Not Just A Man

[poeticasylum1]

I was just thinking the other day,
When the clouds were reflecting a dark gray.
I was think about women and men
How each of us carry on now and then.
How sometimes a woman can
Just a label a man as just a man.
What does that really mean?
Does it mean that men are just obscene.
I myself have never been into labels,
Tall tales and sordid fables.
Do you mean to tell me,
That what dangles between my legs defines me?
No No No.
And of course its always show and prove,
Being a man more than being smooth,
So men are from mars and women are from venus,
You mean to tell me my address is based on my penis?
As a man thinketh, so is he.
And I am somebody who thinks quite deeply,
I read books for fun,
I like dominos but I also like chess.
I love Alice Walker and Cornell West,
I love God and Sundays at church I confess.
I pray, I teach, and I write,
I love Black Women and I am polite,
I am a gentleman and a gentle man
I pray and trust God as much as I can.
I am not just a man,
For to be just a man
Means I just go through the day,
Not thinking,
Just craving,
To have my way.
I want love and not just a lover,
I want peace and not just a piece under my covers,
I want virtue, not just a vixen
I want power and not just a fixing.
I want abundant life,
Not just a living.
I want to give
And not just someone who’s giving.
I am not just a man,
Im not just someone who does what he can,
I want to exceed and excel
I want to have faith regardless if I fail.
So when negroes want to be like Mike
Pencil me in to be like Christ.
I am a tender warrior,
Who thinks, who reads,
Who prays, who feeds
On more than women
Or wing dinners,
I am seasoned
And far from a beginner.
I work hard,
And love hard
And live light as a feather,
I can listen to jazz,
Gospel, classical music and songs like Al Green’s
lets stay together.
I am old school,
You can say I have an old soul,
Yet I love brand new daily,
And shine like gold.
Im not just a man,
doing just what I can.
I am child of God,
Not Just A man.


Richard J Wright (2008)