Lyrical Thursdays: No Loser No Weeper

Today's poem, on the last day of the Month of Love, talks a little about not wanting to lose love once it's been found.  The poem is called No Loser No Weeper, by well-loved poet Maya Angelou. Angelou grew up during times of hardship for many, when money was scarce and the Great Depression was flooding across America.  The loss of even a dime, as Angelou says, was cause for despair, and loss of property, even small things, was equally upsetting and unsettling.

The poem is best when heard in Angelou's own voice.  Years ago I found a recording of it online, but I can't seem to track it down again, except on a track listing for her CD, Black Pearls: The Poetry of Maya Angelou.  (You can hear a sample of it there.)  I love the way she pauses and laughs at parts, especially in the last stanza.  She really builds in the last two lines - no woman would dare cross Maya Angelou when it comes to her "lover boy!"  The last line as read by her reads something like,
"And I mean.........I really....hate....to lose something." If you can find a copy of it somewhere, let me know!  Meanwhile, enjoy, and happy Thursday!


No Loser No Weeper

"I hate to lose something,"
then she bent her head
"even a dime, I wish I was dead.
I can't explain it.  No more to be said.
'Cept I hate to lose something."

"I lost a doll once and cried for a week.
She could open her eyes, and do all but speak.
I believe she was took, by some doll-snatching-sneak.
I tell you, I hate to lose something."

"A watch of mine once, got up and walked away.
It had twelve numbers on it and for the time of day.
I'll never forget it and all I can say
Is I really hate to lose something."

Now if I felt that way 'bout a watch and a toy,
What you think I feel 'bout my lover-boy?
I ain't threatening you madam, but he is my evening's joy.
And I mean I really hate to lose something."

Lyrical Thursdays: i carry your heart

(Sorry this is a day late...I forgot to post it yesterday!)

Ah, Valentine's Day.  A day of love!  At least most people hope it will be filled with love.  And for most, it is!  As a single person in her early thirties, people often assume that I will be among those who hate V-Day, with all of its couples deals, sappy movies, and lovey-dovey couples.  Well, admittedly I don't love seeing all of those things and dealing with people who write mushy-gushy things on Facebook about their significant other.  It's a little nauseating.  

But when it comes down to it, Valentine's Day isn't just about being in a happy relationship.  It's about love!  And I love love!  (And, as mentioned before, the colors pink and red together.  I have a secret desire to have a pink room with red accents someday.  Maybe a crafting room...) I have seen people (single and married/in a relationship) post things on Facebook and other places about how V-Day is a Hallmark holiday or it forces people to buy stuff for their significant others, etc.  But I feel like it shouldn't be such a terrible thing to do a little extra something for those you love once a year!  I don't agree with spending exorbitant amounts of money, but a handmade card or homemade meal or a little box of chocolates is a nice little reminder of how you feel.  It's about love, people!  Or it should be, at least.

I wanted to share with you today, in honor of this day celebrating love, one of my very favorite poems.  It's by ee cummings, he of the lower-case proper nouns and funky punctuation.  i think it's a terribly sweet poem,and i love its sentiment.(see what i did there?) I hope that you love it, too!

Happy Valentine's Day!

i carry your heart with me(i carry it in

my heart)i am never without it(anywhere

i go you go,my dear;and whatever is done

by only me is your doing,my darling)

                                                      i fear

no fate(for you are my fate,my sweet)i want

no world(for beautiful you are my world,my true)

and it’s you are whatever a moon has always meant

and whatever a sun will always sing is you

here is the deepest secret nobody knows

(here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud

and the sky of the sky of a tree called life;which grows

higher than soul can hope or mind can hide)

and this is the wonder that's keeping the stars apart

i carry your heart(i carry it in my heart)

Lyrical Thursdays: I Will Wait For You

It's February!  The month most people associate with, among other things, love.  Now I'll admit that, as a single girl, I have at times struggled with Valentine's Day.  No "Valentine" to call my own, no romantic date, no rendez-vous at the top of the Empire State Building.  But when it comes down to it, I believe that Valentine's Day isn't just about being with someOne, it's about love.  And who doesn't love love??  (I also happen to love the colors red & pink together.)  

So this month I plan on posting several poems about love and relationships.  Each will have a slightly different feel to it, and each one is among my very favorite poems (plus possibly one goofy one...).  Single or not, these poems always move me to tears, laughter, or contentment.

The poem I'm sharing today is one many of you may never have heard.  My friend Adam shared it with my sister and a friend of ours last year, and they shared it with me.  It's by a young woman called Janette...ikz (think "genetics"), who is an official poet for P4CM (Passion 4 Christ Movement).  She performed this poem, I Will Wait For You, last year, and my sister shared it with me - it's just amazing.  She says the things I've often thought or felt about waiting for Mr. Right.  I've had a number of people ask or insinuate that the reason I'm still single is that I'm too picky.  Well, that may be true.  But if it's because I am looking for someone like the amazing man Janette...ikz describes, I'm ok with that. Because I'm willing to wait.

Here is a video of her performing this poem, as well as the lyrics below (it's a little long).  Her performance is really amazing.

So it seemed,
that it was cool,
for everyone to be in a relationship but me.

So I took matters into my own hands
and… ended up with him.
him, who displayed the characteristics of a
cheater, a liar, an abuser, and a thief.

So why was I surprised when he broke into my heart?
I called 911, but I was cardiac-arrested for
aiding and abetting,
’cause it was me who let him in,
claiming we were “just friends.”

It was already decided for me by the first date that
even if he wasn’t,
I was gonna make him “the One.”

You know… I was tired of being alone,
and I simply made up in my mind,
that it was about that time
so I decided to drag him along for the ride,
’cause I was always the bridesmaid and never the bride.

A
virgin in the physical,
but mentally just a grown woman on the corner in heat,
who was tired of the wait,
so I was gonna make him “the One.”

he had a… form of Godliness,
but not much.

But, but, hey, hey, I can change him,
so I’ll take him, I mean he’s close…
enough.

Ready to sell my aorta for a quarter,
not knowing the value of it’s used to be.
Arteries so clogged with my will,
it blocked His will from flowing through me.
So, I thank Christ that His blood pressure gave this heart an attack,
that flatlined my obscured vision, put me flat on my back.

Through my ignorance, He saw,
so through my sternum He sawed & cracked open my chest
to transplant Psalms 51:10,
a new heart
& a renewed right spirit within.
So now, I fully understand,
better yet, I thoroughly comprehend,
how much I need to wait
for You.

See,
the bad thing is
that I knew he wasn’t you from the beginning.
’cause in the beginning was the Word
and he didn’t even sound or shine like Your Son

Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks,
and all he could whisper was
sweet,
empty
nothings–
which meant nothing!

he couldn’t even have prayed when I needed him to,
asking him to fast would be absurd,
so, forget about being cleansed & washed with water through the Word.

But I know you,
you are already praying for me.
Even never having met me,
let me assure you,
I will wait
for you.

I will no longer date,
socialize or communicate with carbon copies of you
to appease my boredom
or to quench my thirsty desire I have for attention and short-lived compliments from ‘sorta kindas.’

You know, he ‘sorta kinda’ right, but ‘sorta kinda’ wrong?
His first name: Luke,
his last name: Warm.

Aye,
I won’t settle for false companionship.
I won’t lay in the embrace of his arms,
attempting to find some closeness,
but never feeling so far, far apart
’cause, I just wanna be held.
♫ ‘Cause all I gotta do is say♫
“No!”

No more ‘almost sessions’ of
‘almost coming close’
passing winks & buying drinks,
and ♫I’ma,
I’ma,
I’ma flirt!♫
Who flirts with the ideology of,
“Can you just tell me how much I can get away with & still be saved?”

No more.

I’ll stay in my bed,
alone,
and write poems,
about how I will wait for You.

he won’t even come close,
our fingers won’t even interlock,
we won’t even exchange breath,
’cause I have thoughts that I’ve ‘saved as’ in a file that God has only equipped you to open.

I will no longer get weighted down,
from so-called friends & family talks,
about the concern for my biological clock
when I serve the Author of Time.
Who is not subject to time,
but I’m subject to Him.
He has the ability to stop, fast-forward, pause, or rewind at any given time.
So,
if we could role play,
you would be Abraham & I would be Sara,
or you can be Isaac & I can be Rebecca–a servant’s answered prayer.
I am
bone of your bone,
flesh of your flesh,
made up of your rib, Adam.

And once we meet,
like electrons, I will be bound to your nucleus,
completely indivisible
atom.

We even speak the same math:
1 + 1 + 1 = 3,
which really equals 1 if you add Him.

We were all created in His image,
but you have the ability to reflect, project & even detect
the Son.
If I were to explain what you look like,
you would have to look like a star–
a sun of the Son.
I would gain energy simply from the light that you shine on me.
I would need you in order to complete my photosynthesis.
I await your revelation, but once again from the genesis,
I will wait for you.

And I will know you
because when you speak,
I will be reminded of Solomon’s wisdom,
your ability to lead will remind me of Moses,
your faith will remind me of Abraham,
your confidence in God’s Word will remind me of Daniel,
your inspiration will remind me of Paul,
your heart for God will remind me of David,
your attention to detail will remind me of Noah,
your integrity will remind me of Joseph,
and your ability to abandon your own will, will remind me of the disciples,
but your ability to love selflessly & unconditionally will remind me of Christ.
But I won’t need to identify you by any special Matthews
or any special marks,
’cause His Word will be tatted all over your heart.

And you will know me,
and you will find me,
where
the boldness of Esther
meets the warm closeness of Ruth,
where the hospitality of Lydia
is aligned with the submission of Mary,
which is engulfed in the tears of a praying Hanna.
I will be the one,
drenched in Proverbs 31,
waiting for you.

But to my Father,
my Father who has known me before I was birthed into this earth,
only if You should see fit.

I desire Your will above mine.
So even if you call me to a life of singleness,
my heart is content with You–the One who was sent.
You are the greatest love story ever told,
the greatest love ever known.
You are forever my judge & I’m forever Your witness,
and I pray that I’m always found on a mission about my Father’s business.

I will always be Yours,
and I will always wait for You, Lord.
More than the watchmen wait for the morning,
more than the watchmen wait for the morning,
I will wait.