chance, Snatch'd from its hook by the fish of poyerty. A silent cavern is his last abode ; T'he king's repository, veil'd with gloom, The umbrage of a thousand oziers ; bowed, The couch of hallowed bones, the slave's asy- lum, The brave's retreat, and end of ev'ry care. CONTENTS. .ife of the Author, 3 introduction, 21 The Musical Chamber, 23 A Dirge, 25 Death of a favorite Chamber Maid, 26 The fearful Traveller in the haunted Castle, 27 To Catharine, 29 The Swan — Vain Pleasures, SO The powers of Love, 31 To a departing Favorite, 32 The Traveller, 33 Eecent appearance of a Lady, 35 Meditation on a cold, dark and rainy night, 33 On an old deluded Suitor, 37 The Woodman and Money Hunter, 39 The eye of Love, 40 The setting Sun, 41 The rising Sun, 42 Memory, 43 Prosperity, 44 Death of Gen. Jackson, 45 Mr. Clay's reception at Kaleigh, 46 Clay's Defeat, 49 The happy Bird's nest, 51 The fate of an innocent Dog, 52 The Tippler and hie Bottle. 55 04 Rosabella — Purity of heart, 56 False Weight, 58 Departing Summer, 59 Reflections from the flash of a Meteor, 60 True Friendship, 61 On the Conversion of a Sister, 63 A Billet Doux, 64 Troubled with the Itch, 65 Early Affection, 67 The Creditor to his proud Debtor, 68 Regret for the Departure of Friends, 69 Farewell to Frances, 71 The Retreat from Moscpw, 73 Imploring to be resigned at Death, 75 On the Pleasures of a College Life, 76 THe graduate leaving College, 85 Division of an Estate, 87 Pride in Heaven, 89 To Miss Tempe, 91 Man a Torch,1 ' 92 SUBSCRIBERS' NAMES. Thos. M. Arrington, A. Alston, G. W. Brookes, Geo. T. Baskerville, William K. Blake, John Wi By nu m, Ridley Brown, C. B. Brookes, T. B. Bailey, James P. Bryan, Joseph Benjamin, V. C. Barringer, J. C. Coleman,' R. Cow per, J. W. Cameron, W. F. Carter, Alexr. J. Cansler, John Y. Campbell, D. L. Clinch, D. Clanton, Alexr. O. Daniel, William J. Duke, J. N. Daniel, William A. Daniel, H. M. Dusenbery, "\Viljiam H. Davie, T. A. Donoho, Thomas W. Dewey, William A. Faison, Solomon J. Faison, L. CJ. Farrell, James S. Green, Wijliam M. Green, James pallier, jr. Augustus Graves, James W. Hicks, Wm. M. Howerton, E. A. Roscoe Hooker, E. W. Hall, Edward H. Hicks, H. 0. W. Hooker, Thomas C. Hall, G. O. Hines, ^ames J. Herring, E. Burke Haywood, R. C. T. S. Hilliard, William H. Jones, D. §. Johnston, James M. Johnson, James J. Iredell, John J. Kindred, Martin A. Lyon, 96 Charles E. Lowther, Lionel L. Levy, J. S. Lncas, W. B. Meares, O. P. Meares, J. D. Mysick, Wm. Henry Manly, John Mallett, Edward Mallett, John Murphy, John L. Malone, John A. Malone, James L. Moseley, C. M'Eachin, E. H. Norcom, Thos. C. Pinckard, John Pool, Thomas J Person, L. H. Rogers, Alexander Ramsey, James S. Ruffin, Alfred M. Scales, W. M. Smith, Edward M. Scott, Thos. E. Skinner, David L. Swain, John V. Sherard, John K. Strange, T. W. Steele, James G. Scott, Charles Shober, William S. Trigg, R. E. G. Tucker, R. Taleavero, D. T. Tayloe, Edward Thorne, Robert H. Tate, John Wilson, N. L. Walker, H. G. Williams, Geo. W. Whitfield, Thomas White, jr. Thomas C. William* L. G. Whyte, John H. Watson, Thomas Webb, James R, Ward. ■ ♦ • ■ * -Mb PDF version https://1drv.ms/b/c/ea9004809c2729bb/EdgukNWJ3ZBPgtD9RfSXET8Bjgld-Uz0zJtLg4W6Ws-PVg?e=j4aKRe
  5. Marcus Garvey Birthday Jan 17th [ https://aalbc.com/tc/profile/6477-richardmurray/?status=1780&type=status ] Happy Birthday to Marcus Garvey Considering Marcus Garvey saw the caribbean or north america during his life as places that Black people needed to get away from, when you think of the struggles/challenges/unhappiness in Black Americans <Blacks or Negras from Canada/USA/MExico/JAmaica/HAiti/Dominican Republic/Puerto Rico/Trinidad/Colombia/Venezuela/Brazil/Chile/Argentina or any other land in the American continent> in the American Continent, was MArcus Garvey proven right about the inefficacy of Black people living side Whites? Side the best efficacy of Blacks when they live mostly around Blacks?
  6. until
    The Perihelion occurs between January 1st and January 5th , The perihelion is the moment in the path the Earth make about the Sun ,elliptical orbit, where the Earth's position is closest to the sun. It will occur : January 5, 2020 2:47 am EST or UTC-5. The June Aphelion is when the earth is farthest away. Please provide any art or text concerning a sun coming closer, and don't try the twilight zone episode. photo citation https://www.flickr.com/photos/benheine/31614749540/
  7. until
    MLK jr was born January 15th 1929 on a tuesday but the celebration is on the third monday of janaury by the uniform monday holiday act [ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uniform_Monday_Holiday_Act ] His actual birthday is the fifteenth of january but the federal holiday is in a monday for three day weekends, like others. It is celebrated on the third monday in the month of january in every year since its inception in the Statian Empire. I ask you to share , historical fictions/prose/graphical artwork in any style concerning MArtin Luther King jr....I do wonder why Blacks in the U.S.A. can not come together and demand a true day off for this federal notice. And also share, officials days in a country outside the usa for a black person in history? In Amendment Why the holiday is on his the third monday and not his true birthday? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uniform_Monday_Holiday_Act MLK jr's views on Financial Accountability https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RnKP__N7MNI MY 2020 speech https://aalbc.com/tc/blogs/entry/194-richard-murray-creative-table/page/7/?tab=comments#comment-820 MLK jr on Movies that Move We [ https://aalbc.com/tc/profile/6477-richardmurray/?status=1785&type=status ] ON FINANCIAL ACCOUNTABILITY MY PROSE MLK jr day 1/20/2020 Many presented videos or text concerning M.L.K. junior today, the twentieth of January. As a point of note, Martin Luther King junior's birthday is on the fifteenth of January, not the third Monday of every January. I am not interested in trying to rewrite the legend of MLK junior. MLK junior like most other historical figures in the USA was made legend after doing legendary things by others, not themselves, by those with agenda. It is more important to change the message in current media than to try to change the influence of past media using current media. My issue is ownership. Martin Luther King junior, asked a simple thing to the black statian, the black community in the USA. Do not use the ways of whites on the path to ownership. It may sound simple but, it is not, historically the ways of whites have never been undone concerning ownership. Comprehend a simple historical fact. People of white European, white is a phenotypical label while European is a geographic, descent are not the majority owners in the united states of america based on positive merit, or decency, or any positive angle. Every inch of land in the u.s.a. today is owned or controlled by the u.s.a. government, itself ranked mostly with whites, or in private white ownership, through various transfers after it was originally taken by killing native americans. Absent land how many firms will exist in the USA? What will the banks or the agricultural firms be in the u.s.a absent slavery? For all the technological modifications by usa based agricultural firms or investments in Silicon Valley in the stock markets, where will any bank or agricultural firm be in the usa without their original fiscal activities involving slaveholders accounts or slave labor for growing produce. Notice I did not refer to an individual person. I am speaking to the white community. The white community in the usa used negative means to become owners and then become financially successful owners. Martin Luther King junior spoke to Black people, grow, be strong, become owners of your own community and beyond; but don't kill another for their land, don't take another person's land, don't enslave another, do not do for yourself, your bloodline, your community by harming others. This is the reality of ownership in the u.s.a. White people help themselves, their community, built on their forebears originally harming others or themselves continuing to harm others. Martin Luther King Junior did not want black people to develop a negative character, a negative legacy, to be unmerited while trying to help their own. He asked a very challenging thing. Martin Luther King junior once said, it is a crude jest to tell a bootless man to lift himself up by his bootstraps. But he also felt the bootless man should not lessen his character by stealing another man's boots. He felt the bootless man should be strong enough to merit his boots through craft, labor, or another's kindness. As a black kid growing up, in a black community, incorrectly labeled but widely labeled, the black mecca, I realized how little the black community in Harlem owned. And in parallel, I knew how much various white communities in New york city owned, more importantly how they owned them. What would the Irish or Italian or white Jewish communities be in new york city absent their mobs, correctly glorified in constant movies. It was the white jewish, italian or irish mobs, the gangsters, the rum runners, the extortionists, the thieves, that had a largest or initial role in the development of ownership in those communities in New York city. I end, with a simple truth, the Black community in Harlem, a cultural district in Manhattan in new york city in new york state, in the united states of america, owns little to nothing in Harlem, yesterday or today. The history of the u.s.a. proves all ownership in the u.s.a. comes from those who were willing to negatively, or through negative actions, earn it. MLK junior asked black people to reject that historical truth, even when we own so little. If the Black statian can keep that hope of MLK jr. alive and one day exist in a u.s.a. where Black people own more than all others, or at least enough to not need another community. It will be a testament to MLK junior’s faith. And make the Black community have a pride, worth more than all the years whites owned far more. https://youtu.be/RnKP__N7MNI Poetry or more audiobook series https://www.kobo.com/us/en/search?query=Poetry or More&fcsearchfield=Series&seriesId=06baba96-5af5-5d24-9b8a-f06360287dc9 MLK jr on Movies that Move We Movies that Move WE- Selma MY COMMENT odd that this year, MLK jr day is the same time as Marcus Garvey's birthday.. I think the contrast between marcus garvey's long term vision as opposed to the long term vision of MLKjr or his predecessors, WEB DUbois when young or earlier Frederick DOuglass , concerning the relationship of blacks in the americas americas to whites in the americas. Now to the video... 6:40 yes, MLK jr was not a fool about being an advocate . He knew it wasn't financially grand nor had a great chance of true success. But, the identity of a christian baptist preacher was important to regaling. 8:04 yes, black businesses had a huge role in financing the civil rights movement of the 1960s, I wonder if they got their money's worth 9:01 black christian women have always been the backbone or the administration or communal arrangement of the black church. 9:32 My home had people who were at the march on washington. I concur to Nicole, having people who were in the home who experienced the history is key, but only truly matters if they convey it 11:10 yes Nicole , the disconnect is the communities fault. Every community in the usa, from the embattled native american to the afghanistani's from the iraq war have to teach who they are to their children and all who fail to get the proper results 14:14 good point, Nike, the illusion that the past is so far from the present. Like the racial is so far from the post racial 15:35 good dialog, Nicole/Nike about the progression of black history in the usa and how the black community has changed very fast while also very irratically for various reasons 16:47 You two offer the question many have asked before and many will ask after... how did the black community not maintain a highly serious collective tone from circa 1850 to circa 2022 ? 19:47 Nicole, urgency from whom? How many black people, who are in elected office, are millionaires, feel the sense for urgency seriously? they all will say urgency is needed. but, how many truly feel that? 26:41 MLK jr is a legendary speaker, funny how Malcolm is also the son of a preacher man 27:55 the last speech from mlk jr in harlem was at the riverside church, which has the largest carillon in the world https://www.democracynow.org/2022/1/17/mlk_day_special_2022#:~:text=We play his “Beyond Vietnam” speech%2C which he,Copy may not be in its final form. where do we go from here https://kinginstitute.stanford.edu/where-do-we-go-here 29:35 yes, but history books in mass education generally soften history. Histories details are by default, not a quick thing. Histories details, show how jews helped the naziz. How hong kong was the epicenter of domination by the united kingdom over the entirety of china. Histories details, show the good or supposed innocent are not that good or innocent, how the bad or supposed hellish are not that sinful or devious. In conclusion, you two made a lovely dialog, but I will suggest you made one potent absence. All to often, black people say, what are we not doing? but answer in your own way, what do we need to do? I know a number of black men who went to the million man march and the reality is, black men showed up to what the black organizers had planned, but the black organizers had no plan whatsoever? Black men came from around the usa to be guided with functionality or purpose not words or chastizement. I will give an example, if a million black men came together, and asked me what to do. I can suggest, make a credit union. Each man who is here put a dollar into a collection and give each man a vote over how the money is used. Is it a brilliant plan? no. It is very simple. but it is function/purpose. It isn't a "do good fellas" speech. What do you two black women want black people to do specifically, name one thing? A last point, Haile Sellasie offered land before his ousting by the communist party of ethiopia , only a third of it was given by the communist government of ethiopia , but it went to rastafarians, who grabbed the opportunity. I am doing research to see how the black people of HArlem Selassie had originally offered the land did not know, reject it or failed interest while black people from jamaica jumped on it. The town is called Shashamane.
  8. Richard Murray Valentines day album 2020 LINK Black Hearts Day or Valentine's Day good news 2020 ALBUM Richard Murray Valentines Day Album Dawn- beginning of twilight before sunrise And soon, both of us,Learned to trust,Not run away,It was no time to play,We build it up Twilight-sun invisible but atmosphere illuminated and now, I’ve got a song, to sing, tellin the world, about the joy you bring Sunrise-sun going above equator And all the while, inside, I knew, it was real,The way you make me, feel Morning- sunrise to noon I, can open, your eyes,Take, you wonder, by wonder,Over, sideways, and under Noon-temporal middle of the day Ain’t, no second chance,You got to hold on to romance,Don’t let it slide Evening- end of noon to the beginning of night Let me hear, you tell me, you love me,Let me hear, you say, you`ll never leave me Sunset-sun setting beneath equator As soon as I, get you, out my head, I’m in, your car, again Twilight - sun invisible but atmosphere illuminated Pour the wine, light the fire, Girl your wish, is my command Dusk- darkest phase of twilight I won’t pretend, that I intend to stop living, I won’t pretend, I’m good at forgiving Night- darkness between sunset and sunrise Love them, and leave them, that’s what I used to do,Use them and abuse them,Then I laid eyes on you
  9. until
    Mardi Gras is 47 days before Easter, since Easter can be from March 22nd to April 25th , Mardi Grad can be from February 3rd to March 9th. Mardi Gras is February 25th in the year 2020. I ask you to make a journal of your day in New Orleans during mardi using photos from wherever you like to paruse Story 1 : https://aalbc.com/tc/blogs/entry/261-eostre-art-or-text-craft-parade-good-news-blog/?do=findComment&comment=885 Story 2 : https://aalbc.com/tc/blogs/entry/261-eostre-art-or-text-craft-parade-good-news-blog/?do=findComment&comment=886 STORY 1 ba-bedee-debede-doo Bonjou Nouveau Orleans, I have returned. The morning is bright or magical, as I step from the shore into the city. The sound of horns audible even from this distance. I wonder if anyone will remember when I was here last. If anyone will remember what I did. Well, I have to step forward to find out. Just follow the sounds, as they get deeper. ba-bedee-debede-doo-boo-badoboop-ba Some people are celebrating, and I see a krewe coming like a grass from a storm. Suddenly a woman pops out. She is on a mobile float like a little island, floating between the streets. A lovely glaze from her skin is given no interference from the sunlight, the latter choosing to shine away rather than muddy her complexion with its cloudy difference. I am in new orleans. I wonder if I can get to the old bar, I wonder if it will be there. I awe at the spirit bird going away on her magical island, like all the other men, and as the island turns, I turn back onto the road north, to the Treme, to the storyville, to my old grounds. I wonder about the families of my friends and I, what happened from then to now. Could our stories have ended? I see, a family dressed up. I Want to ask them their names, one looks familiar, but I see no men. It is ungentlemanly to speak to women unaccompanied. They may take great offense. so, I decide to keep it moving, let’s not get startled. In my pocket is an old daguerreotype. I take it out and shed a tear. Suddenly the beautiful collage of horns is no longer interesting. All I can recall are the chants of yore, when instruments were too expensive, when the priestesses still roamed the noir streets of the city. Gens de magique femme . I am amazed it survived the passage through time but I hope it will not be a memory discontinued. It takes hours to get back to my home, ici le tempeste, no longer here, nowhere, I remember when a storm passed through the city. Everyone’s shanty was destroyed but mine, mine remained, mine survived the storm. But that is cause it was a storm itself, shaking uncontrollably absent proper supports, leaking wildly absent a proper roof, a collisions of sounds, made it an orchestra for any who lived in it for any time. It taught me more than any human ever could about sound. I see this small storefront where its porch stood and go to it. The cover over the window has a small gap and i see a woman dancing inside. An angel, like the one on the floating island before, but this one is in a room of cotton, gently cushioning her every move. Her face… her face look like my fofo, I love her most of all. I wish the ancestors allowed me to take her too. I need to speak to this woman. I go inside, the woman pays me no mind, entranced in her own routine. I ask her, can she tell me where to find the descendants of Madame Fofo, my fofo. She does a pirouette and stops facing me. She seems startled by my old-style clothes, the first in these future times, but tells me to go to a party at the beach, where her cousin is. She is the best historian she knows. So, I travel back out and go back from whence I came, back to the waters about my city, back to the waters that can take you anywhere. And, a party existed where I stepped out of. People drinking, partying, listening to music. I recall the description of the cotton angel and look about, even get a free sausage from finely ground meat that is put in between a fluffy bread shaped similar. I imagine to myself, i may never find the historian but then I notice a woman from afar who may be her. I keep walking toward and I am certain she fit the description. I face the potential historian standing next to her friend I assume. The friend, like an Incan princess, notice me first and realize my stare. I approach and the historian turns to me. I ask the historian her name and it matches what the cotton angel told me. I explain to her I am looking for Madame Fofo, my fofo. The historian looks to me in disbelief, and pulls a letter out of her pocket, telling me she found it in the archives and keep it for inspiration. She tells me, to read it. I read the letter and it says: Mon amour, mon corniste, mon Tontton, j'ai fait ce dont tu avais besoin. J'espère que vous trouverez notre avenir sûr. Je veux vous demander, vous dire, beaucoup de choses. Mais, je ne peux même pas savoir si vous lirez ceci. En l'état, je dirai ce que vous devez entendre. Où est ta corne? C'est là que nous nous sommes embrassés pour la première fois. la touche tape sur la perle blanche. La mélodie que nous avons faite ensemble. I comprehend instantly, hand the letter back to the young lady and go to Bienville street, and to where we kissed for the first time. The lamp is still there and I see at the base the bumpy surface and a white bump exists. Then I tap on the it with my shoe. ba-bedee-debede-doo-boo-badoboop-ba-ba-badoboop-badoboop-bedee-debede-bedee-debede and a latch open. My horn! I play our melody on our horn and I can see it is all worth it, as the world reverse before my eyes, like an old movie, Bienville street is going to the way it was in the past. Past I do not know, but past looking closer to my own. Now I know it is worth it, now I know I was right to risk this. The priestess said the Cardinal’s spell on our child needed someone to risk their life, where only love can succeed. I trusted in my Fofo and she trusted in me, and I am coming back. Better keep playing my horn. ba-bedee-debede-doo-boo-badoboop-ba-ba-badoboop-badoboop-bedee-debede-bedee-debede and on and on and on, I see her. STOP! It is the evening, and My Fofo run to me, and embrace me. But she isn’t alone, someone is in a carriage next to her. Someone who look a little like us both. Ancestres! “Mon amour, voici notre fils. L'annee est” I kiss my wife. I do not need to know that. We have all the time in the world. STORY 2 I am walking alone, far from bourbon street. Far from the sound of beads hitting bare breast, drunken stammers acapella through the krewes horns, just a man alone with the moonlight looking down upon me. I see a small shop, too small to have a sign, only the merchandise in the window provide any clue to the innards. Nothing particular I notice: masks/cloaks/old horns with stories to tell. But wait, a small figurine catch my eye. A simple figurine ready for Mardi Gras in an appropriate outfit. I hear a sound in my ear as I look upon the figurine. But I cannot decipher it. "venez ici": I hear clear while subtely. I shake my head wondering why I am hearing french. "come here": I comprehend but I do not know from who. Again, the voice repeat and I notice my attention to the figurine. She is not moving, she does not seem mechanical, and yet I seem to know the voice is from here. I enter the shop. "Bonjour": is the shopkeeper courtesy. I am surprised he think I know a lick of french. I ask about the figurine in the window. He say, she is very old, made for a gens de colour libre woman. I ask him the price, a gentle fifteen dollars. I accept, and he gathers the figurine and place her in a box with bubble pop for cushion. I leave thinking, I have no wife or daughter and I am getting a cute figurine. Well, at least I can tell people she is old. "trouver ma peinture": I sense from the figurine but I keep on walking. "find my painting!": and I face the unchanged figurine, holding it high above my head, and ask a silly question: "where is your painting?" I wait but no reply. I continue to walk finally satisfied this nocturnal magic is finished with me. "North roman entre Beinville et Iberville" I recall the two streets, I think I know where she mean. I take out my map and recall I passed that location and I begin to walk there. My companion stay muted even as I approach the methodist church at the locale. I look down to the figurine and wonder if this is alright. A light is on, inside. I walk to the door and knock. A cleaning man open the door. "Why aren": he stop speaking and seem in a daze. I wave my hand in his face. No change. I decide to go inside foolishly, not knowing if the magic I did not use will come again if more strangers find a stranger in their church. But I look about the nave or the walls and see no painting. I look behind a column and see her. Somehow I know the figurine is happy. But then a question occur to me. This painting is you. I thought you were given to a gens de colour libre girl, not that you are a gens de colour libre woman. The painting then wink at me. I look up and she speak. "Bon soir anglo, I... need your help": she speak simply. I ask her, what can I do to help you. "You need to face the woman who did this to me and then face me to her, i can do the rest": she speak surely. I have many doubts. "Whomever did this to you is way beyond me, I am no sorcerer": I say escapingly. "Y do not need to know how to wield the magic, just know I need your actions to aidez moi... and the woman in question is located in La Fourche, you will find here where three tree intertwine": and then the painting became still. I look at the figurine and nothing. I go to the door of the church and the cleaning man is still quiet, so I slip past him and close the door behind me. It can be unwise walking around new orleans or around cajun country at night, even during mardi gras but I figure the figurine will help. I buy a sandwich from a local deli and a pack of cigarettes. I eat while I walk, figurine safely in her box, and I keep walking. By the time I get to La fourche I am smoking cigarettes. A car with a confederate sign, fill to the rim with white men who are looking at me, drive but do not stop. I know I need to make this quick. I go by homes, some literally at the river edge, and look for the three entwined tree. I hear a scream. I see a man violently moving and decide to hide behind a bush. I creep near the window and see a dangerous sight. I look down at the figurine and wonder if this little magic will not get me killed. "Sud, sud!": I hear in my head. Clearly my wavering got the attention to my master. I leave the scene, and hope I can find this tree before I end up in a horror movie. I walk south and finally I see the tree. But no one else is there. "Speak these words anglo...Je te donne mon cœur, tu me donnes un objectif, personne ne doit le savoir": the figurine speak hurriedly in my soul. I am hesitant but finally I decide, all well what the hell. And, after speaking the words, nothing. "PUT ME AWAY QUICK": the figurine speak, I can hear her ceramic heart beating, the black priestess soul underneath determined. Suddenly, a half of a mask appear on one side of the three twined tree. The eye behind one half of the mask seem to be a fluid blue. I hear a loud sniff. and, a woman appear from behind the tree. A forked tongue hiss whisper from the mask: "You are pretty fonce to be down here, anglo...now what is your goal, if your coeur is not heavy enough, I get the rest of the deal". I reply firmly: "alright ma'am, though I already gave my heart to another, though I cannot comprehend exactly why": and I pull out the figurine quickly, facing the masked woman straight away. A hiss is heard from all angles and I hear the figurine in my head:"Vous devez m'avoir oublié, imbécile. Joséphine vous l'a toujours dit, pour faire attention aux vieux sorts que vous lancez." The masked woman, writhing, spit out in french:"Anacaona, mais je connais le sang de ta famille, tu n'avais pas de descendants, pas de clan pour t'entendre." The figurine spoke again:"Imbecillia, vous avez oublié que le membre du clan peut avoir n'importe quelle distance, et l'esclavage de votre côté de notre famille a profité d'éclats faits dans mon clan il y a longtemps." And, a flash. Something knocked me down but someone not present helped me up. "LEve! anglo, leve!": said a woman, a black woman in the gown from the tree woman. Her hair pure white. She kneeled down and looked at a figurine on the ground. Suddenly, I realized where is my fifteen-dollar figurine. I hear a giggle from the stranger masked woman:"it is me, the figurine" I am amazed. And then I realize the figurine on the ground is the woman formerly behind the mask. My figurine, pick up her nemesis, and say:"retourne, go back to new orleans, and thank you". My honesty perk up. I did not do anything. She smile and say:"This magic was not really of spells but circumstance, will a descendent of mine find me, me living in a porcelain figurine in a small shop in new orleans, but you found me, pure chance and that was the magic that tipped the scales, no spells, no incantations". I stand up and offer a hand, and I notice her hand has age. "aucun problem anglo, I have been dormir a while": she lift up and give me a hug and continue:" I will be alright, I think I know where I can help myself around here, and I thank you for that". Before I can speak, a sole horn player, standing aside a wall is playing, while the rest of bourbon is empty. It is very late. I think to go back to the three entwined tree, but I am tired, and I need to get rest. For some reason, I need to get rest, and I do. ... Back in New York City, I wonder if I had a dream induced by someone planting something in a drink or spraying me with something. I think on that for weeks. And then I get a postcard. I turn to the back and I see Anacaona Liber's name attached to that old churches address. Her message is:" Figure I needed a new painting with a new style, I will wait for you to decide about listening to your heart" I realize, what may have happened but hesitate to confirm and when I turn the postcard back around, the image wink at me.
  10. Saint PAtrick day https://aalbc.com/tc/blogs/entry/261-eostre-art-or-text-craft-parade-good-news-blog/?do=findComment&comment=889 STORY A little boy in the house with his father side mother, come into the study of his father. He hold a coloring page. "Hey Papa, my school wanted me to color this shamrock image any color I wanted and share it online" The father look on and say: "Nice choice of green son" "What do you know about Saint Patrick's Day Papa": inquire the son. The father nip his son. His son rub the nipped spot and give a little smile, in a face of confusion. The father open his arms and the son sit on his lap, coloring page in hand: "Your grandmere nipped me if I didn't wear green on Saint Patrick's day, but beyond a little, I do not know much. We are not Irish. But I know someone who knows far far more" "Oh yeah, who dad" "Well, where do I begin..." Many years in the past, the father, a younger man, unmarried unparent, stand in front of a bar downtown Manhattan. A poster is in their window, and the day is Saint Patrick's day. He goes inside and take a seat side friends. A waitress come by and ask what they will drink. R and LD, or D and A want Guinnesses. The father to be, alone, choose the same. A waitress come by with a drink. He takes his sip and all five enjoy the day. As the sun is soon to sleep, the two couples go to their homes and the husband to be is alone, walking to fifty ninth street. He could had gone into the train station to get on the A train back home to Harlem, before the Blacks were pushed out. But, he chose to take a seat on a park bench and think of a lady on the other side of a southern sea. He walk about a bench when he gets a nip. He lift his foot up and he can not believe it. A little man is looking up at him. "Amadán mór thú!" : yell the little man and he continue: "Ní thuigeann tú mé ... ahhh watch were ya going you fathach seacláide!" The father to be look to the street. "Iontach!, what do you think you are doing, dreaming, or drunk" The husband to be squat and speak to the little man:"maybe I am" The little man howl a laugh: "I once out drank Fionn mac Cumhaill who as a boy was better than most men, when he last saw his wife, before he ventured away I challenged him to a contest of wine made in the deepest cave in Tir na nog by the loveliest tuathe de women... ahhh now we were truly drunk, you are merely a weak bellied" The father to be rise: "well, I apologize, happy saint paddy day" "AHHHH!!!": the little man yell out:"You dhaoine associate the shamrock with that blue scarved baiste, that is not the truth". The husband to be, sit on a park bench. The little man sit next to him, and he look out. "Don't worry, none can see me": and the little man continue to shine a shoe, a pendant made for a bigger neck rolled up at his side, and he continue as the father to be smile at him: "the truth is, saint patrick was a good man, but he never wanted all this philandering and ag ol. He wanted calm, serenity, for when the real magic happens" "Real magic?": query the husband to be. "Yes, like when someone like you step on an old shoe shiner like me": the little man hold the medallion and continue: "You need to be transported to a church for that old saint Patrick, the banshee will be there" The husband to be startle: "banshee" The little man laugh:" calm down, a banshee isn't like in your te-le-vi-sion stories, banshees are helpful, very helpful... they tell you who will pass away soon, sometimes appearing as loving ones". The little man throw the medallion to the husband to be and snap his fingers. Suddenly, the father to be is in a church. Seemingly empty, the father to be hear names in the wind. He walk down the isle of the church looking for the speaker. He opines to the calm air in the church:"Ms or MRS Banshee" He hears names over and over, whispered. The air begin to mist and the voices get louder. He feels a cool behind him and sees a female emanation, that look like a stranger She wails out names, and turns into a younger girl, and then a man, and then an elder. The husband to be do not comprehend why so many, who is going to be gone. The father to be then realize the truth. The medallion shine in his hand, and he snap from the church to the bench. The father to be look incredulous at the little man:" I don't get it" "The lesson is for you to figure out, that is what your kin never comprehend, the world you call magic is safe, so are old folk like from it, but your lives are mortal, are fragile, but your spirits are eternal, their magic is why we can speak to you sometimes, try to guide you, though..." : and the little man disappear from sight, the medallion leave the hand of the father to be, and the voice of the little man continue:"... we usually fail" The father to be rock in the park bench and get up, shaking his head, before the trek into the subway. Back in the present, his son ask a question. "Did you remember the names you heard, ever see that little man again?" The father hold the son tight: "no, I can not recall any name, but today I realize, the lesson" The son ask wondering: "what lesson" "The kin of each person is each other person" "Ceia is ready!": a female voice call out. The son run out of the room, the father smile behind him, and exit his chair. The father get to the door and he hear the sound of a tiny cobbler, and smile without turning back, to get his supper.
  11. until
    The March Equinox is always between March 19th and March 21st in the year 2021 it was on is March 19th 11:49 pm EST UTC -5 , it is the beginning of spring in the northern hemisphere, fall in the southern hemisphere share photos of art OR text of fiction The photos can be to->sculpture/knitting or sewing/graffiti/tattoo or any craft depicting Black people in fall in the southern hemisphere, any country <south america/caribbean/africa/south asia/australia> OR Black people in spring in the northern hemisphere, any country <north america/europe/northern asia> The text can only be fiction based on the following: Black person or peoples at the first day of spring or fall AALBC STORY https://aalbc.com/tc/blogs/entry/261-march-equinox-art-or-text-craft-parade-good-news-blog/?do=findComment&comment=878 Story 2 https://aalbc.com/tc/blogs/entry/261-eostre-art-or-text-craft-parade-good-news-blog/?do=findComment&comment=890 Story 3 https://aalbc.com/tc/blogs/entry/261-eostre-art-or-text-craft-parade-good-news-blog/?do=findComment&comment=891 AALBC VERNAL EQUINOX TALE 2020 https://flickr.com/photos/kanaristm/29353776801/ It is the beginning of Spring in a small southern town in Mississippi. A home older than one hundred and fifty year, made to be a tombstone to an old world but used to bloom a new one, glisten in the light. As movement abound in the house, floor boards creak. The man in the house awaken, with noise or confusion. The people in the house notice the noise and search for it. An axe break through old wood and light shine on the man in the house, for the first time in one hundred and twenty-four year. A strong male hand offer itself and the man in the house take it. The man in the house is fatigued, facing a clan in shock. "Who is this?": a silver haired black woman ask. A little boy and a teenage girl take a photo and post it online. "Stop that you two... I don't know grannie": a heavy-set man ponder what to do and ask: "who are you?" "...Jonas": The man formerly in the house reply. "Where do you come from, how can we help you?": The heavy-set man ask. Jonas look at the house and reply: "This is my home, at least 124 years ago" All but one in the modern clan laugh or giggle. Grannie tell them all to shush and she think, and ask a question. "Are you the Night warrior?" Jonas look toward Grannie, incredulous. Grannie continue:"Our family have a tradition. One that was taught to me by my mother, it is of the telling of the Night warrior". Everyone look to Grannie. She begin to hum. "Oh be a McDowell, oh run on the road, the ghosts are coming to kill you don fret my girls, don fret The Night Warrior will save you waiting under the step, waiting under the floor" waiting till one hundred and twenty four" Jonas ask her: "Was more said?" "No, but I never forget asking my mother the same thing, she said her mother told her, the same thing she would tell me, the Night warrior will know" Jonas ponder the words from Grannie. Grannie gesture to everyone else with her hand and they all obey. "Wait Chelle": she grab her grand neice:"help him get set up in the attic ok" Chelle smile at Jonas. https://www.blackplanet.com/riprene2002/photo/2000455418 She escort him to the attic and hand him toiletry and other items and tell him: "take it easy, grannie will be up here to explain more things" ... Jonas worked all morning on the farm outside the house he was in, doing what he know how to do: till the land, work the land, be the land. It is the afternoon and Jonas ponder the world he is in. He ponder what became of his community. Grannie filled him in: disappearances, hangings, pain, fights he didn't agree with, fights he is sad were lost. He confessed to Grannie why he was put to sleep. He was meant to be a tool in a future that never was. A blooming that never became. A priestess from New Orleans asked the spirits to plant him the home, the house be his shell. He wanted an all-out fight but his sister said no. She had lost her husband and daughter and was not about to lose her niece, Grannie's mother. After one hundred and twenty four year he can arrive and start the fight. But Jonas realize, he has no one to fight alongside. The modern Black want to battle absent a physical blade. What does a warrior of the blade do? He see the heavy set relative to Grannie outside the Horse bin. https://www.blackplanet.com/AyeDrayDray/photo/2000434450 "Josh, I will take Mamba out riding": Jonas inform Josh. "ye ok" The horse has one mind with Jonas and come to him. Jonas get on and gallop gently away. Josh shake his head, not knowing where this will end. Jonas and Mamba are casual near the river when Jonas see a riverboat. The name strike him:" Cassie's Cry". He remember Cassie was the name of the priestess. She told him, he would have to look for her in the future. He only told his sister about it. Jonas tell Mamba to go home and jump into the river and intercept the riverboat. Two crewman guide him on the ship. He asks, do they know who this riverboat was named after. The two crewman do not answer, but take him to a sitting area, with some people gambling. Jonas sit patiently, alone, listening to odd machines. The door open and a hippy woman step in; she walk over to him and lean over, smiling in his face. https://www.blackplanet.com/sexy_shyjade/photo/1101583505 "Interesting, leave us": she wave her hand and crew man leave, only a few customers present, and she continue: "well , Jonas, it is you , isn't it" Jonas is excited and start to be inquisitive, but is interrupted. "I am not Cassie, she is my mother" Jonas look surprised and the daughter to Cassie continue: "After what she did for you, do you doubt her abilities?... I can take you to her, but you will have to work on the riverboat, small labors, you may even enjoy the kind of world on this boat". Jonas accept and shoveled some coal and waited on customers, black or white on the way to Baton Rouge. ... The Daughter to Cassie, escort Jonas from her riverboat to a simple house. She leave him waiting in a second floor room for Cassie. After a time, Cassie arrive. "Bonjour Jonas, it has been a while": Cassie sit next to Jonas and continue:"... yes I look a little younger than when you saw me last, it happens when you're a priestess" "... It was a waste of time... a total waste": lament Jonas. Cassie smile: "A waste, your wrong, if you had died, a rare person would had been killed to soon" "Yes, but why didn't you save others": yell Jonas. "Everything in nature has rules, and the natural side unnatural are in nature, thus all have rules" "So... what am I to do" "Live your life" "WHAT! I am told black children were found burned alive, not too far from here and your reply to me is Live Your Life" Cassie snap her finger. https://www.blackplanet.com/Skyyee44/photo/2000440967 The room go colorless and Jonas is unstable at the sudden change. Cassie snap her finger and normal vision return. "... I just don't see what to do" "My dear Jonas, bloom, you must bloom, a one hundred and twenty four year bloom, your bloodline still own that house, make it more" Jonas is not convinced but he spend the day at Cassie's before he head back up river on the riverboat. ... Days later Jonas is tilling the land, being one with the land. Grannie ring the bell for everyone to come inside for breakfast. Jonas bump into Josh, Chelle, side others. Everyone is hungry. Grannie ask Jonas to bring something from the refrigerator. Jonas acquire it, but is intercepted. https://www.blackplanet.com/Chocc115/photo/2000270158 "You are not boring, old man": the interceptor press against him slightly. "I need to bring the lemonade in": reply Jonas calmly. "what is wrong?": question the interceptor. "Nothing, but I realized I am a seed, I don't need to rush my growth, and your adopted mom, will not like you messing around with me" CAST @Skyyee44 Cassie @sexy_shyjade daughter to Cassie @AyeDrayDray Josh, heavy set relative to grannie @Chocc115 adopted daughter of grannie @riprene2002 as Chelle grand niece of grannie If you like more of my stories check out my Short story collection series https://www.kobo.com/us/en/search?query=Richard%20Murray%20Short%20Story%20Collection&fcsearchfield=Series&seriesId=014c67c4-d29d-584e-ada0-62c0fa015714 And I am on Bookbub https://www.bookbub.com/authors/richard-murray-16885e64-6c28-459e-bf5f-45c7d458ce49 Deviantart https://www.deviantart.com/hddeviant/journal/Vernal-Equinox-2020-tale-834328255 Tumblr https://richardmurrayhumblr.tumblr.com/post/613000215536992256/most-times-when-the-spring-come-i-know-it-by-the Tumblr Stories https://richardmurrayhumblr.tumblr.com/tagged/submission DeviantArt Stories https://www.deviantart.com/hddeviant/journal/?catpath=/ STORY 1 Most times when the Spring come, I know it by the trees. Many colors, many flowers, vibrantly coloring the world. It is a common arrangement. But, this spring , it is worse. It is one hundred and twenty-four days since the arrival of the first elf. Let me show you on my phone. She just popped up surrounded by this white light. Did she drop into the white house? no. Did she drop into the United Nations, perhaps with a powerful electronic or mechanical assistant, perhaps even boss? no. Did she make herself known anywhere the television people or movie people alluded to in the past? no. She made herself known in the women’s bathroom at the local park, at Riverside. Police and some three-letter people arrived but she seemingly had no worries or need to worry. It took a while but someone asked her a simple question, why is she here? She said it is a secret, and then disappeared, reappearing and disappearing per her desire throughout the one hundred and twenty-four day. Now, whenever you go outside you may see something like this stranger. I could had asked, did you know, flowers are growing around you, blossoming more by the second. I did not ask. At least like so many of the others, he seemed content with the magical green flung all over the city. But I forgot his plight quick, when I saw her. This big chocolate orange leaf floating around little orange leaves. She paid me no mind, and was totally focused on playing with her fellow leaves. I pushed myself on her and asked her name. She said, Onluleon. I loved the way she sounded it better than the way I thought it. Onluleon I watched for hours playing with the leaves, never tired or concerned with any other. I left my bench and went back over to her, asking. You know it is the beginning of spring. She looked at me dumbfounded. But, she didn’t ignore me, and took me by the arm. She went to a purple tree where a songbird was grabbing nectar. She asked me: “isn’t she lovely” “The tree”: I replied. “No, the tree is a he, I meant the songbird” I guessed she was right. I was happy just getting this time in. The songbird suddenly fell onto the ground and bloomed into a woman. The purple leaves coating her, with some sticking to her hair. I asked the former songbird; how does she feel. She simply stared at me and whistled away. I tried to go after her but I felt stiff. Too stiff to move fast. Onluleon ,I bet an Oriole at one time in her life, started sniffing me and I realized I had a flower growing out of me. I hobbled back to where I saw that guy and I realized he was no longer there, but a small blossomed tree sat in his general location. I wondered if he even comprehended me and how long did I have to be comprehended. I called for Onluleon and shook her faintly. I was frightened as I saw my vision covered in leaves. It all occurred to me, that spirit was going to turn the human into the plant, and the non-human into the human. One hundred and twenty-four days to bloom, and we all missed it. I missed it. If I can no longer think like before I settled my mind knowing that I will have time as a tree to bloom into something else later. A cardinal, turned into a ballerina for my last sight. STORY 2 Once long ago, a beautiful forest bloomed in spring. But what few humans knew back then and fewer know now is that the trees can make the fairy folk bloom. But it cannot be any fairy, it has to be the one hundred and twenty fourth fairy in line from the last one bloomed. Meaning, if a fairy bloom, only her 124th descendant in line can bloom after her and so forth. Fairies are tiny and thus sometimes, a bloodline end and only special magic can force a blooming. But that special event is for another story. This story is about Asukume, and how her bloom survived. Asukume was the 124th descendant of the last fairy to bloom with the beautiful forest and she was very happy. She imagined all the great things her blooming can do. Unlike most fairy folk born from the flowers in a forest, when a fairy bloom, that child is not a fairy but a umoyuswi. They can make fairies even stronger and thus lie the danger. Some fairies betrayed their parents and seek to control nature, not serve her. One is Queen Itshe. Normally in stone. She is no bigger than a walnut, safe from human eyes but kept hidden by her allies the squirrels. She placed a spell on herself to rise every 124th blooming to acquire an umoyuswi. When she rises she is a deadly grey color. But her intent is clear. To take a umoyuswi's power, energy, and use it to not only revitalize herself, but extend her control. Forcing more to be here allies in the red-blooded tribes: humans, bears, et cetera. Asukume knew the danger, and always kept moving to make sure she was never in one spot long enough for Itshe or her squirrel spies to find her. Fortunately, Asukume had her baby. And in time it grew and blossomed into a fine umoyuswi. Her butterfly wings glittering everywhere. But she was still young. In her newness, she wanted to talk to everyone and forgot the warning her mother gave about talking to squirrels, and she talked to one. The squirrel informed Itshe and she came floating in. Asukume daughter was scared at the dull white sight of Itshe, but the squirrels held her down and Itshe began to absorb the energy of Asukume daughter. Itshe was reveling in getting her color back, intoxicated with a success that had to wait thirty thousand year. In her hubris, she forgot one key weapon, a name. Asukume daughter had not given herself a name, per the custom of umoyuswi. Asukume did not know the rule but a flower did and it spoke to Asukume daughter while being drained. It told the child to choose a name. The squirrels were to slow in chopping the flower down and Asukume daughter chose a word she heard her mother use, dodging through the expanse of the forest. Her mother always called the forest an ocean. And so, Asukume daughter named herself Ulwandle. With her name, she could do more and since Itshe had stolen so much color, she figured she needed to keep it and she turned her into a flower, a carnation. She turned her squirrel servants into one being, a dog. And after that Ulwandle, butterfly wings flapping, flew high up and promised her mother a safe return from the school in the moon.
  12. April Fool's day April 1st Click the Link and learn something http://houyhnhnm.github.io/aprilfool/index.html
  13. until
    Easter is always between March 22nd and April 25th .Easter was April 12th in the year 2020, the name is derived from Ēostre the real or unreal germanic goddess but the date and most modern traditions refer to Pascha which roughly translates to passover, the Jewish holiday. But, I want to focus on Ēostre. For easter, include the real or unreal traditions attributed to Eostre, like rabbits, or make your own.You can show photos of art OR text of fiction The photos can be to->sculpture/knitting or sewing/graffiti/tattoo or any craft depicting Eostra real or unreal traditions The text can only be fiction based on the following: Real or unreal traditons of Eostre. Orthodox catholic easter comes a week after roman catholic easter. Story 1 https://aalbc.com/tc/blogs/entry/261-eostre-art-or-text-craft-parade-good-news-blog/?do=findComment&comment=892 Story 2 https://aalbc.com/tc/blogs/entry/261-eostre-art-or-text-craft-parade-good-news-blog/?do=findComment&comment=893 STORY 1 It is April 12th 2020, Ess Mae Murard walk by her Easter painting aside her grandchildren. The boy ask: “I never seen that painting before” “No you have not Hakim, it is one I did a while back but I only present it for Easter”: gently replied Ess Mae. “Why grandma S?”: reply a girl. “I was going to ask that Shaniqua!”: cut in Hakim. “No need to shout Hakim, it was a good question anyway right?”: Grandma Ess tickle Hakim and Shaniqua, either laugh. Grandma Ess continue: “to answer the question you both want to know, I must go back to earlier days”. She take a photo off a desk. “Grandpa Clay!”: reply both children in unison. “yes, your grandfather with me before church,1947, I was a little sad, a commission I was hoping to get was obtained by D. Scott, made me quite mad”: recall grandma Ess, and she continue: “We went to church, your grandpa Clay had to do some work in a white man’s house, So I chose to go to St. Nicholas park and sit to gather my thoughts and that is when I saw her…”: the children are attentive:“Eostre”:the children interrupt Grandma Ess. “who is Eostre”:ask Hakim. “yes, please tell us grandma S”: Shanique pull on her grandmother’s arm. Grandma Ess continue: “… hmmm, well, at first I did not know who she was and I said, nice hat, she found that amusing and seemed interested in what I had to say… I learned she was the Earth”: the children look confused and Grandma Ess continue: “well, the spirit of the Earth who once every turn around the sun makes an appearance as a human to humans” Grandma Ess look to the children who are still confused, and smile. She continue: “think of it like this, we live on a planet, called Earth, and she is living so, she has a spirit, but her spirit is special, not like a humans, her spirit can inhabit many kinds of bodies.” “why grandma Ess”: ask Shaniqua. “The earth is very old and powerful, I can not explain all in why Earth reacts the way it does in any way… but we talked about many things, and when she was done she offered me a chance to paint her” “So that is her, the spirit of Earth”: ask Hakim. “hmmm rather, that is the form the spirit of Earth took”: reply Grandma Ess. “but why only show it during easter”: ask Shaniqua. “well”: a car horn cut off Grandma Ess, and she speak to the matter: “you two, lets go , we can talk about it later ,lets go outside”: she take a photo. The three leave the house and meet a woman waiting by a wall. “come on Ma!”: speak the woman. “coming chile, now go on you two, go to your mother”: suggest Grandma Ess, but Hakim shake his head and Shanique tighten her grip. “So you two want to bother your grandmother about something, alright, but just get in the car, ok”: and after the mother speak, the grandchildren usher into the car quiet and wait for grandma Ess. … while driving to church Grandma Ess was active on her tablet and asked the children: “you two ready to learn why that painting can’t be shown”. “I see now what is going on”: the children’s mother smile. “Don’t say anything mommy”: request Shaniqua. “yeah, we want to hear it from grandma”: demand Hakim. “ok ok, may I listen to”: ask the mother, and the children nod. Grandma Ess smile and say: “take a look at the image on the tablet”: and she hand the tablet to the children in the back seat. Hakim plus Shaniqua look at the image. Grandma Ess begin to finish her story: “well… once long ago, great birds existed, these birds could be ridden like a horse. Humans lived well with adult ones but could never breed children, but it didn’t matter for they continued to be born in the wild, until one day…”: the children gasp in preparation and grandma Ess continue: “the earth changed. These birds had only one nesting ground, and it was destroyed in a great earthquake, that burned the sky so none could fly away… the humans who used these birds was very angry cause these birds was the only way they could reach some of the remote locations where they lived. They asked the Earth to make more of the birds to restart their bloodline… but the Earth refused. The humans who rode these birds, became very angry and cursed all our mother… do you have an idea why the painting can not be seen now?” Hakim think, but shake his head. Shaniqua think and say:“ the eggs? ” “Yes, Shaniqua”: smile Grandma Ess, Hakim cry out in agony, their mother laugh. “But, those little eggs in the painting are the eggs of those huge birds” “no, but they are the map… The Eostre made a map of eggs, utilized correctly, which I will not say how, they provide a map, the painting gives clues to those who know, thus the spirit of Earth demanded I not make that publicly shown… and I have kept my promise, and as your mother has kept it , I demand you two” Shaniqua plus Hakim smile: “yes grandma Ess” “Ok guys, we at church your” “Daddy!”: yell the two children in unison cutting off their mother’s instruction. The mother open the car doors and the children are out; she blow a kiss to her husband. “You know my sweet Roe, you can make a few more eggs for me to tell my story too”: explain Grandma Ess to her daughter. “Momma , I am not going to be laying tons of eggs, I know you and Rick been talking and plotting, now enjoy your church, I will be back to take us all to Black Fort for lunch”: say Roe, as she watch her mother exit the car and meet up with the husband plus kids. STORY 2 Each child from Earth is part in a community and between each perihelion the Earth must speak to each child's community at least once, per the agreement with the Sun. In the oldest swamp from Earth the human season come again, the time of Eostre, when the spirit in Earth take a humanoid form to speak to her human children. She slowly form the body deep in a swampland so thick, the morning sun seem a sunset. It is said if you are lucky to witness the spirit of the Earth before she settles her form, the Earth will allow you to take a piece from in her. But, I myself have never been able to witness such a thing to prove it myself. The spirit of Earth, after forming the body, begin to walk out from the swamp to speak to the humans. She meets a hare, basking in the sunlight. The hare turn to look to her and cognize her immediately. It hop to her feet and ask:" what can I do for the earth Spirit". The Eostre ask the hare:" please take me to the human tribe". The hare bow and escort The Eostre out the swamp, out the wood and into a human roadway. A human man turn a sharp corner near the wood exit and is astonished at the figure before him. He ask The Eostre if he can take a photo of her. She nod her head. He ask her to take a look at it. He ask her name, and she look down at the Hare, who head shake in disagreement. The man sulk off looking at the photo. The Eostre look down at the road and ask the hare: "how far are the humans from their.... road" "Not far earth spirit, about ten thousand hops, but beware humans wearing odd smelling metal clumps" And The Eostre leave the hare, at the side of the road. The Eostre walk and walk, observing the humans in cars going by. In the late morning, she observe a small human girl carrying eggs in one hand, picking up an egg in the other. The Eostre go over to the girl and ask: "why did you take that egg and have an egg basket?" "Its easter": the little girl reply. "YEs, I know but egg is meant to be cared for not, thrown about, you never know what kind of life it may bring" The little girl stand confused or bored. The Eostre ask her to sit the egg she just found down. After the little girl did, the Eostre tap her foot once and the egg grow, and grow, wiping away decorations and a small dragon pop out. The little girl is very happy, even though the baby dragon tried to snap her finger off; she place the baby dragon in her egg basket. And, grab The Eostre hand and say: "Please, come home, my parents will love to meet you, my dad does magic and my mom loves dragons" "you think it is wise for your mom to see a dragon" "yes, lets go": and the little girl drag The Eostre to her home. The little girl ask The Eostre to notice the eggs on the table and say: "my dad made them" The Eostre look at the eggs and smile. You know, it will be good to talk to your parents. And The Eostretime happened successfully, albeit an initial shock of nudity from the parents to the little girl.
  14. until
    The June Solstice is between June 20th and June 22nd , in 2020, is on the 20th, it will be in the moment 5:43 PM on Saturday In the northern hemisphere summer begin, in the southern hemisphere winter begin. The sun will appear to be at its highest point in the sky in the northern hemisphere, the lowest point in the sky in the southern hemisphere. In parallel, during the December solstice, in the northern hemisphere it begins winter, in the southern hemipshere summer The sun will appear to be at its lowest point in the sky in the northern hemisphere , while the highest in the southern hemisphere EQuinox, the path of the sun crosses the equator of earth extended out into space or the celestial equator. Story 1 https://aalbc.com/tc/blogs/entry/261-june-solstice-art-or-text-craft-parade-good-news-blog/?do=findComment&comment=909 Story 2 https://aalbc.com/tc/blogs/entry/261-june-solstice-art-or-text-craft-parade-good-news-blog/?do=findComment&comment=910 STORY 1 It is a day all the green blooded know well. It is when the light shine highest above for those who live above earth’s waist. A sunflower look up and wonder what it’ s life will be. Will it get to grow old and watch seedlings make good on their journey or will it be other. It can not be certain. Suddenly, it feel torn from the earth. Someone blindsided it. The sunflower yell out, who. The rapist turn it and give a smile. The sunflower is not amuse. The rapist place the sunflower in a glass basket. The flower protest to no reply, after being walked around by this abuser, for a seeming eternity. Then the sunflower is present to a human woman. The human woman is not happy at the first encounter, the sunflower is not either. What does this human want with me, it thought? The human woman eventually accept the imprison sunflower, calling it beautiful. The sunflower notice the light off her face and recall stories from the butterflies about the sides of mountain ranges on clear days. The butterflies said to the sunflowers, if you ever see a glint of light brighter than the sun off a mountain, that glint is the sign of a mountain in love. It makes a glint so that the mountain it is in love with can notice. One butterfly said she saw another mountain reply under a deep blue clear sky, a brown mountain, glittering with various minerals, made two glints in reply. The butterfly said it crossed a big ocean to see this. When a sunflower asked, how can the mountains meet, what babies can they make? The butterfly said, they meet through the distance. Mountains are so sensitive they can make connections across great distance and as for children. They ask a midwife, usually a volcanic mountain, to take their love in the earth’s blood and make a new mountain for them. The sunflower thinking on the oldest mountain clans stopped as it notice it is alone in a human kitchen. It enjoy facing the sun, highest in the sky. Suddenly, someone turn it to face them. The sunflower is not amuse. But when the interloper smile the sunflower remind itself to what a mountain lion said. A mountain lion said it was chasing wild sheep one time. A beautiful baby black sheep was separated from the pack and facing the mountain lion went off a cliff. The baby sheep fell in mud. And had so much fun it was smiling and giggling, not noticing the mountain lion, smacking its lips. The mountain lion checked the ground to make sure it evaded the mud, for slippage or a loose area. When the mountain lion made a run for the meal, some mud reached out from the ground and smacked it. The mountain lion realized the mud had become the protector, the skin, of the black sheep. A beautiful powerful skin that can not be defeated easily. And the mountain lion left. The sunflower thought on the location of that sheep and its clan, who put on the mud, distinguishing them from other black sheep. But, a discussion between the two human women broke the sunflower’s train of thinking. The human woman it was given to is upset with the interloper, and point to her watch. The interloper make some gesture of hands, sunflowers never comprehend human movement. Suddenly, the interloper grab the sunflower, the sunflower tell her to stop. The sunflower want more sun. But the interloper does not heed her. And, she carries the Sunflower about for a seeming eternity. The sunflower dour mood was interrupted by a sudden feeling. The ebbing sun, it ask the woman to turn it to the sun, but to no avail. The sunflower is turn to a woman, the ebbing sunlight crowning her head. The sunflower is too angry to speak. But the waiting woman is gentle and give the sunflower a kiss. The kiss is so wet or succulent, it remind the sunflower to a story a baby snake told. The baby snake said it grew up around a brown river, brown since ancient times. After the baby snake was born it was told by mama snake to make its way in the world, crossing the brown river. Mama snake told all her babies, trust the river, it is our clans friend. The baby snake trusted naturally and went on its journey. A wicked fox, notice the baby snake, and leap from the green to pounce. Luckily the baby snake was close enough to other green to slip through the fox’s paw. The fox did not give up and leap into the ancient brown river after the baby snake. The baby snake remember the chant mama snake always sang while she was pregnant. “G⁠r⁠e⁠a⁠t⁠ ⁠a⁠n⁠c⁠i⁠e⁠n⁠t⁠ ⁠b⁠r⁠o⁠w⁠n⁠ ⁠r⁠i⁠v⁠e⁠r⁠,⁠ ⁠p⁠r⁠o⁠te⁠c⁠t⁠ ⁠me⁠,⁠ ⁠li⁠k⁠e⁠ ⁠m⁠y⁠ ⁠a⁠n⁠c⁠e⁠s⁠t⁠o⁠r⁠,⁠ ⁠First⁠ ⁠s⁠na⁠k⁠e⁠.” And the ancient brown river, swirled the fox who leap out after, and the baby snake go through the river gaining a brown color that it has ever after, a power gain through the ancient river’s kiss. The two face the sunflower to the sunlight off the moon which waken the sunflower from memory. And the sunflower relax having one high flying day. … Thank you for reading, if you want to read more of my work read below Bookbub https://www.bookbub.com/profile/richard-murray-16885e64-6c28-459e-bf5f-45c7d458ce49 AALBC https://aalbc.com/tc/blogs/blog/29-richard-murray-hearth/ Poetry or More Audiobook https://www.kobo.com/us/en/search?query=Poetry%20or%20More&fcsearchfield=Series&seriesId=06baba96-5af5-5d24-9b8a-f06360287dc9 Visasiki Audiobook https://www.kobo.com/us/en/search?query=Visasiki%20Series&fcsearchfield=Series&seriesId=965aea81-4e13-53fe-8bc8-22fcb6d28a39 Short Story Collection https://www.kobo.com/us/en/search?query=Richard%20Murray%20Short%20Story%20Collection&fcsearchfield=Series&seriesId=014c67c4-d29d-584e-ada0-62c0fa015714 STORY 2 An old sunflower, waken with the high sunlight. It know that today is the day the prisoner of the light is allowed to exit her prison. The sunflower watch as the prisoner take full form over a pool of water. The prisoner look at her reflection in the pool. The woman pull down and off her 1960s miniskirt, place the love beads gently on top, and run. The sunflower watch her leave out of sight, and retain the view to the sun. The woman run to the shore, smelling the great sea. Noticing the coast after two mile, she keep going, knowing time is of the essence. She stop on the edge of the land, the sea fronting her. She dive into the water and swim, going farther and farther south. She inhumanely, go to depths where the sea greens grow large or free from human involvement. She search for something in the green sea. Searching and searching, knowing time is not on her side. She suddenly swim to a place and take something from the sea. She swims northward and northward to the substrate of sky plus sea. A small boat, a lone fisherman, see the female. She does not move but the man seem pleasant and greet her in a human language she know. She wait and the boat arrive. The fisherman help her out the ocean. He is very old and say, he always prepare to meet a mermaid. He hand her a red dress and she smile at him, but say nothing. She point to the shore and he comprehend. While on the way, he tell her that none of his drink mates will believe he met a real mermaid, and she smile. When they reach the shore, he tell her to be safe, while he go back out to catch a late fish. He promise to come by this coast when he is done to make sure she is safe. The woman take a lock of her hair and give it to the fisherman who smile. After the fisherman is out of sight, she sit and open up what she find in the green sea. It is a book and she read as the sun go to setting. Before the Sun finish setting she run back to the pool, and grab her other clothes and love bead necklace, with tears rolling down her face and a bright smile. If you like more of my stories check out my Short story collection series https://www.kobo.com/us/en/search?query=Richard%20Murray%20Short%20Story%20Collection&fcsearchfield=Series&seriesId=014c67c4-d29d-584e-ada0-62c0fa015714 And I am on Bookbub https://www.bookbub.com/authors/richard-murray-16885e64-6c28-459e-bf5f-45c7d458ce49 My blog https://aalbc.com/tc/blogs/blog/29-richard-murray-hearth/
  15. until
    Aphelion is between July 3rd and July 6th in 2020 it was on July 4th 11:04pm in 2020, the Aphelion for earth is when the earth is farthest from the sun, in its eliptical orbit. If you consider the Perihelion the beginning of a year, then the Aphelion is the trust midyear point. Every planet around the sun has an aphelion. Earth's moon like all other moons has a similar action, called an apogee to a planet, where a moon is farthest from the planet it rotates around, by having an elliptical orbit. Story 1 https://aalbc.com/tc/blogs/entry/261-aphelion-day-art-or-text-craft-parade-good-news-blog/?do=findComment&comment=923 Story 2 https://aalbc.com/tc/blogs/entry/261-aphelion-day-art-or-text-craft-parade-good-news-blog/?do=findComment&comment=924 STORY 1 It is afternoon, a day on earth, a black woman sit in solace; Kalima look toward her photo of a prior penumbral eclipse, made in a roadtrip across the usa. She continue to ignore the yells from her sanguine downstairs; they are ready to go to the July 4th Fireworks parade. “COME ON!!!… I know you can hear me K! We are now in phase three and I want us to enjoy being outside, none of us have been out in months! PLEASE!” Kalima lay back on her bed and put on a video online. She can hear shuffling feet leaving the front door of the brownstone while she watch. She whisper: “see you soon” and continue to watch. At the end of the video she sit at her writing desk and take out paper and pencil and ruler; she compose a poem using looped cursive penpersonship on clear paper using the ruler she crafted as a guidetool. A male red winged blackbird sitting on a tree branch outside watch Kalima and see the following on the page, Kalima finished. I know I’m free, while in an unfree place To live in a free place… I must rally Against Time’s steady pace, mortality What certainty? The best finishing place Choices I see? Bliss be the unfree place Bliss out the unfree place, which choice is me? History state no case… I must rally Blind gamblin’ me, both length may eat my race A bird yell free! I wingless… stall my race Wait in the unfree place, one day for me I see Time with it’s pace, safe while I see I will rally, to live in a free place The small uncaged passerine fly away, singing. Kalima look to the window and go to her bed, and lay thinking, and sleeping. … A gentle nudge and a wet kiss on the cheek, wake Kalima up, from a figure unknown of body while familiar in voice. “Come on K, we are all back now, we want to tell you about our trip, especially little Bee” “Oh, hey Ma” Kalima plus her mother embrace. “Here is some chocolate bars, colored like the flag, I know! but Mister Mohammed made them and I know you support Black business” Kalima took a whiff of the chocolate, and smiled with yummies. Her mother pass her a photo of the clan, taken by uncle george. And, Kalima’s mother pass Kalima another of a firework by uncle george. Kalima’s mother continue: “Fun…We will meet you downstairs and you can tell us about tonights eclipse ok” “It’s late, little Bee will want to stay up, so we need to get the hammock out for him” “ok”: Kalima’s mother leave, and Kalima look to the moon. Kalima place her chocolate in her minifridge and open her door to the sound of laughter and joy. She smile in the night, for another day. … Thank you for reading, if you want to read more of my work read below Bookbub https://www.bookbub.com/profile/richard-murray-16885e64-6c28-459e-bf5f-45c7d458ce49 AALBC https://aalbc.com/tc/blogs/blog/29-richard-murray-hearth/ Poetry or More Audiobook https://www.kobo.com/us/en/search?query=Poetry%20or%20More&fcsearchfield=Series&seriesId=06baba96-5af5-5d24-9b8a-f06360287dc9 Visasiki Audiobook https://www.kobo.com/us/en/search?query=Visasiki%20Series&fcsearchfield=Series&seriesId=965aea81-4e13-53fe-8bc8-22fcb6d28a39 Short Story Collection https://www.kobo.com/us/en/search?query=Richard%20Murray%20Short%20Story%20Collection&fcsearchfield=Series&seriesId=014c67c4-d29d-584e-ada0-62c0fa015714 STORY 2 "It is really hot today": say a woman, chocolate skin sweating under an early June sun, her hand attach to another; she continue: "you need water raspberry pie" "No mommy": say a little girl, same kind of skin, sweet or moisture, her frizzes capping her head. The two keep walking on a simple dirt road, green trees adorning either side. "Momma, Grandpa once said Tinkerbell was American" "Of course, what did he say exactly": the mother giggle. The little girl smile and imitate her grandfather's gestures: "An American Tinkerbell is like a woman, like Tinkerbell with a red white and blue bikini on, don't mind seeing that all out Raspberry... yeah, Tinkerbell on the beach" The mother shake her head gently and say: "Your grandfather, called everything, like a woman, France, Joy, The spirit of America" "How did he describe the spirit of America Mommy": the daughter giggle. The mother smile and imitate her father's gestures: "The Spirit of America is like a woman, like a woman with a luscious afro with decorative hairpins like stars floating around her hair, she sits on a bed of fifty stars connected to the cosmos, and has a cape, like superman, but grander with the red and white stripes, feet bare and dangling like godiva chocolate statues waiting to be eaten...yeah, stylin spirit of America" The mother continue: "I know he was referring to your great gran, she had the best afros" "I love GG": say a stoic little girl. "I love her too baby": equal in solemnity, say her mother. The two walk and finally reach the house. Suddenly a man appear from behind a bush. "You too need a glass of lemonade, try this homemade blend" The little girl look toward her mother who release her arm, and she lunge for the lemonade and start to drink. The man patiently wait while he get a kiss on the cheek from the mother who take her glass of lemonade. The little girl finish and the man inquire: "well..." "It's a little tangy, not perfect Uncle": and the little girl smile. Her uncle throw down his hat in disgust and she continue: "You will get there uncle, we believe in you, you will make the perfect lemonade one day" "Ahh... thanks Raspy, come on and help me with the cooking for the party later" And the uncle and niece go to the back of the house, while the mother head to the far side. She soon notice her father's old car sitting in shiny glory, being taken care of by her brother Nicodemus. The mother sit in the car and remember when she showed her parents, her first paid commission, the spirt of america. They made a cake for her and celebrated. She remember her father said: "I knew I was right, I may have not gotten the description incorrect, it seems the spirit of america is like lady liberty in her teenage years, no crown or lamp, hair flying, wearing wonder woman's clothes, wonder woman wouldn't mind and she needs the vibranium, can't imagine the skin getting cracked and she being chosen to stand before new york city, but, she is still, like a woman... yeah, the badass spirit of america" The mother hyper ventilate and start to cry. She think to the day after when her father no longer said anything was like a woman. Between the heat side her sadness she fall asleep. ... "Mommy!... mommy... MOMMY!": speak a little girl to her mother. "hey my sweet Raspberry": the mother gently waken. "Daddy say you need to eat... and here": the little girl kiss her mother. "Ohh... thank you, give him this for me... and I want you to have fun with the firecrackers, with all your cousins and everybody, ok": the mother after taken the plate, hug her daughter tightly. "Ok mommy, I love you" "I love you" "Don't be sad mommy": the little girl say walking away. "I am not my little light in the sky, just remembering... go on now" The mother eat a little food and place the plate on the dashboard, and lay back in the seat, back to sleep. "Nzinga...why aren't you eating Nzinga": a gentle voice speak to the mother. Nzinga open her eyes and is in amazement. "Pa..." "Hey , surprised huh, do you know some people where I now live visit loving ones during the aphelion" Nzinga is still in shock looking at her father. He continue: "... you know, when the earth is farthest from the sun, but it seems to only work when one is missed a lot... and I am not even like a woman" Nzinga lunge and embrace her father in the driver's seat. "I miss you papa" The spirit embrace his daughter and say: “ I know Nzinga, but no need, I am here just for a short while for a chance to get you not to miss me so much" "How long?!": energetically state the daughter. "Maybe only an hour" "What will we do?" "Drive around of course": Nzinga's father clip the seatbelt, and she smile, and he continue: "this is my car, that is a pretty special moon there". Nzinga look to the moon as her father stare at it. Nzinga's father say while she look to the moon: "It will be nice having the penumbral eclipse escort us for our short time" Nzinga become stoic: "why won't you come back..." "I am having too much fun with your mother" Nzinga burst a laugh. Nzinga's father continue: "oh and she told me to give Raspy a message, she loves telling her stories in her dreams" Nzinga's father start the car, and Nzinga look back. He say: "Don't worry, let the magic happen" "Death has not seemed to stop your sense of wit papa" "Well, my little light, let me tell you something, ok, Death, is like a woman..." ... Hope you enjoyed reading If you like more of my stories check out my Short story collection series https://www.kobo.com/us/en/search?query=Richard%20Murray%20Short%20Story%20Collection&fcsearchfield=Series&seriesId=014c67c4-d29d-584e-ada0-62c0fa015714 And I am on Bookbub https://www.bookbub.com/authors/richard-murray-16885e64-6c28-459e-bf5f-45c7d458ce49 My blog https://aalbc.com/tc/blogs/blog/29-richard-murray-hearth/
  16. until
    September Equinox is from september 20th to september 24th it was in 2021 september 22nd 13:31 UTC equate to 8:31 utc-5, it is the beginning of fall in the northern hemisphere, spring in the southern hemisphere < http://www.astropixels.com/ephemeris/soleq2001.html > share photos of art OR text of fiction The photos can be to->sculpture/knitting or sewing/graffiti/tattoo or any craft depicting Black people in spring in the southern hemisphere, any country <south america/caribbean/africa/south asia/australia> OR Black people in fall in the northern hemisphere, any country <north america/europe/northern asia> The text can only be fiction based on the following: Black person or peoples at the first day of spring or fall Story 1 https://aalbc.com/tc/blogs/entry/261-september-equinox-art-or-text-craft-parade-good-news-blog/?do=findComment&comment=948 Story 2 https://aalbc.com/tc/blogs/entry/261-september-equinox-art-or-text-craft-parade-good-news-blog/?do=findComment&comment=949 STORY 1 I remember the autumn gatherings when I was a girl; sparkling gala’s where my parents dressed me plus my siblings in glittering attire. I loved it. I felt always like a princess. The pumpkin pie, the cranberrry sauce, the rice pudding, the apple custard, the watermelon slices, the corn bread … I loved it all. A peaceful rearing for me, the magic was in merely being alive; I had no need of unicorns from mystical worlds gated in forests or aliens from beyond the sky or anything unearthly. I had a brilliant summer, and now my Autumn. My autumn is simple and in continuity, a life from a woman alone. My job I like to do while it pay the bills, allow me to save, and give me time off. I am unmarried, but I have all sorts of comforts: masculine,friendly,inhuman; I am not alone. I am the autumn, and I am at peace as when I was the summer. Thank you for reading, if you want to read more of my work read below Poetry or More https://www.kobo.com/ebook/poetry-or-more-1 Bookbub https://www.bookbub.com/profile/richard-murray-16885e64-6c28-459e-bf5f-45c7d458ce49 AALBC https://aalbc.com/tc/blogs/blog/29-richard-murray-hearth/ STORY 2 An autumn wind speak this morning. It speak that the autumn is here for good, until the winter wind come. Let me boil some syrup. I need to get the wood, give me a moment. <Sniffle> I remember when I came here. The tantalum rush was amazing. Can you imagine a stream of automated vessels, frozen bodies inside , risking fate, between harvested body parts to raided goods to slavery on an A.B. hideaway , streaming from the spaceport in Addis Abeba to Beijing2 on Europa. I recall viewing it,nightly, with my ElectronMacroscope, from here on Titan. Few of those brave travelers made it here; the terraforming of this moon was the last initiative of the United Nations before the fall. But, millions came to this moon for the Tantalum. I worked my way here: a labor ticket to the moon from Earth, thirty years serving Senor Quetza who is still a lunar lord, paid my way to the graneries of mars for thirty years of overseering the self-automates, then enough money to take a long arc frozen trip around the AB and the battles of Jupiter. From out of my mother's womb to Titan took ninety one years. At seventy-eight I was content. I never found a woman on the way who wanted eternity with me or likewise. I helped a few people become mature. But, I just wanted to reach this place. Took me five years but I found this little enclave between mountains, no Tantalum, but everything I truly wanted. Some place to rest after a life lived. I hear something. I am getting dressed to go out. Sometimes my fellow minors lose themselves in their depression. <creeeeek> I don't see anyone. ... I hear it again. Let me check the river. Ahh.... The Autumn Deer is looking at me from the frozen mist down the mountain in the nearby wood. Amazing how the deer evolved here. "Hello Friend!" Ahh, he is going into the ice blue mist. Enjoy life my friend, as I have. If anyone find my audiorecordings this land is in your caretaking. The tantalum can not be mined forever. And the beauty here can not outlast the dying sun, but will last longer. Thank you for reading, if you want to read more of my work read below Poetry or More https://www.kobo.com/ebook/poetry-or-more-1 Bookbub https://www.bookbub.com/profile/richard-murray-16885e64-6c28-459e-bf5f-45c7d458ce49 AALBC https://aalbc.com/tc/blogs/blog/29-richard-murray-hearth/
  17. until
    The December Solstice occurs between December 20th to December 22nd in 2021 was December 21st 11:19 pm EST or UTC-5 , it is the beginning of winter in the northern hemisphere, summer in the southern hemisphere share photos of art OR text of fiction The photos can be to->sculpture/knitting or sewing/graffiti/tattoo or any craft depicting Black people in summer in the southern hemisphere, any country <south america/caribbean/africa/south asia/australia> OR Black people in winter in the northern hemisphere, any country <north america/europe/northern asia> The text can only be fiction based on the following: Black person or peoples at the first day or summer or winter STORY 1 : https://aalbc.com/tc/blogs/entry/261-december-solstice-art-or-text-craft-parade-good-news-blog/?do=findComment&comment=963 Story 2: https://aalbc.com/tc/blogs/entry/261-december-solstice-art-or-text-craft-parade-good-news-blog/?do=findComment&comment=964 STORY 1 “Look up mommy”: speak a voice, looking up, in the night. “I see the conjunction; do you remember the planets?”: speak an older voice, looking down at her daughter. “umm yes, Mshtari and… and, don’t say it! Zohari” “Very good… do you want to hear a story about them?” “yes” A blanket covers the two as a third sit down next to his wife in the blanket; he says nothing while looking up. The mother clears her throat. “Once many, many, moon turns ago the planets, who were young then, made forms to travel beyond their bodies and record experiences, Zohari chose a form and wanted to experience the ability to play find and seek with the Sun” “While the avatar to Zohari was on a way to Ra, Mshtari made an avatar. ” “Mshtari wanted to play shadow evasion with the Sun. And the avatar of Mshtari intercepted the avatar of Zohari. The two avatars need not speak; they knew their intentions and they began to fight. The avatar of Ra noticed the battle while waiting in its crown. ” “The avatars fought with so much passion, they brightened all of space. That grabbed the attention of Hathor, of the old divinities. She appeared about Ra.” “She spoke to Ra and suggested a solution. Since the two are fighting over hiding in the dark or staying in the light, why not make it where they both can have fun. Ra did not know how. Hathor answered, what if you use a planet. With Zohari’s avatar on the side not facing you and Mshtari’s on the side facing you, you can search for Zohari while dance with Mshtari. Ra liked the idea and flew to the fight. The two battling avatars agreed and their spirits soon separated, dimming the heavens. And all three ended up playing on every planet they can find. Till they ran out of energy and needed to go back to their sources.” And the two parents, sandwiching thier child, cuddled tighter and looked up to the old light. If you enjoy my stories and want to read more consider the following Illustrated fables, from a city near you https://www.kobo.com/ebook/concrete-fables The Goods News through the year- stories throughout the calendar https://aalbc.com/tc/blogs/entry/261-december-solstice-art-or-text-craft-parade-good-news-blog/ STORY 2 It is the shortest night in Avare, in Sao Paulo in Brazil, a farmer walk to a simple orange tree, growing away from the grove. The sun sets and the stars brighten as they get their chance to gather. The farmer begins to grab stars and place them into the tree, where they can talk and gossip the news across eons. The farmer listen into a faint star dangling low near the base of the tree. "I recall the Lonely Man, the two Weepers and the Three Brothers of the Rim, looking across my universe...the glare of our light never allowing him to see anything ahead, his back eternally fixed" "...He was still looking out, when I came here, bitter, angry" The farmer walk out to the edge of the tree and grab a star, and it speak to him. "I am a member of the Golden Ladle... my cousins, the dippers, tell me many sailors find their way, using them, on this world...but I know a world where the skies decides where the sailors sail" "A sky of said world tried to discover what effect we stars had on their fellow skies. It measured distances and changes, the sailors of said world loved that sky cause it was calm at sea level, allowing the lesser winds to govern the actions above the sparkling sea... that begins the legend of Narda the sailor and the seas of night... now place me there" And the farmer, place the star where it gleamed to. Suddenly, a number of stars laughed on a lengthy branch. And the farmer edged close to overhear a particularly glinty star "...alright, alright, remember all of you flashes, everything I say is the truth... I once saw the spirit of the existence, that is right... the spirit of existence, which turned from a star brighter than my dreams into some image of a fleshy female creature, was talking gibberish." "Everything the spirit said was gibberish, just a flickering about. I asked it, what is the problem? That is right, I am a gentlestar. The spirit suggested some fleshy male creature, tricked it. I said impossible. I told the spirit of existence, my cousin is what those fleshies call the north star, if it shine bright with me, it will forget all of the tricks of the crawlers. So, the spirit of existence, chose to shine with me. Yes, that is right, it shined with me, and me alone. No one else saw because the rest of you were busy talking to yourselves, not gleaming all around you. I of course, am aware of what is going on and saved all your lives. The spirit even touched me with a flare. Yes, it did and said, my simple focus inspired it to select me to have a child. We will call it, Horus or Hercules or something. Shut up Cassia! Your just mad you didn't get a chance with the spirit" And the farmer chose to move on and pick another star. For when the night end, only oranges will exist where the stars were. A juice not to be sold, but savored. If you enjoy my stories and want to read more consider the following Illustrated fables, from a city near you https://www.kobo.com/ebook/concrete-fables The Goods News through the year- stories throughout the calendar https://aalbc.com/tc/blogs/entry/261-december-solstice-art-or-text-craft-parade-good-news-blog/
  18. Native American Harvest Art Thanksgiving is November 28th , share photos of art OR text of fiction The photos can be to->sculpture/knitting or sewing/graffiti/tattoo concerning Native Americans enjoying food only -can include Black seminoles- no colonists from europe The text can only be fiction based on the following: Native Americans communities around harvest - black seminoles allowed- no colonist from europe https://aalbc.com/tc/blogs/entry/261-native-american-harvest-day-art-or-text-craft-parade-good-news-blog/?do=findComment&comment=961 STORY I remember when I saw Hialeah after waking up. The members of the raiding band cautiously behind me. She was cooking food for all. I knew few english words, my name being John; but she didn’t mind. I met her eyes and she already knew mine. We fell in love, and I joined her raiding party. We survived tons of gunfire as colonist numbers grew and grew. We even got through a pregnancy in a winter woods in the MicMaq lands now called New England. Aponi, our little treasure, skipping in the snow. Hialeah’s feet after the pregnancy always needed extra comfort. I had to make special shoes for her. Then, the colonists in 1775 finally wanted to not be english. We talked about what we should do. She reminded all of us, her people were assaulted by the colonist and had to flee. The colonists fable of being aided is their version of saying they stole from native people. Her people of the Powhatan Confederacy had to protect our food from colonists, who eventually raided across the Tsenacommacah and made it Virginia. She will never forgive the colonists, whether they call themselves english or american. And the persistence of their myth of friendship, sickens her very soul. I agreed, some others joined me and her, but most chose to go farther west. I didn’t know about my people across the great water, but I will never forgive the colonists, no matter what they call themselves either. And, we few went south. We were at the battle for Jersey. I even saw a flamboyant soldier defend against the colonists. After meeting Richard Freeman, he told me that Ethiopia is a place across the big water. Since I never heard of a place across the great water where I came from before, I called myself John Ethiopia. And then, the war got worse. My beautiful land was shot during a raid, I held our butterfly, as her mother sung her last song to her. And, in 1783, the war ended. Me plus our daughter, the last of our band, were sent to Nova Scotia. The cold was too much for the little butterfly and she died. Alone, cold, my memory of her with our little life losing color or definition in the last thoughts in my life. My spirit now gives thanks not living under the colonists, as their kingdom grew. A kingdom full of thieves. I give thanks for being eternally free from its lies, side my loving wife and child. Beyond the confines or the reach of the eagle. Thank you for reading, if you want to read more of my work read below Poetry or More https://www.kobo.com/ebook/poetry-or-more-1 Bookbub https://www.bookbub.com/profile/richard-murray-16885e64-6c28-459e-bf5f-45c7d458ce49 AALBC https://aalbc.com/tc/blogs/blog/29-richard-murray-hearth/
  19. November 11 Veterans day is November 11th, share photos of art OR test of fiction, guest comments are allowed The photos can be to->sculpture/knitting or sewing/graffiti/tattoo concerning Black Veterans, any country any time, any army The text can only be fiction based on the following: Black Soldiers who fought against the USA for the british/ Black soldiers during the Haitian Freeing/ Black Seminoles during the time of osceola/jonas caballo/Black soldiers who fought for Menelik II in the first Abyssinian-italo war story 1 https://aalbc.com/tc/blogs/entry/261-veterans-day-art-or-text-craft-parade-good-news-blog/?do=findComment&comment=959 story 2 https://aalbc.com/tc/blogs/entry/261-veterans-day-art-or-text-craft-parade-good-news-blog/?do=findComment&comment=960 STORY 1 A teenage boy sit side his parents in a living room, surfing the net while eating breakfast, the quiet is nullifying. He see a trailer for a film. “Black people in Mexico!… you hear this”: the teenager shout. “yes, you didn’t know, Hakim”: pleasantly inquire his mother. Hakim father chime in a vocal gesture, a nod, and words: “Black people live, all over, the earth, always have, always will” “You guys didn’t tell me about that” The parents look to each other, and the father speak: “now you know”: and the father laugh. “Can either of you tell me more about them” “I will go make muffins Sweets”: and the father begin to leave the living room. “Ok Cowboy…You see that envelope Hakim… yes, open it and pass me the photo inside… thank you, this is your grandfather, he fought in what you were taught is called World War 2” “it wasn’t called that” “not to him, he said, Black folk all around the world been at war and still at war with whites for hundreds of years, no one called that a world war… you know, he died when I was a little older than you, I missed him a lot, you want to know how I saw him later, and how it relates to Black Mexicans” Hakim give a nod and his mother tell a story. A girl cry in her room unaware of, what she will do or be, where she can go. She look through a photograph book and see her mother side Aunty Bessie, when they served in world war 2. https://todaysdocument.tumblr.com/post/189791629093/ltjg-harriet-ida-pickens-and-ens-frances She remember her father telling her: “Never join the military Dulce, never, never serve another unless it is for your own safety, don’t let your enslavers sell you their lies till you can’t eat anything else, I was forced, like many, don’t do it unless they force you to” Dulce’s mother was less clear; she suggested to Dulce: “I know your father’s ways but no matter what you do, I will accept it” But Dulce want to uphold her father; she want to uphold his truth; her problem is few opportunities exist outside joining up. Dulce does not want to clean homes. Dulce does not want to open doors. Dulce does not want to be a secretary. Dulce want to play basketball; no female teams exist, even though she play side all her friends in South Essex. Dulce continue to cry, nearly twenty and unsure. The rain pour over everything outside. Dulce hear droplets from the crack in the window; she has to close the window so the rain do not come in. At the window she see an odd member in the graffiti on the back side of Uncle Benny’s Ice Cream Parlor. It wink at Dulce; and she go outside to take the trash; her mother call out her name at the back door; she reply, just taking out the trash ma, and get a simple affirmative. In the back alley she approach the graffiti soldier. His eyes look to her, she shuffle backward and gasp, and he speak: “Glad you came out to see me, glad you got your hood, preparation is good for any soldier” Dulce look about worried: “am I in the Twilight Zone or something” “No need to worry young one, but your father told me all about you” “My Daddy… but he” “is dead? yes, but what most of you living folk don’t know is, when a soldier dies, part of their spirit is unrest till their country is found” “my daddy was an american citizen” “yes, he was, but…” “he never loved the usa” “thus, the part of his soul that is a soldier has no country, think of it, like a spiritual veterans day, you living folk honor the soldiers who live based on your rules of citizenship, but we spirits, honor the soldiers who died based on the countries they were fighting for, take my hand” Dulce step back again. “I want to take you to your father” Dulce step forward, and again, and again, and take the outstretch hand of the graffiti soldier. Dulce and the Graffiti Soldier begin to walk in the spirit world, hand in hand. “Don’t worry, you are only in here because of me, if you let go my hand, you will be back in the rain, no problem” The two walk about in the forever fading world and she see soldiers, who look like her daddy in uniform. She see soldiers from other times She see soldiers she think is from the war between the states Dulce see soldiers that look like the Graffiti Soldier: “they look like you” “yes, some from the Black Brigade, most of the Ethiopian Regiment” Suddenly, the Graffiti Soldier grab her hand tight and say: “remember, you can’t leave me” Dulce is excited as she see her father, sitting among other troops, about a fire. Dulce father smile bright when he see her and break to only stand firm and salute the Graffiti Soldier:“ Thank you Colonel Tye” “No problem soldier, I wish I could leave you two alone but” “It is alright sir, thank you for this” “Well little one, I will sit here and you can sit beside me while you two talk” Dulce sit side her father while the Graffiti Soldier sit as arm far as possible. Dulce and her father hug: “Daddy I miss you” “I know, the part of me that is your father, your mother’s husband, feels your love all the time, thank you, but know a part of me has a timeless love for you” “Can I help with finding a country” “Well, I know some spirits have been waiting for, well, longer than I can explain, over there are Loyalists, who fought for the British, the country they fought for may never happen, the best stories come from the Black Seminoles, their oldest ones were actually descended from loyalists who are here, can you imagine a family reunion here, truly wild” “Well, can I come back here” “I am being helped by my comrades to do this, I wanted to show you some of those guys over there, Warriors who fought with Jonas Caballo. They died so that Florida could be its own country, where black or indigenous people could live free absent raids or any sort of attack from the usa, they said something special happened” “what tell me please” “well, they say, that the people must have found a home, cause no soldier joined them who said they died out, the last soldier said they were in mexico and were heading south” “Black people in mexico” “well now you know, though I have seen many soldiers, I tell you, Black people live, all over, the earth, always have, always will, just like whitey, don’t let anyone tell you otherwise, the whole world has native black or white people, look a little different here or there, but everywhere has black or white people” “Should I tell ma something?” “No need, I see her in dreams… I want you to know, the country I fought for, has never existed, but if you need to sign up, even if you know about this place, do it” “Thanks poppa!”: Dulce embrace her father very tightly: “I still miss you” “I know, you get back in the house ok” Dulce feel Colonel Tye releasing his grip; she try to grab him back but rain pour on her in the back alley, instead. She stand up and lean over to get the rain from falling on her face, and enter back into the house. “Alright everybody! muffins are made”: speak Hakim’s father, entering the living room with a warm buttery smelling plate. He sit down and Hakim ask him as his mother begin a needlepoint: “you know the story of when Ma met OldPa” Hakim’s father laugh. “Ma, is this your home? thank you” Dulce put down her needlepoint: “Well… the home soldiers fight for, thank you… soldiers die for, soldiers return from war to, is not the home of the heart, like our little apartment, it is the home for their people” “But why didn’t you try to find that home…for our people, the home where grandpa’s spirit can be at peace” “I think … that is what your grandpa wanted to tell me, that he will be alright, part of him has eternity to wait and pretty good company, I need to find my home of the heart first, before I can find a home for the people” “I will find the home grandpa’s spirit can return to” Hakim’s father hand him another muffin: “I bet you will, but put some jelly on that first” Thank you for reading, if you want to read more of my work read below Poetry or More https://www.kobo.com/ebook/poetry-or-more-1 Bookbub https://www.bookbub.com/profile/richard-murray-16885e64-6c28-459e-bf5f-45c7d458ce49 AALBC https://aalbc.com/tc/blogs/blog/29-richard-murray-hearth/ STORY 2 It is an afternoon sun through calming clouds on the private catholic school Institution Marmoutier , along the Loire river. A boy take his lunch and go to his favorite riverside, alone. He unfurl his mat and lay on it, placing his lunch beside his head, and look to the gentle clouds, tears budding at the corner of each eye. He sniff and take out an earbud to hear a Carl Sagan recording. His dad liked Carl Sagan alot, as a kid his dad listened to Sagan with his grandfather. The youth cover his face using the back of his hand while tears flow down cheeks. Abrupt yelling interrupt his woe. He see a girl running from other girls, and he leave his food and mat yelling: "Arrete!"/"Stop!" He chases them to the abbey; it is quiet cause most of the students are in their rooms or the game room or cafeteria. He go inside the abbey and silence. He see the portrait of Saint Martin, third bishop of this abbey. And he recall his father telling him on his first day at the school. "Souvenez-vous, soyez altruiste, comme Saint Martins"/"Remember, be unselfish, like Saint Martins" He prayed for days that his father will recover and come home, be a veteran. He is afraid of memorial day communication from relatives in New Orleans in the USA. Sobbing interrupt his prayers and he go to it. Nestled in a small corner of a hall is a girl his age, by her dress pattern. He ask: "Qui a fait ça?"/"Who did this?" The girl do not reply but the boy notice blood from her inner right thigh. He take off his jacket and put it over her and rip part of his shirt and give it to her. She wrap her thigh. A chaplain arrive. The boy is nervous. The chaplain place a calm hand up and say: "Sois calme. J'ai vu ce que tu as fait."/"Be calm. I saw what you did." The girl rise and go to the chaplain. He whisper in her ear and she turn slightly, her hands on the jacket. The chaplain calmly dissuade her and she exits out the abbey. "Avec moi"/"With me": gently demand the chaplain to the boy. They walk quietly through the halls and into the chapel. "S'il vous plaît, priez avec moi, là où saint Martins a prié"/"Please, pray with me, where saint Martins did pray" The boy at first kneel and close his eyes, peering slightly to see if the chaplain was doing similar. The chaplain smile while praying and the boy close his eyes. The silence made the boy dwell on his thoughts to his father, and he prayed in earnest after a while, and lost track of time, until. A bell sound a new hour and he rise up. "profiter de l'école, tout ira bien"/"profit from the schooling, all will be well" The boy run to class, an official stand outside the classroom door he run to; his jacket is on a hanger. "bein etudient, aller aller"/"good student, go go" The boy put his jacket on and enter the classroom, and his day progress as most school days do. But, in the evening at his dorm room, a knock on the door. He cut on the light and run to embrace his father. "Vous avez laissé ça dehors"/"You left this outside " The boy smile looking to his father and notice a wrapping; the right thigh of his father has a tight strapping. "Oh, ma jambe, j'ai essayé de sauver la vie d'une fille, elle est morte plus tard d'une explosion, mais je jure, j'ai pensé à elle dans mon coma"/"Oh, my leg, I have tried to save the life of a girl, she is dead after an explosion, but I swear, I have thought to her in my coma" "Merci , Saint Martins" Thank you for reading, if you want to read more of my work read below Poetry or More https://www.kobo.com/ebook/poetry-or-more-1 Bookbub https://www.bookbub.com/profile/richard-murray-16885e64-6c28-459e-bf5f-45c7d458ce49 AALBC https://aalbc.com/tc/blogs/blog/29-richard-murray-hearth/
  20. until
    October 31st Halloween, Oct 31st to Nov 1st is Samhain, mid september equinox to december solstice The time of final main harvest before the winter. look at this dog, the ghost:) https://0512-97.tumblr.com/post/631277935457878016 Story 1 https://aalbc.com/tc/blogs/entry/261-halloween-art-or-text-craft-parade-good-news-blog/?do=findComment&comment=957 Story 2 https://aalbc.com/tc/blogs/entry/261-halloween-art-or-text-craft-parade-good-news-blog/?do=findComment&comment=958 STORY 1 This was the party I planned for months to attend. You have to realize, this woman is so sexy, and is a star trek addict. So, I usually am weak in the knees when I am around her. But she talked about the Halloween Party of the year the second day we met, three month ago. I love Mr. Spock too, but I will be blunt. I never saw a Vulcan as sexy as her. So, here I am. I am prepared to the party. I am dressed as a red shirt, willing to die tonight. I gave her a text and she said she was at the porch with friends. At the stairwell, I glanced at a Cheetara, not really complete; in truth she was more like Fairuza Balk, and I had an issue looking away from her cute face. It didn’t help me that she had a healthiness around her heart. As a gentleman, I smiled and she spoke to me. She said: “hi, my name is Mikaela, will you tell me about your world?” I replied, placing out my tricorder: “I come from earth in this collection of planets called the federation. But I arrived to this planet on a ship called the Enterprise” “Do you want me to escort you around my planet?” “why not, let’s try up there” We walked up the stairs and guided through the collectives of various people. At the top of the stars, we saw a guardian. I spoke in shock to my guide: “who is this, the tricorder says she is full of diakente energy” The guardian twirls and said: “I am Sailor Andromeda, can I be of assistance" I reply: "I have a guide from this world, escorting me around. I am trying to get to the porch, see what the mountains are like” Sailor Andromeda replied: “I will help, follow me” So, we three went to the porch. And I saw my chocolate Vulcan, kissing a male Vulcan. It occurred to me, I never asked her about her private life. I assumed because she never said. I tried to usher my party away but she saw me, and waved. So, I used my tricorder and ventured to her party. I must admit, the greetings didn’t help me. And, I recall little of the Vulcan I wanted’s smile or the smiles of the two other guys that joined us, one to embrace Sailor Andromeda, or the other to embrace my original guide. We ate food, under the moon. We moved our clocks back. And at the end, I hugged all three beautiful women. And went home alone. But I remember the night well because I saw my new neighbor for the first time. And, she happened to want someone to watch her star trek collection. Thank you for reading, if you want to read more of my work read below Poetry or More https://www.kobo.com/ebook/poetry-or-more-1 Bookbub https://www.bookbub.com/profile/richard-murray-16885e64-6c28-459e-bf5f-45c7d458ce49 AALBC https://aalbc.com/tc/blogs/blog/29-richard-murray-hearth/ STORY 2 It is the night when the season is between the equinox in September and the solstice in December. The woods are dark or cool. The spirits of indigenous warriors are allowed under the Hunters Moon to inhabit the crows. The march of the pumpkins always arrives through night mid-September equinox or December solstice; they are filled with spirits of children killed before born by the hand of fate. But, in this rare night, the crows found assistance in the crows. Usually, pumpkins have to travel far in the night to get their inner souls released. Most humans these days don't allow pumpkins to be housed for souls, cutting shapes that the spirits can naturally induce. But the spirits in the crows under the Hunters Moons know. And they choose pumpkins to free their spirits; they choose based on how courageous a pumpkin is. One of the pumpkins selected was the first to reach the top of the hill, any hop forward and it will slide down. It tried to help the crows break it free by glowing as much as possible. Eventually, it became free and then absent the pumpkin shell, became a light in the sky. Like all others who became free, it lifted high enough to be seen as a star in the sky by anyone on the ground. And, per fate, a young witch noted the spirit in the sky, like a star. She flew up into the sky and met the spirit and asked it, in an ancient tongue: "young spirit, I lost my ability to have children in an accident but I will love to be your mom, if we work together, I can help you get a body" The spirit reply: "Thank you, I didn't expect to be gathered by a human. I have been on the march for hundreds of years, since Wounded Knee" The witch opened her mouth and the spirit came inside. She slowly descended on her broom with a brightness, and went into her home for a cup of coffee. After a bath in herbal salts, she leaves her home, and sits on the grasses outside her home with a cup of coffee. Butterflies flied about her solar brightness in the evening, a new mother with a child honored by the warriors. The End Thank you for reading, if you want to read more of my work read below Poetry or More https://www.kobo.com/ebook/poetry-or-more-1 Bookbub https://www.bookbub.com/profile/richard-murray-16885e64-6c28-459e-bf5f-45c7d458ce49 AALBC https://aalbc.com/tc/blogs/blog/29-richard-murray-hearth/
  21. September 21st international day of peace- a story of peace https://aalbc.com/tc/blogs/entry/261-september-equinox-art-or-text-craft-parade-good-news-blog/?do=findComment&comment=947 STORY International Day of Peace story A man one day thought to himself, I will disturb nothing else, while laying in a bed, formerly his. He pee on the bed, defacate on the bed, so that he will not disturb the floor, the door, the world outside. His body hurt when he become hungry and he shake in the bed, stirring in the odor. Finally, he realize he has to disturb where he lay. He can never be completely peaceful, and gets off his bed at peace.
  22. Cat Nights begin on August 17th - display any text or art concerning cats. <Cat Nights begin on August 17. This term harks back to the days when people believed in witches. A rather obscure old Irish legend said that a witch could turn herself into a cat eight times, but on the ninth time (August 17), she couldn’t regain her human form. This bit of folklore also gives us the saying, “A cat has nine lives.” Because August is a yowly time for cats, this may have prompted the speculation about witches on the prowl in the first place. Also, nights continue to get longer. Cats, crepuscular creatures, are nocturnal hunters. Their superior night vision means that the nights belong to them. citing> https://aalbc.com/tc/blogs/entry/261-black-cowboy-day-art-or-text-craft-parade-good-news-blog/?do=findComment&comment=943 POETRY A Seventeenth Witch It was a quiet morning, in an eighth seventeenth Miss Sarah, a witch, had a really long day A witch, that she is, that she is The clouds full from night dings, all seem calm underneath Miss Sarah, wait an encounter, in the street A witch, that she is, that she is A tree crack begin a sing, mashes like titans teeth Miss Sarah, now no human feet, but purring A witch, that she is, that she is A girl cry, I am falling! shouts from anger bequeath Miss Sarah, know hands weave cruel from the lightning A witch, that she is, that she is Cat shade, spells from lightning cling, in nights eighth seventeenth Miss Sarah, four legged, know where the light land A witch, that she is, that she is Through parks, dodge wild cans, running, past bright cars underneath Miss Sarah, absorb the cruelty fore the street A witch, that she is, that she is Boom! she leap side hot white bling, she fall on concrete teeth Miss Sarah... feel wet licks and a quiet warmth A witch, that she is, that she is Eyes open to soeur earrings, We Won! now eighth eighteenth Miss Sarah, in the pawed coven, knew the price A witch, that she is, that she is A teen wait for a purring, cause her mother bequeath Miss Sarah, in her daughter's arms, now home, safe A witch, that she is, that she is No image through tweet will bring, witch pride last seventeenth Miss Sarah, side sisters, saved all, quietly A witch, that each is, that each is If you see a black, purring, rubbing, please don't seethe Miss Sarah, or sister maybe, just friendly A witch, that she is, that she is from Richard Murray If you want to enjoy more poetry from me, consider the following work Poetry or More - Audiobook series Poetry or More- complete text only
  23. Black Cowboy day- In the USA , National Cowboy day is july 25th so I say, give this day to art, text full of imagination for the black cowboy https://aalbc.com/tc/blogs/entry/261-saint-mary-magdalene-day-art-or-text-craft-parade-good-news-blog/?do=findComment&comment=938 STORY The world seem dark, stepping hooves are still audible. A hand lift the veil of unending night into a day aside a rodeo troop. “What did I tell you about walkin around when the horses are about with your hat down?” : speak a visibly mature female in an honest rodeo rider gown, gentle while luscious smile absent lipstick, smooth chocolate skin reflecting the light in the day; the little girl she is speaking to shrug her shoulders. “Come on Candace”: speak another female troop member. The little girl, a third candace height or width with hair in a bun while some mud is in her face, look about the troop getting ready. “hey, Emae , be good ok and when we finish the afternoon show I will tell you a story from any card you want”: and Candace get on her horse, in front of the troop. Emae look to Candace horse. “Jambalaya, please take care of Candace” The horse look down to Emae and winkle both nostril. Emae walk around the march and take something from her back pocket; it seem to be a card set. Suddenly, Emae drop the card set with a shimmy. “Beebee!”: Emae shake her head while picking up the remaining fallen card. Beebee sit in the railing and Emae eventually join her. “Why do you take your cards out Em, I keep mine safe” “Cause Candace always gives good information on any one I choose in various times, I must be ready” “I don’t have that one, who is that” “This is Nat Love, my sister said he once jumped off of the Rio Grande Western Railway to catch a horse that was possessed by a vengeful spirit.” “you and your stories”: but Beebee listen. “All are true!, the train was taking magical native american items from Mesa Verde, Colorada to Salt Lake, and from there to New York and go cross an ocean to Finnyland” “Well that explain the horse’s anger” “Yep, the horse was trying to cause an avalanche on the mountain side, but Love waited for it, climbing outside the train cars to the front of the train, and jumped on it, using his years of experience. No one in the company saw him wrassle a horse before. And he and horse tumbled aside the mountain. He was so tough. He saw the spirits in the horse and asked them what was wrong as he rode the bucking beast. GO CANDACE!” Beebee cheer. And, Emae continue talking as they watch. “… backflip it Sara!… well, the spirits spoke to Love and they said, they don’t want to leave thier home. Love realized what needed to be done. The ancient spirits needed another vessel. But with so many spirits in need, the horse wasn’t enough, so Love made a bargain with the spirits. He will offer his body if he fail to return all the spirits to their ancestral home… eventually the train reached Salt Lake and with the spirits help, he acquired a set of horses, more than enough to hold all the spirits with room to spare and he escorted them back to Mesa. My sister said she will tell me how he fought the ghost panther, an ancient enemy of the spirits who tried to stop them from going home” “hmm, I got to get him, I like that one, Ohhh! I love that one” “You got a boyfriend!” Beebee punch Emae on the arm and continue: “My pa always dress up as him for harvest. Do you know about him?” EMae shake her head negatively. “Ned Huddlestone, later Isome Dart, was a thief of the range. He stole thousands of cattle in his lifetime, selling them illegally” “A real dangerous one” “Yes, but his early years proved he had a bright future ahead. During the War Between States, he aided hungry Confederate soldiers while freeing enslaved blacks in Arkansas. What whites didn’t know was he was a double agent, thus the two guns he always sported the rest of his life, one for the northerners and one for the southerners. One time, a wicked whitey named Nathaniel Price tried to undo his plan. He was a union soldier whose family once owned Ned. So he tried to stop his switches of food for people. Whenever Ned got boxes of food, he would organize with the Whispers Road” “Oh I love tales of the Whispers Road” “As you know, the Whispers Roads communicate by marks on trees or homes, but only the members know the places that are meant to be, but after the slaves reached Ned’s location he placed them in the boxes and prepared them for their journey. That is when Nathaniel Price came. He thought with Ned’s back turned he couldn’t attack him. But, Ned both guns ready, but unsure to which could hit, had to try both. He was in front of a old unused hearth in the shed and waited. Nathanial said to him- I got you know nigger, I will take these messages to the union back to their southern masters and their agent will be undone.” Beebee then got off the rail and took a pose facing it and continue: “agent, I am no agent to the north or south, my only goal is freeing my people, by any means necessary- and Ned faster than lightning, took a half step forward with one foot, half step backward with another , turned his torso ninety degrees and unleashed both guns and shot them, the two bullets hit off the old hearth, the southern bullet hit a wooden wall somewhere, but the northern bullet reflected straight on to Nathanial Price and through his scheming heart. ” Beebee then start to walk slow or bowlegged like and continue: “well well, said Ned, it seems you are union after all, well no matter”, and Beebee made gestures with her hands like guns spinning before being holstered and then made a stylish pose. Emae clapped, shaking her legs in the rail. Beebee joined her back on the rail smiling at her successful telling. They both then cheered seeing a trick and enjoyed the rest of the afternoon show. Later, Candace is refresh after the afternoon show and meet Emae at a table: “How is Beebee?” “She’s fine, you were great out there, we will be better than you and Sara one day” “of course you will, you better”: and Candace smile at Emae, and hand her a breakfast. “Thank you … ” “I know, I know, ok, pull the one you want me to talk about… ok… yes, this guy was Bass Reeves”: and Candace give the photo back to Emae. Candace continue, while she sit and eat an apple: “I never told you about him, well, Bass Reeves was a student of a Black Seminole family, led by their matriarch, Llorando Camino, she was a granddaughter to Osceola and chose to lead the Black Seminoles” “I know about them” “yes”: Candace smile:“… the Black Seminoles who were allowed to stay in the territory, while, as you know, the majority of the Black Seminoles followed Jonas Caballo to Mexico and true freedom. Anyway! She taught Bass many things, which she learned in a life fighting US army, bandits, drunkards or any in between, in close combat or the range. After the thirteenth amendment, he left since he didn’t have to worry about being enslaved again, with his skills first and the law second… you want more, well , you better eat and not just look at me talk… he eventually became a us marshall, you see, in the indian territories, many criminals tried to hide and murdered many native americans over the years. Bass never forgot his teacher and helped protect the lands from vile outsiders, one was called Jimmy the Breaker Stone. He came from a family of murderers for hire in europe, known for using their hands to murder people. Jimmy Stone escaped from law enforcers and went into the territory. He was in a cave, only one way in or out, but it had a small break of light inside where it was under a mountain and had a garden in it alongside a stream of water, allowing for food or survival. No one dared go into the Stone Cave as it was known. In the dark, who could face this raw killer. But, Bass Reeves was trained to fight absent the light. He went into the cave with a rope and no gun and three hours later, Jimmy Stone was being dragged out, hogtied. The other law enforcers never forget the face Stone gave Bass, but the words were more potent, The Justice of the Dark… good, nearly finished eating, well I will get ready for my evening show, do you want to wait for me or go back home with grandpa?” “You please”: say Emae with sandwich in the mouth. Candace shake her head and continue: “alright… have another card ready for the road”: and Candace leave Emae at a table. Later in the evening, Emae is playing a game on her mobile video game player in the passenger side of the truck while Candace drive them home, smiling. Emae react to something outside. “Just thunder and lightning Emae”: calmly say Candace. “Its so big” “Ahhh , so you are afraid of thunder and lightning like that” Emae shake her head in confirmation. Candace pull out a card from her shirt pocket and Emae interest rise. Emae take a flashlight out of her carry bag. “This is a luxury edition card” “yes, and who is that” “Will Pickett, bill pickett bill pickett” “good… do you know how he bull dogged the white buffalo?” Emae shake her head in ignorance while smiling. Candace continue: “do you even know the white buffalo? ” Emae ask: “Is it a buffalo with white skin?” “You haven’t been reading the legends book… well, The White Buffalo is not white, it is a buffalo from the spirit world that comes through a gateway made through storms, whenever a storm occurs over these lands, The White Buffalo can come through, all electric” “Like Storm of the Xmen” “Right, but with a body made of electricity and the legends say, if he can get through the gateway a storm will persists until he returns… well, one day, all the ranchers heard of a brewing storm. It was growing between Oklahoma, texas, arkansas and louisiana. Every day getting bigger and bigger. Natives said the White Buffalo is free, he must return to his world. But they were prepared to move as they always have been from ancient times. Ranchers complained about the growing storm destroying their livelihoods. Pickett knew as a ranchhand, he will lose pay and didn’t have anywhere to go. So asked a friend Sam Tootall, to help him speak to the Elders and see if he can help. The Elders agreed to see him and told him that The White Buffalo must agree to go back into its world. With so many of the native people murdered they are unwilling to risk their strongest and will leave as in the past. Pickett comprehended and rode a horse to the center of the storm. While the thunder and lightning was a vibrant symphony, the wind was relatively still, at first Pickett thought it wasn’t there but after patiently waiting he cognized a buffalo shape that will appear at times. He had no weapon but he galloped on his horse in a circle within a white brilliance and when he finally caught a moment where his stride, the buffalo’s motion were in synch, he leaped off his horse and grabbed The White Buffalo by the horns. Pickett’s horse immediately left and the Buffalo bucked upwards as if any piece of sky could be its ground and Pickett held on in the clouds and back near the ground again and again, some Natives recall their forebears saying they saw him in the sky russling lightning. Pickett was getting tired and The White Buffalo seemed to have no end of energy. Pickett then noticed inside the mouth of the White Buffalo seemed more solid and he chose to bite on its tongue. The White Buffalo spent wildly but Pickett held on and rasstled him to the ground. The eyes of The White Buffalo were incredulous. Pickett merely smiled and met his gaze, they seemed to speak without words, and pickett let go of the legendary life form and watched as it went through the gateway, and ” Emae yawn with sleepy eyes. Candace continue: “you like the story… yeah, good, well, Pickett watched the White Buffalo go past its gate and I will tell you how Pickett was given a task by The White Buffalo later to save its child from the Red Cougar later, pleasant dreams” Candace watch Emae nodding while sleep, and drove home. … Sunshine bath Emae in her bed. Suddenly, she get up and exit her room, and run down stairs. “They are gone for today, Candace said she will bring you to another show later, but she is proud you spent all day with her yesterday”: say an elder female voice in a kitchen, sounds of frying food reverberating. Emae look downward. A male elder speak: “Get washed up Em, and come down for your morning meal” “ok Grampie”: Emae walk slowly up the stairs. Fresh, Emae sit down reverse her grandparents. She look to a younger photo of her grandfather. Emae grandfather turn to the wall and smile:“ are you looking at me Em?” Emae shake her head in confirmation and say: “yes Grampie” “Good times, good times”: and he look back to the wall and see another photo. He continue while looking at his wife: “your grandmothers, father did not like me you know Em” “Here we go!”: say the Grandmother. “I am telling it like it is” Emae smile while eating porridge with fruit in it. “I wish I could persuade you to not listen to him Em, but I am fully aware that his storytelling ways is part of the myth telling gene in this house” The Grandfather wink at Emae and say:“Em knows truth when she hear it” “ok, Hector, convince me, of your truthtelling”: and the Grandmother smile, arms in a fold. “See it all began when I first met Mr Lemon, I thought it was funny, calling Mr Lemon, Mr Lime when he got angry, but I didn’t realize that his experiences with various citrus were on the adventurous or personal side because of his father Bob Lemon…” And, Emae sat eating her fruit porridge listening to her Grandfather tell a story to her side her Grandmother. … Thank you for reading, if you want to read more of my work read below Bookbub https://www.bookbub.com/profile/richard-murray-16885e64-6c28-459e-bf5f-45c7d458ce49 AALBC https://aalbc.com/tc/blogs/blog/29-richard-murray-hearth/ Poetry or More Audiobook https://www.kobo.com/us/en/search?query=Poetry%20or%20More&fcsearchfield=Series&seriesId=06baba96-5af5-5d24-9b8a-f06360287dc9 Visasiki Audiobook https://www.kobo.com/us/en/search?query=Visasiki%20Series&fcsearchfield=Series&seriesId=965aea81-4e13-53fe-8bc8-22fcb6d28a39 Short Story Collection https://www.kobo.com/us/en/search?query=Richard%20Murray%20Short%20Story%20Collection&fcsearchfield=Series&seriesId=014c67c4-d29d-584e-ada0-62c0fa015714
  24. Saint Mary MAgdalene- the catholic saint day is the 22nd of july, i say she warrant better, what is your craft to her? https://aalbc.com/tc/blogs/entry/261-aphelion-day-art-or-text-craft-parade-good-news-blog/?do=findComment&comment=936 STORY Mary Magdalene a little after dawn, in a simple road in the roman empire, recalls her life, and her love. https://www.deviantart.com/tlacuilopilo/art/Mary-Magdalene-portrait-Maria-Magdalena-333225591 She remembers being the daughter of a craftsman, who was also a successful merchant. People from Egypt to Phrygia sought the wares of Magdala. But while most Jewish girls with her fortune thought of marriage. She sought betterment, she sought activity, she sought a better world. https://www.deviantart.com/maoliquiao/art/In-suo-nome-528460920 And then her awakening when mercury, the ancient spirit of messages was furthest from the sun in the sky or closest to humanity, she went into the synagogue and proclaimed to the men, standing where women do not, breaking the mechitza barrier. The men felt humiliated, felt belittled, felt they had been dirtied by her presence. The men did not try to listen to her words, try to listen to her wisdom. They only saw a woman who was wrong, and cast her out of the synagogue and threw stones. But she did not die. She was not killed. https://www.deviantart.com/riekiedp/art/Mary-Magdalene-121544723 Some did not throw stones because they knew her father, some did not throw stones because they knew her, and a strong body was enough to crawl back to her home. Her father was worried. He knew the village will look on her suspiciously and will want to control her life. He told her she must go, to be free, from the eventual persecutions that will come toward her. He knew fully well; he could not protect her when he was away from all harms. And so, she left Magdala. On the road, she met another Mary, many jewish women were named Mary, but this woman was quiet. Her husband was a craftsman and she was delivering a craft to a friend. She saw the Mary from Magdala and her spirit seemed familiar. The older Mary went over to the younger and they talked. The younger Mary talked about a vision she had of a future without boundaries, absent the shackles that bind humanity. The elder Mary asked the younger Mary if she wants to talk to others who may listen. The younger Mary said yes, as they embraced. https://www.deviantart.com/rmarwdraws/art/Mary-and-Mary-Magdalene-847094143 The elder Mary spoke to the inn keep who knew her husband and said to tell her husband she will not be back, but she is safe. Over the next few weeks, Mary Magdalene became well known amongst the disenfranchised or abused women of Palestine. She even was able to communicate to her father who supported her quietly. One day a woman asked, what will all this talk do when we have to go back to the men who abuse us. Mary Magdalene asked elder Mary, is it possible, these women can go to her home on the way south, free from the Jewish rules, in Egypt or beyond. The elder Mary agreed. When the two Mary arrived at the elder Mary's home, they were accompanied by forty women, and a sunlight. A sunlight that can waken anyone from any sleep. Mary bathed in the light, still, and saw a man. https://www.deviantart.com/springergirl07/art/Mary-Magdalene-172730760 He did not need to speak, but his walk seemed so gentle. The elder Mary told Mary Magdalene, this man is her son, Jesus. Mary Magdalene knew this man's calling. She realized what he can do. In a world where men cannot accept leadership from a woman, she saw a man who can, while giving men the face they need to be led a better way. And she gathered the woman in the sunlight with Jesus as the elder Mary watched, and her husband, Joseph, beamed with pride. From town to town, the women of Mary Magdalene spread the gospel or good news of Jesus. Where lepers were isolated, Mary and her women healed or comforted and Jesus was said to do it. Where people were said to be dead, Mary and her women tended them back to life and Jesus was said to do it. When men did not fish properly, Mary and her women, worked the nearby seas aiding the fisherman, and Jesus was said to do it. Mary had watched her movement grow. From one woman, to two women, to a group that threatened the order of things for the Jewish priests. Over time, men like Judas, became part of Mary's apostles, telling the other women, let those without sin cast the first stone. But other men came, at the behest of the jewish priest. Twelve of them came, who knew Jesus was not the miracle worker gossiped or rumored, but it was Mary Magdalene who needed to be stopped. Mary spoke with Jesus and told him, if he rejects these men it will destroy his image and all the work they have done. Thus, Jesus accepted these new apostles and though they tried to corrupt Jesus with gold or positions, he never wavered from the path Mary gave him, for he and Mary were already one in spirit, done beyond a temple/synagogue or place of worship. A simple ceremony under the sun. In desperation the twelve agents of the Jewish Priest, abducted Jesus and put him in the position of a Jewish murderer paying the roman guard to allow the switch. Mary tried to find him; her network unable to access the roman prisons. And then she heard a rumor that a jewish murderer had boasted he was freed for Jesus in a bar. Mary then realized what had happened. But it was too late. When she saw Jesus crucified for another man's crimes, she knew it was a sign. https://www.deviantart.com/dinahmite64/art/The-Eternal-Salvation-Through-His-Passion-598224678 She thought a caring, honest, loving man could be the face of a movement of women. But as she watched his bleeding body, she knew, that asked too much of him. Her father's kindness saved her from stoning the first time. Jesus's love saved her from death the second time. She must have cried all night. The next morning, Jesus's mother woke her. She wanted to know where her son was buried. The two Mary's went to the tomb and Mary Magdalene held her stomach and touched the stone covering the tomb. Suddenly, she had a feeling. And when she turned, she saw her husband. It was like the first time she met him. His mother cried and Mary Magdalene hand embraced his, and she had an epiphany. https://www.deviantart.com/eldidechabo/art/Jesus-Mary-Magdalene-MSPaint-135772731 The two Mary's went back to Nazareth and spread the final gospel, that Jesus was resurrected. The twelve spies weeks later, checked to see if the tomb was empty... and it was. They went to Nazareth to confront either Mary or Joseph but none were there. They had left. The twelve searched and searched and eventually found the male member Judas. He tried to find a woman like Mary to start a new group, with him in the role of Jesus, but was unsuccessful. The twelve tortured Judas but he either did not know or was strong enough to not say the location to any member of Mary Magdalene's sect. The twelve eventually became the originators of Christianity, using remnants of what they experienced, pieces of a true movement to create another, all the while in awe to what they knew. ... while Mary seeing the child between her and Jesus running to her end her remembering https://www.deviantart.com/tlacuilopilo/art/Mary-Magdalene-portrait-Maria-Magdalena-333225591 And, she smiles, in a new town, far from palestine, or the twelve spies, in the outskirts of the roman empire. ... today, few know the truth of Mary Magdalene, the movement she started, or its times. But, the children of her enemies cannot even deny, she was gifted, she had spirit. And, for now, that is enough, for tomorrow will be brighter, and it will shatter all lies with truth. ... ... Hope you enjoyed reading If you like more of my stories check out the gospel of joseph https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/gospel-of-joseph or other stories in my Short story collection series https://www.kobo.com/us/en/search?query=Richard Murray Short Story Collection&fcsearchfield=Series&seriesId=014c67c4-d29d-584e-ada0-62c0fa015714 Or poetry in my poetry or more series https://www.kobo.com/us/en/search?query=Poetry or More&fcsearchfield=Series&seriesId=06baba96-5af5-5d24-9b8a-f06360287dc9 And I am on Bookbub https://www.bookbub.com/authors/richard-murray-16885e64-6c28-459e-bf5f-45c7d458ce49 My blog https://aalbc.com/tc/blogs/blog/29-richard-murray-hearth/
  25. Juneteenth is July 19th , a day celebrated as the day when all black people in the usa knew that the slave system had been destroyed, not legally abolished, which is the 13th amendment. State text or graphics depicting Juneteenth to you. https://aalbc.com/tc/blogs/entry/261-juneteenth-art-or-text-craft-parade-good-news-blog/?do=findComment&comment=908 Juneteenth books listed on AALBC thanks @Troy [ https://aalbc.com/books/category.php?name=Juneteenth ] Juneteenth Poetry [ https://aalbc.com/tc/events/event/359-the-freemans-complaint-a-late-response-to-the-slaves-complaint-06192025/ ] STORY A twenty something female is playing GloboVans, trying to reach the upper percentile users in life viewers. Her grandparents see her and chant in unison: “Put that game down Karema, we want to spend time with you”. “I can’t you two, I am still on the clock”: Karema reply, linking the television in her room to the computer screen, displaying her Juneteenth town built for her life viewers to watch her avatar, where various firms can advertise or sell products inside. “come on Nicodemus”: say Karema’s grandmother. The two elders smile and go toward the door. “Wait”: say Karema, can you two come back with some family photos about Juneteenth. “Ok K”: reply the grandmother. … “Ok everyone in the Kverse, we have two new members of the village, Nico and Eucy, here to explain these photos” Nicodemus and Euclaire sit with two cameras in front of them, a screen behind the camera offering their visualization. Karema speak offline: “ok guys, just tell the stories, to the members, like we talked about” Karema’s grandparents nod their heads and begin. Euclaire start off. “The following photo was taken in 1900..”. The number of residents grew by one thousand. Euclaire continue: “The woman with white hair was named Sister May, she led the local church of freeville texas, near the border of Louisiana. The woman on her right was Jude, she was married to Robert Six Pistols, the legendary gun fighter who defeated the Bones of Davis gang that terrorized black towns from Wyoming to Missouri, The man behind sister May was…” “Jacob Farmer, the last original cowboy” “yes, thank you my love, and next to him with the cane was Ol’ barrel Williams, he was involved with Sherman’s march, and the one farthest left was Youn’ Boulder Williams, they say he made reconnaissance trips in the confederacy, but he never told anyone, it all came as hearsay from friends around drink, the last was my great grandfather, Toby Tim, the master of the Coon can, my grandfather would only play Conquian because of him. He always sang, whenever family time was… many tried to be the best, from northern Virginia to southern Texas, many came on road or followed the blues, to seek out Toby Tim and the crown he used. Not made of gold or very old, but pure white with a black soul, many a man or wo-man thought the crown will be theirs but didn’t comprehend the first lesson, the coon plays the can, but the king knows conquian, all hail” Euclaire and Nicodemus say in unison:“ Toby Tim!”: and they laugh. The number of residents grew by two thousand, shares by ten thousand. Euclaire continue: “Some of you may wonder where is Toby Tim’s hat these days, well, I can tell you, but you have to play a hand of conquian with me to make me”: and Euclaire stop. Nicodemus begin: “the following photo was taken in 1905, actually near where I lived as a baby in 2020”. The number of residents grew by eight hundred. Nicodemus continue: “if you look at the trolley you will some men in white there, in the mix they faced a lady was present, that lady was my great grandmother. Her name was Ludmilla L'Aventure. She owned the store in the center, of the dark colored building. She actually met Frederick Douglass in 1887, we still have the ledger to prove it, and he wanted a special dress made with a mocha boned shoulder strap bodice over the hips, and a red white and blue threadcount tartan dress with thirty eight ruffles around the dress with red white and blue threadcount tartan pattern but larger values hemlined just over the floor, if enough of you want I will share the photo with you later” . Two thousand shares are made. Nicodemus continue:“ My great grandmother, even met King T.T. , after he defeated a man by the name of Sally the rough, Lady L'aventure sewed a mulberry silk rim but you have to play with my wife for more” The number of residents grew by three thousand and Nicodemus end. Euclaire look to Karema and Karema make gestures and Euclaire begin:“ We will share the following photo with you all for a post Juneteenth quest” Euclaire continue: “We happen to know the two women in the carriage but we will like all of you to do research and find them for us. Whomever succeeds after placing their findings in the mail box will receive a thousand credits to use anywhere, in any village in GloboVans courtesy of Kverse’s mayor, QueenK! ” Euclaire end and Karema begin the next phase of her online activity. Nicodemus and Euclaire look to each other and smile. They wave to Karema as they exit her room. … After supper, everyone in the house hold, Euclaire, Nicodemus, Jonas their son, Lukwana Jonas’s wife, Karim Lukwana’s father, oleone Lukwana’s mother, Karema the daughter of Jonas plus Lukwana, her little brother Nat adopted at ten and now twelve, all cleaned the kitchen and enjoyed the parlor. Karema went next to her grandparents playing Cubecule and showed them a video. Euclaire erupted in laughter. “Can you still do the dance grandma?” “That little girl is long gone” Nicodemus lean over in a public whisper: “she still can” “Nicodemus Charles Lattimer shame! ” Nicodemus smile and lean back. “Please grandma” “No, no way… well, don’t give me that face… alright, if Nicodemus can defeat me in the game of Cubecule, I will do it” I hope you enjoyed the story …If you enjoyed this tale check out the others utilizing the links below Bookbub https://www.bookbub.com/profile/richard-murray-16885e64-6c28-459e-bf5f-45c7d458ce49 AALBC https://aalbc.com/tc/blogs/blog/29-richard-murray-hearth/ Poetry or More Audiobook https://www.kobo.com/us/en/search?query=Poetry%20or%20More&fcsearchfield=Series&seriesId=06baba96-5af5-5d24-9b8a-f06360287dc9 Visasiki Audiobook https://www.kobo.com/us/en/search?query=Visasiki%20Series&fcsearchfield=Series&seriesId=965aea81-4e13-53fe-8bc8-22fcb6d28a39 Short Story Collection https://www.kobo.com/us/en/search?query=Richard%20Murray%20Short%20Story%20Collection&fcsearchfield=Series&seriesId=014c67c4-d29d-584e-ada0-62c0fa015714
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