Hmmmm
If man comes from woman
Does it not stand to reason
That woman - not man - was created first?
8/28/2009
poem by Claude H Oliver II
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Today Is Yesterday's Future
Today is yesterday’s future
Future always becomes present
If I live in the past, I live not
For that which was no longer is
I cannot live in the future
For it is not yet
I live in the present -
In the eternal now.
9/13/2009
Dedicated to ASK
poem by Claude H Oliver II
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Mistrust
The mistrust spread over the world
Where does it first unfurl
From what cocoon does it uncurl
Do fathers mistrust mothers
Do mothers mistrust fathers
Do fathers mistrust sons
Do mothers mistrust daughters
Do we trust our own selves
If trust is not found at home
If mistrust is the legacy of home
Then what hope have we
That trust will be
Born into this place
Love of self and self alone
Brings to us this bone of mistrust
And enfleshes to its birth.
7/5/2009
poem by Claude H Oliver II
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Barbados Memories
Flying fish and cou cou
Lovely dish for me and you
Bakes and codfish cakes
Rice and peas and ginger beer
Sorrell, mauby, and coconut bread
Don’t forget fried plantains and mangoes too
If you’ve had too much to eat
And your stomach’s feeling weak
Then drink bush tea
To ease the queasy
These wonderful and simple delights
Gave strength to cut cane all day
And regain strength at night
This food was present in joy or sorrow
It gave the promise of tomorrow
Gave life to those who came before us.
May 18,2010
poem by Claude H Oliver II
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My Love Is Not Perfect
My love is not perfect.
It does not flawlessly sail the seven seas
It clears no mount in single bound
No epic stuff this
My love is not perfect.
Threats may not be seen
Predators may be invited unwittingly
My love is not perfect.
It is often blind to dangerous flaws
It can be the staircase of a catastrophic fall
My love is not perfect.
It can hurt unknowingly
And injure me fatally
Yet this imperfect love
Brings forth my best 'me'
Without this love
I could not be.
This imperfect love is strength
For imperfect me.
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poem by Claude H Oliver II
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Thanksgiving (USA)
When we say Thanksgiving
We say we are giving thanks
But whom do we thank for giving
Do we thank the turkey who gave his life
Do we thank the plants that freely give us bounty
Do we thank those people who taught us how to live
Do we thank those people who showed us how to give
Do we thank God for our insatiable greed
For our murderous ways to meet imagined need
For the stolen land on which we stand
As I ponder these things that have come and gone
I am thankful that I can see the sun
I give thanks this day has come
I will enjoy it and work for a better one.
11/2/2007
poem by Claude H Oliver II
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Religion And Magic
Who are these fellows?
Religion - Magic
Are they siblings who seem remarkably similar?
Are they identical twins - fantastically alike in all things?
Are they but two sides of the same coin - the coin of illusion?
Which came first - religion or magic?
The answer remains shrouded in the dim mists
Of our early steps on the stage of our existence
Magic - creator of illusion masked as reality
Religion - creator of illusion from reality
Both create illusion - purvey the same mask
Magic and religion present illusion as truth
This is my view
Another may be for you
Yet know this - If you believe illusion be truth or truth illusion
The result is the same.
Claude H Oliver II
4/28/2012
poem by Claude H Oliver II
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The Spirit Of Crazy Horse
This world is of me
And I am of it
It makes me who I am
What I must be
The birds fly freely
They are my family
Teaching freedom
The bear and buffalo - my family
Teaching strength, endurance
The beaver and tortoise - my family
Teaching perseverance, patience
The wolf - my family
Teaching loyalty, friendship
The fox - my family
Teaching wisdom, insight
The air - my breath
The river - my blood
The grass - my bed
The starry night - my blanket
To remove any piece of this
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poem by Claude H Oliver II
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