Poetry by Donte Jones

One Mile With You
By Donte’ Jones

A Mile with you On this road less travelled
Picture perfect
Dynamics of a righteous union
Trust it when you say so
And when you say so
Proper care is taken necessarily
Attention to details with none left out
Digging deeper than so far gone
Yes a soul kiss
She is the river Nile
Yes You are the Garden of Eden
The tree of life ever living
Everlasting
Past then present
Present then future
Of a presence now passed
Arrival is imminent
My heart
Claim your residence
Here Now FOREVER…

Forever, Now, Here
Righteously inspired to prosperity
Living and passing Love on to our posterity
For clarity I requested that you marry me
A diamond in the rough I Am
You are, my Divine Star
Learning to shine even when times are hard
By far, you overcame many significant scars
Leaning on the God
You Show and Prove that Supreme Wisdom
Understanding that through You
I have gained the world and then some…

And when some question our veracity
We refuse hate and choose love
Acknowledging their ignorance as a tragedy
Because tragically
They’ve been taught that True Love only happens magically
Though actually it really happens naturally
But don’t confuse it
Be attentive
We’ve put our work in together
To ensure we never lose it…

I Love Our Love
That’s My Word Of Life
It’s True
Just had to take a moment to Honor
One Glorious Mile With You…

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!!!

IN LOVE WITH YOU MY QUEEN!!!

Love With You
By Donte Jones

The Peak of Understanding
Only Standing Under
The Sun, Moon, & Stars
Paying Homage
To the Celestial Bodies
Here On Earth
Revealing the Missing Link
Living Waters Washing
Empowering You Think
Thoughts of Eternity
Eternally Living
Adding A Voice
To Our Vision
This Love Seen & Heard
And Though You’ve run out of Words…

Eye See Your Love Language
Between breaths
Sensing the Rhythm of Your Heart
As those Sweet Something’s
Create A thoughtful meal to ingest
Moving further with Love
Thoughts in Motion
With A License to Feel
Feeling All of You
I’m Healed…

Holy Waters in Your River
I Shiver
Striving To Stay Composed
Though I’m Unopposed
Yours body’s in the Know
Knowing I’m on Edge
Still I dig deep
And Honor My Pledge…

This is For You
All For You
I’m Here For You
In To You
Here For You
Loving You
This Love For You
In Love With You
This Loves For You…

“Love With You”

D.A.M.N.
By Donte Jones

Don’t Ask Me Nothing…

I know they thought I’d wither away,
Lost in the malaise of a gradual decay,
Behind the steel and concrete slabs,
Torn and forlorn waiting for life to pass,
Alas,
I create birds out of words and fly them over the gates, Borning sons into suns that shine all over the place, The spark is the spark that brought the light out the dark and if you’d pay more attention you’d be prepared to play your part…
So grasp the visual, I contend your frame of reference is residual, Highly spiritual, Beware lest your own doubts will limit You, Have you shaken like a trimmer do, Remember how the rain falls, Know I was Born to reign y’all, And as this pain leads to gain I will humbly receive it all…
Just to Be a blessing.
Just so I can be a living lesson.
Paying homage to our legends.
Education is my weapon
To dismantle all deceptions.
Be sure to attend the sessions
Opening your Eyes, Not your Mouth
That’s How You Check In…
Listen & Watch.

Don’t Ask Me Nothing!!!

 

HIGHER LEARNING
By Donte Jones

It took place in “The Mountains”
THREE THOUSAND SIX HUNDRED AND FIFTY DAYS Is an approximate counting,
SEVEN HUNDRED were spent in The Hole”
Cold was the weather in the cell year round, The same as the officers attitudes as they made their rounds,
First I was in Pound on “The Onion”
Yeah, A new kind of Dungeon
Operated by Rednecks and Melungeons Where Aim & Shoot was their Function,
Segregated by the Hate that Hate Produced,
Set thick lines drawn as the “Eight Sixty One” was wielded like a noose and there was no need for proof
So if you were looking for a Truce
You’d better keep your eyes open and your mouth shut, Standing firm on the principles That kept you from getting Touched
For some it was just all too much
Tortured souls left yearning for the Rapture, Repentence & Reminiscence wishing you had escaped Capture
And as they tried to lay you down, weigh you down, and even break you down,
The only path to victory was to wear your Crown, First it had to be found,
Uncovered from under all of the rubble,
It was a heavy lift but was certainly worth all of the Trouble,
It is in such extreme conditions that the resilient are steeled and reveal their life’s new mission, Never mind any dissension, The Wise focus on Ascension…
My next stop was “The Ridge” Big Stone Gap, In fact, ONE THOUSAND EIGHT HUNDRED TWENTY FIVE DAYS I remained in the Trap
Another layer of Oppression
Battling fits of Depression
Undiagnosed by the folks that made light of our hopes, Guys acquiring destructive ways to Cope, In between the racist tropes, lobbed from either side of the lines of Division, I learned to Master Self in order to prevail in this War of Attrition, That’s the Warrior Tradition,
The Atmosphere was the same, Difference was that I started making positive fuel from my pain And the more fuel I retained the less negativity could occupy the brain, That means no refuge for the Devil on my best part, Doing the Knowledge with Strategic Silence amongst the Godly, As I began to Show & Prove, I packed up, The bus backed up, and I was on the move…
Round and round we went to the Peak,
The Mountain named Keen was where I landed, Stranded, ONE THOUSAND NINETY FIVE DAYS I stayed, Digested Moor history, Always traveled amongst the Righteous Destroying any notions of A Mystery, Steadily building above Six, Razor sharp but mindful of the damage A rogue tongue can Inflict, Mastered the Art of Peace and Earned my release from “The Hell” called “The Mountains”, The class High in Elevation, “Refresher course work” to harness negativity and transform it into more positive motivation…
The Lesson Is,
No matter where the Session is,
You have the Ability To Make A Mountain Into A Molehill
Once You Understand What Your Most Potent Weapon Is…And How To Use It…YES, I KNOW IT’S NOT EASY NOT TO LOSE IT… IT TAKES …

“HIGHER LEARNING”

 

The Green Mile
By Donte Jones

We’re trapped on the Green Mile but we’re not awaiting our date for the Chair…

No, here we’re stuck in position until Covid hinders our ability to Breathe Air…

We all here share an unspoken despair wondering if there will be room for We the condemned in your prayers…In your deeds…Who really cares for We…

Though green is the color of Life, On The Mile it simply means something ain’t right and that means You better train your sight and reach out for the light…

The Light being Education so You can clearly articulate your situation and change the calculations…

The realization is that Green is for the money, yeah JPAY Keefee Globaltel and them, Capitalizing off our misfortune and draining our family and friends…

On pins and needles waiting on rapid tests, results come as the “body snatchers” show up covered from Head to Nike checks…

Packing property, one way trip to the red zone probably, disoriented, walking down the boulevard awkwardly…

And they wonder why I’m in my feelings, Why this 1,760 yards seems endless, Why this 5,280 ft. is tremendous…

You see, The end is Your beginning, So for those of You on your way back to Living don’t take for granted the opportunity you’ve been given…

Yeah I Smile for those who’ve made it off The Mile, Knowing You’ve been waiting for a while and We cheer, Yeah We cheer and look forward to Your Smile as We await Our departure from The Mile…

 

Summer-Time
By Donte Jones

Temps are High
Tension’s Higher
Concrete Jungle
Steel bundled
Twisted and Turnt
Lessons Learnt
At that Point
Point Made

Betrayed
Attitude Adjustment
Straighten That
Fresh Tat
Ink That
Basis
Many lives Wasted
Wasting Away
A slow decay
Trapped in the doldrums

The Wise
True lonesome Doves
Dedicated to Peace
Choose Love over Hate
While some remain stuck
And embrace turmoil
As their State
With a flag of their Own
Skull and Crossed Bones
Hell is their Home

The Tortured Soul
Repulsed by A Smile
Gotta keep your Distance
Or answer the call of the Wild

I smile in Reflection
Detection
Of years in Motion
I made It
Despite Missteps
Standing on my own Two
Feet in Pain
As I strain
In vain to Maintain…

Let me Explain

To those in pursuit of Freedom
The signs are pretty Clear
If you would take the time
To read them

A change comes regardless
But for the smartest
That change pervades the darkness
Light emanates
From where the heart is
The start Is
Where you finish regardless…

The Heat
Control the energy
With which you speak
It can motivate the meek
Even empower the weak
Choose advance over retreat
When it’s done
It’s complete
Don’t sweat
The heat
Accept it as A treat
Bitter & Sweet…

CHAUVIN…and BEYOND
By Donte Jones

THE EXPRESSION ON YOUR FACE REVEALED A TRACE OF THE VERY SENTIMENTS FROM ANOTHER TIME AND PLACE
A PLACE WHERE HATE FOR ANOTHER RACE NEED NOT BE HIDDEN FROM A FACE
IT FOUND A COVER BEHIND THE BADGE, ITS SAD, JUST HOW OFTEN THE GOOD IS FORSAKEN BY THE BAD, THE EVIL CAPTURED IN A MOMENT OF SILENT RAGE, HIS BEING REMAINED COMPOSED EVEN AS A MAN LAY DYING LOST TO DEATHS IMPOSSIBLE THROES, COSTUME ON, STUCK, IN CHARACTER A HISTORICAL PLAY IN REAL LIFE CONSTANTLY REPLAYED HERE IN AMERICA, ALL OF THE PROTESTS, INDICATIVE OF THE PUBLIC OUTRAGE INVESTED IN A TOMORROW WHERE THERE IS A BACKWARD MOMENTUM TO SORROW, MEANING THE TREND HAS BEEN MADE TO HALT AND THAT WOULD REVEAL A HUMANITY THAT HAS YET TO BE CAUGHT, REALIZING THAT CENTURIES OF SILENCE HAS AN EQUIVALENCE WITH FAULT
SO THE POWERS THAT BE DIRECTED THE WRITERS OF THE HISTORIES TO USE THEIR INK TO FURTHER MYSTIFY THE MISSING LINK
THINK
THE HATE YOU GAVE IS GOING TO FOLLOW YOU TO THE GRAVE
EVEN IF THEY DIDN’T LABEL IT DEPRAVED
IN THE MINDS OF MILLIONS OF YOUNG PEOPLE THAT IMAGE IS ENGRAVED…

SO HOW CAN THEY BE SAVED…
AND I’M SPEAKING OF THE YOUNG
IT’S ONLY THROUGH THE LOVE
THAT WE OFTEN RESERVE
FOR LOVED ONES
THAT KIND OF LOVE
CAN BE ELUSIVE
AND THE TRUTH IS
TO MAKE IT WORK
WE MUST BE RUTHLESS
IN A GOOD WAY
GROUNDED IN THE ROOT
WE’RE ALL BREATHING
THE SAME BREATH
IN THE END
LET IT BE SAID THAT
HATE LEFT
YES!!!
LET IT BE SAID
THAT HATE LEFT…

MANY ARE ONLY LIMITED
BY A LIMITED VISION
MISDIRECTED
THEN REDIRECTED
YOU SEE
HATE IS ONLY EFFECTIVE
IF ITS ACCEPTED
THATS WHY WE MUST
REJECT IT…

REJECT IT AT ALL COST
OR ALL WILL BE LOST…

THAT’S WHAT HISTORY HAS REVEALED FOR THOSE WHO DARE TO SEE,
SO DON’T IGNORE THE MESSAGE
BECAUSE YOU’D RATHER IGNORE ME!!

FOR SURELY, I CEE/SEE.

The Cycle of Life
By Donte Jones

The ebb and the flow
We’re here then we go
Like a meandering river….

The rhyme and reason is evident within the seasons Seasoning and Ripening Yes Shortening and Heightening Remember the Joy as that Life begins not that Pain and Heartache at the end
Indeed whether of Family or Friend ….

She was just here
We just spoke
Couldn’t have imagined
She’d be gone when I woke
Couldn’t even say goodbye
At the thought of it I’d cry
So I just say I Love You
Then let out a little sigh….

He was right here
I looked him in the eyes
Had I known he’d be gone
I would have said I Love You
A few more times….

In the midst of so much loss
Be thankful for each Day
Knowing that at some point
It will be your day…

There’s nowhere to hide
Embrace the importance of Life
And you’ll be remembered
When you’ve died
Strive
Thrive
Cherish Your Vehicle
The Temple in which
You reside
Being dignified
Is the formula
Of the Wise…

Every moment is a gift to be had Why waste it being mad So behold lifes tragedies as they unfold in the midst of lifes Majesty and Gradually you’ll realize your connection to life’s Mastery and actually gain an Understanding of life’s Gravity…

The Cycle of Life is Ongoing…

Flowing…

MasterPeace
By Donte Jones

The Beautiful Minded
Designed It
Conscientiously I sought to find It
Repulsed with being Blinded
Ignorance Binded
Bound
Life force grounded Down
Surrounded what’s Around
My Mental with the unerring Credential
Peace to the Righteously Influential
This light is meant To
Allow You to be the Vehicle
It is sent through…

The absence of Confusion
Through inclusion
We eliminate the Illusion
Of an excuse for more Intrusion
Or Destruction
To instigate Discussion
A mental Percussion
Never fearing the Repercussion
Combustion
An Expansion
Like A Big Bang…

Theory had Us
As they masked Us
Didn’t know enough to ask Us
Couldn’t speak the Language
So there Aim
Was identified by Pain
And as we Strained
They Gained
As we were Drained
They Gained…

Need I Explain???

This is a Composite
Education is the Object
To Educe
And shake Loose
Your Majesty
Supported by Proof
It’s all in Your Roots
Truth…

So I Master Peace
To Release
The Rage
Buried Underneath
The Surface
Of so Many
Made to feel Worthless
Revealing to You
That You’re Actually
The Gold that can’t be Purchased…

So we’re the Masterpiece
Our Ancestors prayed For
As they struggled for Relief
An outlet for their Grief
It’s not a question of Belief!!!
Master Peace!!!

 

Patience
By Donte Jones

Methodically
Eye embark upon this Odyssey
In my Haste
I couldn’t Wait
Now the State is robbing Me
Feel that pain Bodily
Had to refrain to Maintain
A few breaths from Insane
Doomed to learn the hard Way
Concrete and Steel
Is the hard pill to digest for a Meal
Couldn’t clean my Slate
Because I couldn’t clean the Plate
More Water
Eye needed Wisdom
To reach a True Understanding
Because when you’re Stupid
That’s how good your plan Is
Ignorance is quite Demanding
And as You Wander
Its no Wonder
All the energy Exerted
As you fight going Under
Acknowledge the Thunder
That’s the Past meeting The Present
The next moments the Future
If You make It
Remember your lessons
Because if you’re Alive
Living Suits You…

No Rush
The clock is ticking Regardless
A Simple Life
The revelation of the Smartest
A steady brushstroke of the Artist
Hit hardest where the Heart Is
And what’s odd Is
They’d rather You look away from where God Is???
Thats Why the vision in the Mirror
Has become much Clearer
And so many choose to fear Ya…

Patience
As You encounter Those
Intolerant faces With
Minds defined by a Miseducation
Crafted by inhumane aspirations which
have intensified our Exasperation
Patience has to be our Station
So stay tuned In….

Patience
Not for the Acceptance
Of a lesser State
No, For the Reality
That our Greatness Creates
Providing proof that Defies
The lies present in there Dates
And even that’s not a cause for Hate
Its the Fear that we must Eradicate
But Wait…

Patience
YES
The virtue that it Is
Allows You to replace Stress
With God Bless
And No
With Let’s Go
Watch us Grow
Together
We can weather the Weather
Whether rain, hail, or Snow
The Sun will soon Show
How We Glow
Take the Time
Learn and you’ll Know…
Understand…
PATIENCE!!!

Buried Alive
By Donte Jones

Buried Alive
And Yet, I Strive
Because Buried, I Live, I’ve Learned, I Rise, I Thrive
You See, The Hole was dug for a body all mangled and devoid of Life
And what entered was a Seed
And from that came New Life
Eye dug deeper still, in to the realm where A shovel was of no Use
The level where You could See what’s Rare if your thinking wasn’t so Obtuse
A Reclusive History is Ours
Due to a Abusive History of theirs
B.U.T the True History is Shared
Meaning as A whole
We Grow
First though, We must Know
Further back we must Go
Deeper we must Sow to Reap the Wisdom we must Show
To Understand that with no US there can be NO trUSt
Buried Alive!!!
So we keep digging
Mastering the Games
That they keep Rigging
Can’t it be Forgiven???
Has it been Forgotten???
Picking Cotton
Cotton Picken, stained with the blood of those who never knew Freedom
Lost Souls with stories never Told of horrors that couldn’t even Be believed Then…
So who do You believe in ???
Eye was born again with no Crosses
As the Cross is
An indication of our Memory Losses
The plus sign Used to redefine our Kind
To extract/subtract Us from the Original Mind, Us the True Gold from the indivisible Mine, Made invisible to the blind-ed
That’s why They hate it When we Find It
So Find Out
Why we’ve been made to Find Doubt
Instead of Wealth
The Wealth that’s Buried deep within Self
The Root of Our Love, Peace, and Health
Buried Alive
Living
In that Rich Black Soil
Is that not the Beginning
In and between the Celestial Bodies
live the components of our bodies both the Great and the Minute
Let the Greatness of You be seen in the Great things You do ….
That’s the reason We Thrive
You must Decide
What it means To Be
Or To Have Been
BURIED ALIVE!!!

The Hidden Door
By Donte Jones

Existing within the Interior
Unreachable by Those
Whose mentality is Inclined
Towards the Inferior
The Science is too High
For those afraid of Heights
Unattainable for Those
Whose embrace is in Blight
Though to Receive
One needs only to Conceive
Of the humility that it takes to Achieve
The Vision that is clear to they That Perceive
There is a familiarity that is Peaked
By the Highness of the Knowledge We Seek
Once learned we need only to Speak
Its interesting to See
What knowledge we Keep
Or what’s lost to the land of Sleep
Open the Window
And breathe In
Its Simple

Exhale and Reveal
The reason this Great Book
Called Life can’t be Sealed
Some Know it as the Wheel
Though the Cipher simply Put
Goes On & On
Like Badu said in her Build
You see its Not About
How You Feel
Its about 360 degrees of Understanding
That means nothing Left
Outstanding
Seek Ye First Then
You’ll recognize You’re First
Never Mind
Any supposed Curse
That was never really a Curse
Only a Verse
To which I am Averse

Such an adverse Conception
Epitomizes a Silent Weapon
In A War of Impression

So as we rumble Oppression
And various forms of Deception
Focus your Minds Eye
In the Proper Direction
And Enter
The Hidden Door

 

SAY HER NAME
By Donte Jones

 

It’s not that you forgot it.
No, you’d rather perpetuate the idea that she’ll be just fine without it.
Nameless, Faceless, now they are realising that all your notions are baseless.
Creations of your own inferiority Complex.
So complex that it has been passed on to the very people
Who at the very least
Are your equal
Even we have
Stigmatised and minimized
The very women
Who nurtured our lives
Even Before
We arrived
Just thinking it
Brings a tear to my eye
We say her name
 When in need
Of a moist place
To plant a seed
And yet we still
Hurt her with our greed
Taking a piece of life
Each time we leave
Black men, it’s us
That’s done the worst
Because it’s us
That knew her first
Say  her name
And mean it
Ensure your daughters
Can see it
Teach your sons
To Protect Her
By teaching them
To respect her
Say her name
Like she’s
Part of you
Like her pain
Is Pain for you
Like her gain
Is gain for you
Her story holds the record
Of history come and gone
So we mustn’t let it be
Forgotten of Civilizations
Being cradled in her arms
Say her name
Say her title
Cherish the picture
In the frame
To love the mothers, sisters and daughters,
Queens, wives and companions
You start by
Saying their Names
Say her name!!!


WHY, “I CAN’T BREATHE….”

By Donte Jones

 

In the grips of a pandemic

STILL having to

Battle the realities of a epidemic

Borne from biases known to be endemic

While the blind simply whine over their spend limit, or their gym visits, even how many likes they can win with it……..Forget it!!!

 

We Can’t breathe, because you’re K.N.E.E is on our neck…….

Translation: Keep Normalizing Each Execution!!!

 

Have they considered how these murders have impacted

the Psyche’s of the young “people of color” in America???

Now think of how it has impacted

the psyche of the young people of European/Caucasian descent???

Therein lies the remnants of the root cause of the implicit biases that have led to the continued devaluation of the Black, (Brown, Red, Yellow) Man, Woman, and child lives.

Those who collectively are the majority in the world population.

This unfortunately is not a new occurance, so I think its safe to say that generations of youth have grown with the notion imbedded in their mental that what happened to George Floyd is acceptable treatment for people that look like him, and for the thousands of victims that could be named I vociferously assert that there are thousands of others whose names have been lost to history. Or should I say left out of his-story, that’s probably more accurate. 

Be Clear, this is not a Rant!!

I seek only to challenge you to ponder, and then recognize why its so easy for so many young black youth to have such a hard time accepting themselves as being valuable as human beings and loving themselves while also realizing a connection with every other living thing. 

 

No excuses!!!! 

We’re simply seeking 

To track down Where

The Truth IS!!

Yes,

It was hidden in plain Sight

Now You can’t look away

Without feeling A Way!!!

You feel Helpless

Because There IS

LESS HELP

When “HELP!!!”

Is what You 

Have to Say……

 

Seems like Predator and Prey

And while you’re Praying

He’s Preying

Yes Prey-I.N.G

Incrementally Normalizing Genocide!!!

 

You see, If We were to tally the Numbers

What we would Find

Is not the result of a Blunder

More like an intentional Act

Contrived to take us Under

No Wonder….

 

That same cop that 

Murders a innocent Man

On tape and gets off scot-free

Can take a innocent man

Into custody for a Murder

He DID NOT commit

And if he’s lucky 

It might be thirty years

Before he is Freed…. Am I Lying???

 

So What’s 

Innocent Until Proven Guilty???

When your innocence is inconsequential to those enforcing the law.

The State has committed another Public Execution of a unarmed Black Man!!

What’s The Solution???

When as you Weep

They got the broom Out

Eager to Sweep

All of It

Under the Rug

While you Sleep

The rug is always Up

So there’s No Need

To Lift It

That’s why 

There’s so many

Dreams Deferred

For the

Young Black and Gifted…

 

I Dare You To Open Your Eyes!

Be Wise!!

Understanding is the Prize!!!

Then What Happened???