I believe that poetry is the most powerful form of written expression known to humanity, As a poet and writer, I have studied the history and legacy of writing and poetry always stands out as the most transcendent form of communication ever created. Poetry has been used to teach, transmit oral history and to evoke emotions. Poetry is the most useful form of creative expression. It is the most easily remembered and recited. Check out this poem I wrote in praise of the Poet and Poetry.

What rude hand has shaken you, awakened you from your wide-eyed stupor Forced you to tremors and detox from your opiate fiction of freedom and justice for y’all Who forced her, justice to disrobe and expose her broken form, naked, malnourished, anorexic, anemic pallid, and parched. Is she, America made up, a painted lady covered in putrid pastes of kaleidoscopic lies, contrived to deceive once innocent eyes. Is her beauty, fakery, falsehood, and farce (Add some lines to the poetic expression and share them in the forum!)

Writing like public speaking can be very intimidating. Many people shrug off the task of writing, saying, “I just can’t write,” or “I’m not the creative type.” My response is, “There was a time when you couldn’t walk either, but you learned.” Now I’m not suggesting that writing well is like learning to write well. I’m saying that writing is a skill that may take time to improve and grow into before you feel competent. There are two challenges I see in the ever-expanding world of aspiring writers. The first challenge is people who want to write but refuse to study the craft to become better. They write “crap” and expect you to praise them for minimal effort. Fortunately, there are several excellent examples of good writing for an aspiring writer to study. An aspiring writer who will not study accomplished writers to develop the skill and the art of writing will likely never be an “inspiring” writer. The second challenge is people who fear criticism and rejection and therefore never share their work, good or bad, with anyone. One of my favorite dictums is, “The world is never served by you playing small.” If you are unwilling to share your talent, you have chosen to rob others of the gift of your inspiration and yourself of the opportunity to get better and perfect your skill. Here are a few suggestions for improving your skill and maturing your writing. Increase your vocabulary (try reading an old dictionary) Take a walk outside and describe aloud the scenes around you. Write a narrative about yourself, describing yourself as a character in a story. Use imagery to describe the following: the shape of your face, lips, and eyes your mood, expression, and thoughts at the moment the sensation of touching your face, rubbing your hands together, the texture and sound they make as you rub them. Describe a scene or a relationship you have with a person in your life using adjectives to illustrate them. (ex: My friend and confidant, Jeremy, had the strange habit of rubbing his left ear with his broad, rough right hand when he lied. He was doing that right now as I asked a question. “Have you seen my wife today? She was supposed to come to your office to drop off a package for me?” “Humph, strange indeed,” I thought. I wonder if he noticed the quizzical look on my face? Surely, he saw the slight wrinkle in my brow as my head noticeably tilted to the right at his answer.) Try one of all of these exercises and add your narrative in the comments. I look forward to reading your writing and hearing your voice.

I am a great fan of writers of the mid-20th century. Most writers I love are African American writers, Faith writers, Theologians or Philosophers. Some of my favorite scribes are: Zora Neale Hurston, Paul Dunbar, Langston Hughes, Countee Cullen, Jean Toomer, Dr. Howard Thurman, Dr. Emil Brunner, Dr. Walter Brueggeman, Rabbi Abraham Heschel Zora Neale Hurston is a beautiful storyteller. Her novels, "Of Mule and Men" and "Their Eyes Were Watching God" are classics and she inspired many contemporary writers. Paul Laurence Dunbar, with Langston Hughes, Countee Cullen and Jean Toomer are iconic writers who capture the reality of Blackness in the early to mid-20th century. Their poetry and stories speak to me as a Black Man, Husband, Father and Child. They make me proud, fill me with courage and make me laugh at how real they are to me and my personal experience. Emil Brunner, Walter Bruggeman spoke beautifully about theological and "Biblical" ideals that now form the substance of my theological presuppositions as a practicing follower of the way of Jesus Christ. The awe-inspiring wisdom, insight and mystically enchanting writing of Dr. Thurman and Heschel are arresting and demand more of me as a writer and a thinker. Their writings soar and give the reader wings to soar with them. I would like to mention another writer who is not American, but Russian, Nicholas Berdyaev. His translated works are a real gift to the thinker. These writers above all others I could discuss here force me to aspire to write better, to study my craft and to hone my prose and poetry alike. I hope for you that there are writers and thinkers in the world, past and present who inspire you, comfort you and challenge you to communicate best. Reading these writers is like eating my favorite dish, I eat to my fill, but don't stop when my hunger is sated, because the meal tastes sooo good!

The power of words cannot be disputed. I am confident that they derive their power from how they connect us in community. They give voice to deep otherwise inexpressible feelings & thoughts. It does not matter if they are written, spoken or signed; words have the power to bind heart to heart. To write beautifully and to speak with passion that unite heart to heart is a treasured ability. The true power is not in the word, so much as they are in the hearer’s heart. The heart is the undiscovered country of vast plains and unseen beauty between your ears. Words force their way from heart to tongue or pen into the open space between yours and another’s ears & eyes looking from a place to populate. That place is their homestead in the human heart!