Poetry by Santonio Murff

My Son
By Santonio D Murff Bey

The purpose of life
is salvation of the soul
Be ye not distracted then
by flesh nor gold
There are many incarcerations
beyond the bars
Booze, drugs, love
jewelry, clothes, cars

In ignorance and miseducation
I tasted all six sins
From a concrete box now
the wheel of fortune spins
I cackle at my captors
they wonder why I smile
I’ve rode the rapture
survived government guile

Having braved the flames
illuminated the dark
Turned my eyes from skies
dug deep in heart
I languish in love
parlay in perpetual peace
With an absolute Truth
GOD RESIDES IN ME

The wise see my light
gravitate to good deeds
We stack riches on the other side
the legacy I leave
Every day we celebrate
the Kingdom lies within
The Righteous will never die
we only transcend

Who Knew
By Santonio D Murff Bey

The sparkles within one’s eyes,
could leave one blind for some time.
Cryin’, slowly dyin’, tryin’ to find
something as cheap; yet as priceless as
Peace of Mind.
Who knew
The wages of sin
were paid in shackles and chains,
persecution and pain; oppression/depression
guilt and shame.
Not death. Never death.
Who knew
Dreams aged and died.
Days grew into decades, weary and tired.
The pure now soiled, the innocent now guilty.
The guilty made worse.
A hard heart still hurts.
Who Knew
2020 seen through clear eyes
would oh, so mirror 1865 –
Another sad sequel: profits over people.
Another sick society: separate and unequal.
The Soul grows cold.
Who Knew

Birth into a blizzard so freezing cold;
souls shattered, blown asunder by Storm’s waft.
Is it any wonder that my heart froze;
iced over and hardened by Devil’s draft?
I swear, I never meant anyone harm.
The heater was merely to keep me warm.
Bearing dark cloaks of poverty and sin,
chilled to the bone, trying to brave the wind.
Dreams drive me recklessly ahead at night.
Never say die! I may bend but wont rend;
till Victory’s my captive – I shall fight!

Gut-shot by Hunger, raped by Circumstance;
wearing misery like a second skin;
dragging a sack full of the hurts of man;
heart too bitten by Frost to ever mend;
dizzy from mugs of Oppression’s tart brew;
legs in shreds from snares I couldn’t eschew;
back lacerated from Loyalty’s lance;
Both cheeks stinging from the backhand of Chance;
damning Destiny for my blighted plight;
holding Hope my hostage for Fortune’s glance;
Beaten! Bent! But never broken – I shall fight!

Though my teeth chatter, grinding on Hunger;
though my soul’s in tatters from Sin’s lashes,
fear not blindness shall still my feet longer.
I won’t be bound by Judicial gashes.
Watch me: Run, walk, crawl, inchworm if I must;
cleanse the dirt to build destiny from dust;
plow through the pain to unearth the potential;
plant the physical to grow pro-mental;
open the third eye, give the temple light;
dispel the darkness, grasp the essential;
Till Victory’s my captive – I will fight!

Till the red brick graveyards abound with hope,
and the barbed wire caskets reduced to dust;
till Will Lynch and Jim Crow forgotten ghosts,
and humanity not hue defines us;
till Justice reign supreme and Freedom rings,
and every head and knee bow to our Queens;
till every young seed sees equality,
and Love and Happiness decreases grief –
I make you this promise; a pledge on my life:
For no fee, from no fright, shall I ever flee.
Toes planted, chin up, chest out – I SHALL FIGHT!



No One’s Crying
Song/poem by Santonio D Murff

It’s like the sun been blacked out / I can’t find no light…
It’s like my heart been hacked out / I done lost my life…
How can there be a happy-ever-after / with a husband and no wife…
How can there be a house of peace / when all we do is fight…

Chorus

It’s like our love is dying / and no one’s crying /
and, I don’t know what to doooo…
All I ever wanted was your trust / to take care of my boo…
But it’s like the past done curse you / too many done hurt you/
You think I’ll desert you too…
It’s like the past done curse you / too many done hurt you
You think I’ll desert you too…

What happen to the smile used to grace your face / as I, led, the way…
Now why you wanna pull away / oppose everything I say…
Now I go left / you go right / we just can’t get it right…
Then it’s the same ol’ blame game every night / I no longer want that life…(I’m sorry, baby)

It’s like our love is dying / and no one’s crying /
and, I don’t know what to dooo…
All I ever wanted was your trust / to take care of my boo…
But it’s like the past done curse you / too many done hurt you
You think I’ll desert you too…
It’s like the past done curse you / too many done hurt you
You think I’ll desert you too…

How can there be a you and me / when it’s “I” “My” “I”, never we…
How can there be a you and me / when it’s “I” “My” “I”, never we…
Guess what I thought was a blessing to me / was just more of the devil’s trickery
Guess what I thought was a blessing to me / was just more of the devil’s trickery

Now our love is dead / you done moved ahead
Gotta lay my bed alone…
Now you done moved ahead / I done made my bed / our love is dead
and gone…

Awww, Baby…
It’s like our love is dying / and no one’s crying /
and, I don’t know what to doooo…
All I ever wanted was your trust / to take care of my boo…
But it’s like the past done curse you / too many done hurt you
You think I’ll desert you too…
It’s like the past done curse you / too many done hurt you
You think I’ll desert you too…

When It’s Time… (From Carmel to Chocolate with regret)

The following poem was written by Santonio Murff’s mother:

His Head Game
By Ms. B.

As he share his words of knowledge, smoothly exiting his full lips,
Traveling in a rhythmic motion through my ears deep into the core of my mind
My mind opens widely to allow his knowledge to penetrate every part of my brain
My cerebral cortex is throbbing getting ready to learn new information
My reticular formation has lost the ability to control arousal from his words
My pons threw in the flag of surrender as they can’t contain the arousal of his speech
My amygdala is quivering from the educational emotional satisfaction he is giving me
Oh Yes, more, my medulla scream as his teachings make my heartbeat/breathing faster
As he brings my educational journey to a climax, he tells me those three important words
Know Your History
His head game is giving me KNOWLEDGE from his mind to my mind