For the people who sing using our collective voices to uplift and inspire, we bleed rivers of awesome life in my community.

For the many bus drivers from Chicago to Miami, FL who might smile happily or frown when
blues are dripping near their souls.

For the people all across the country who drag themselves out of their beds to school,
work, or to play.

For the black soldiers serving in Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq and more to ensure our freedom.

For the people who are family doctors, divorce or personal injury lawyers, court judges, truck drivers who make sure products are received in other states, school teachers in the urban or suburban communities, personal trainers who make sure we are trying to keep up our health, students who are trying to make a difference by sharing their talents, poets who can help others deal with emotions and expressing our unique perspectives, entrepeneurs who are building a great foundation for other little black children to step right up to, community workers who are assisting youth to build a better person and make better choices, supervisors who lead well, managers who manage well, trainers who teach skills in all kinds of industries, sales clerks at Walgreens, Walmart, or other stores and much more in my community.

In my community, we crank up our house music, salsa music, our hip hop music, our gospel music or Alternative music loudly and proudly.

In my community, we keep it clean beautifully by picking up
our garbage and admonishing those that do not do it.

In my community, we have single parents, and two parent homes
that are struggling with life’s negativity sometimes; children confused about their lives, substance abuse, HIV, obesity, insecurity, abandonment issues because a parent may have left the home and so much more.

In my community, we rise like birds soaring in the air, we fall like bouncing basketballs that always come back, we laugh at jokes we make up or those we hear, we cry when we think we are defeated, we push against incredible odds and we always make it, we move against life grains, soaring again and again...because sometimes you have to push until you conquer your tribulations.

For the people who break entertainment boundaries like Halle Barry and Denzel Washington and hopefully Jamie Foxx, Don Cheadle or Morgan Freeman at this year’s Oscar awards.

For people who stand up for freedom like Malcolm X, Martin Luther King, and Rosa Parks.

For the legendary poets who broke boundaries like Maya Angelou, Gwendolyn Brooks, and Nikki Giovanni.

For the police officer who has to deal with the stress of the urban communities.

For the common man; the homeless man; the invisible man, for you also are a special part of this community.

We are a special people.

We are a beautiful people.

We are strong, intelligent, creative, powerful, spiritual, loveable, and daring.

This is for my people.

My beautiful, beautiful, people.

We are awesome and we are bright.

We should never forget that our legacy is to be passed on to future generations.

We must never forget that our ancestors left us with the responsibility - to inspire, to uplift, to share, to help OUR people grow.

© 2005 by Pam Osbey