I rise

You may write me down in history
With your bitter, twisted lies,
You may trod me in the very dirt
But still, like dust, I’ll rise.

Does my sassiness upset you?
Why are you beset with gloom?
‘Cause I walk like I’ve got oil wells
Pumping in my living room.

Just like moons and like suns,
With the certainty of tides,
Just like hopes springing high,
Still I’ll rise.

Did you want to see me broken?
Bowed head and lowered eyes?
Shoulders falling down like teardrops.
Weakened by my soulful cries.

Does my haughtiness offend you?
Don’t you take it awful hard
‘Cause I laugh like I’ve got gold mines
Diggin’ in my own back yard.

You may shoot me with your words,
You may cut me with your eyes,
You may kill me with your hatefulness,
But still, like air, I’ll rise.

Does my sexiness upset you?
Does it come as a surprise
That I dance like I’ve got diamonds
At the meeting of my thighs?

Out of the huts of history’s shame
I rise
Up from a past that’s rooted in pain
I rise
I’m a black ocean, leaping and wide,
Welling and swelling I bear in the tide.
Leaving behind nights of terror and fear
I rise
Into a daybreak that’s wondrously clear
I rise
Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave,
I am the dream and the hope of the slave.

I rise
I rise
I rise.

Before the child is born

A mother's love begins
Before the child is born
And lasts through time
And difficulties
And differences
And many wounds
And days of joy
And days of sorrow
Winding, wearing
Weeping, sharing
Changing
Until, at the end
What remains
Is that solid core
That began as love
Before the child was born

Love the women in your life because..........

Inspired By A Friend

When you find a friend
Nobody needs to say
You feel it in your heart
In a special way

Things may be hurting somehow
Your friend will try to help
And ask you how
It means a lot right now

The beauty of a friend
Is just to know
they'll embrace you
Unafraid to let caring show

And if you need a hand to hold
they'll hold yours tightly
and won't let go
Until the sun does show

I found a friend in you
in a way we easily feel and show
Kindness and hope you bring
I just wish you could truly know

We'll carry this friendship with us now
Wherever we should go
Because friendship is a feeling in the heart
Too precious to let go

A person visited the government matchmaker for marriage, SDU, and
requested “I am looking for a spouse. Please help me to find a
suitable one.” The SDU officer said, “Your requirements, please.” “Oh,
good looking, polite, humorous , sporty, knowledgeable, good in
singing and dancing. Willing to accompany me the whole day at home
during my leisure hour, if I don’t go out. Telling me interesting stories when I
need companion for conversation and be silent when I want to rest.”
The officer listened carefully and replied, “I understand you need
television.”

There is a saying that a perfect match can only be found between a
blind wife and a deaf husband ,because the blind wife cannot see the
faults of the husband and the deaf husband cannot hear the nagging of
the wife.

Many couples are blind and deaf at the courting stage and
dream of perpetual perfect relationship. Unfortunately, when the
excitement of love wears off, they wake up and discover that marriage
is not a bed of roses. The nightmare begins.

The two little boys, ages10 and 14, are excessively mischievous.

They are always getting into trouble and their parents know if any mischief occurs in their town, the two boys are probably involved.

The boys’ mother heard that a preacher in town had been successful in disciplining children, so she asked if he would speak with her boys. The preacher agreed, but he asked to see them individually.

The mother sent the 10 year old in the morning, with the older boy to see the preacher in the afternoon. The preacher, a huge man with a deep booming voice, sat the younger boy down and asked him sternly, “Do you know where God is, son?”

The boy’s mouth dropped open, but he made no response, sitting there wide-eyed with his mouth hanging open. So the preacher repeated the question in an even sterner tone, “Where is God?!

Again, the boy made no attempt to answer. The preacher raised his voice even more and shook his finger in the boy’s face and bellowed, “WHERE is GOD?!”

The boy screamed & bolted from the room, ran directly home & dove into his closet, slamming the door behind him. When his older brother found him in the closet, he asked, “What happened?”

The younger brother, gasping for breath, replied, “We are in BIG trouble this time!”
“GOD is missing, and they think WE did it!”

अज्ञात कन्या का मर्म

भिनभिनाती मखियाँ
कुलबुलाते कीडे
सूँघते कुत्ते
कचरादान के गर्भ मे
कीचड़ से लथपथ
फिर से पनपी
एक नासमझ जिन्दा लाश
छोटे-छोटे हाथों से
मृत्यु देवी को धकेलती
न जाने कहाँ से आया
दुबले-पतले हाथों में इतना बल
कि हो गए इतने सबल
जो रखते है साहस
मौत से भी जूझने का
शायद यह बल
वह अहसास है
माँ के पहले स्पर्श का
वह अहसास है
माँ की उस धड़कन का
जो कोख मे सुनी थी
चीख-चीख कर कहती है
नन्ही सी कोमल काया....
मैं जानती हूँ माँ
मैं पहचानती हूँ
तुम्हारी ममता की गहराई को
तुम्हारे स्नेह को
तुम्हारे उस अनकहे प्यार को
महसूस कर सकती हूँ मैं
भले यह दुनिया कुछ भी कहे
मैं इस काबिल नहीं कि
सब को समझा सकूँ
तुम्हारी वो दर्द भरी आह बता सकूँ
जो निकली थी तेरे सीने की
अपार गहराई से
मुझे कूडादान में सबसे छुप-छुपा कर
अर्पण करते समय
यह तो सदियों से चलता आ रहा सिलसिला है
कभी कुन्ती भी रोई थी
बिल्कुल तुम्हारे ही तरह
मैं जानती हूँ माँ
तुम भी ममतामयी माँ हो
न होती
तो कैसे मिलता मुझे तुम्हारा स्पर्श
तुम तो मुझे कोख मे ही मार देती
नहीं माँ ! तुम मुझे मार न सकी
और आभारी हूँ माँ
जो एक बार तो
नसीब हुआ मुझे तुम्हारा स्पर्श
उसी स्पर्श को ढाल बना कर
मैं जी लूँगी
माथे पर लगे लाँछन का
जहर भी पी लूँगी

तुम्हारे आँचल की
शीतल छाया न सही
तुम्हारे सीने से निकली
ठण्डी आह का तो अहसास है मुझे
धन्य हूँ मै माँ
जो तुमने मुझे इतना सबल बना दिया
आँख खुलने से पहले
दुनियादारी सिखा दिया
इतना क्या कम है माँ
कि तूने मुझे जन्मा
हे जननी!
अवश्य ही तुम्हारी लाचारी रही होगी
नहीं तो कौन चाहेगी
अपनी कोख में नौ माह तक पालना
कुत्तो के लिए भोजन
इसीलिए तो दर्द नहीं सहा तुमने
कि दानवीर बन कर
कुलबुलाते कीड़ों के भोजन का
प्रबन्ध कर सको
नहीं! माँ ऐसी नहीं होती
मुझे तुमसे कोई शिकायत नहीं
मैं ही अभागी
तुम्हारी कोख में न आती
आई थी तो
तुम्हें देखने की चाहत न करती
बस इसी स्वार्थ से
कि माँ का स्नेह मिलेगा
जीती रही, आँसू पीती रही
एक आस लिए मन में...
स्वार्थ न होता
तो गर्भ में ही मर जाती
तुम्हें लाँछन मुक्त कर जाती
किसी का भोजन भी बन जाती
पर यह तो मेरे ही स्वार्थ का परिणाम है
कि बोझ बन गई मैं दुनिया पर
कलंक बन गई तेरे माथे पर
कुत्तों, कीड़ों या चीलों का
भोजन न बन सकी
और बन गई एक अज्ञात कन्या
अज्ञात कन्या