O Holy Star

A Christmas Poem by Latorial Faison

O holy star ‘neath dark blue sky

Bright & shining—Christ child, come nigh.

A Virgin Mother’s sacred test,

A Savior’s birth & righteousness.

Behold the babe in high esteem,

Born to the world, sin to redeem.

This meek & mild—lil’ Jesus boy,

Abundant love, triumphant joy.

Let us adore God’s greatest gift.

With song & praise, our voices lift.

O celebrate, lift high the Lamb,

In all the Earth, the Great I Am.

This Christ, the Lord, born pure & true

For all mankind—gentile & Jew.

Hail royal gift, wise men & kings,

The Angel’s voice & golden wings.

‘Neath dark blue sky, the heavens know

A manger scene set all aglow.

O holy star, O guiding light.

O Christmas day of glory’s plight.

Copyrighted (c) November 20, 2022 Dr. Latorial Faison

Be Thankful

Be Thankful

A Poem of Thanksgiving by Latorial Faison

Every now & then when life will allow

Recall the years in silence from birth ‘til now.

The elders prepared a place & helped to pave our way.

Now with our hearts & hands, we curate & save the day.

The past is full of memories, fared well & not so well,

Yet be ever grateful that we’re alive just to tell,

Of all the wonder years, all the people, all the smiles,

Days filled with love & laughter even across the miles. 

For every little triumph, be glad you made it through,

The ins & outs, joys & pains, the good works in life to do.

Be thankful for it all, to have lived life honest & true,

To have given of yourself, every single arc & hue.

Every now & then, when this life allows,

Stand still & pay homage to the voices & the vows.

In your heart be ever mindful of this universal joy,

The light we shine, the love we give: the grace of God’s employ.

Copyrighted (c) October, 2022 Latorial Faison

For All Your Blues

by Latorial Faison

-for Prince-


You have gone, vocally reached
Past it, songs of seduction

Yonder in the night. The light,
It has come & granted you

Royalty for all your blues.
Robed in rhythmical genius,

You gave new life & you breathed
New life. While we marvel at

The gift, there in the distance
You stand strikingly strumming,

Singing like angels, preaching
like Rock & Roll's Paul. We grieve

The day you flew away, a
Dove whistling battle cries.


Copyrighted April 22, 2016 by Latorial D. Faison
www.latorialfaison.com

Dearly Beloved

Dearly Beloved

by Latorial Faison

They have taken our lord.

We have lost our lady.

While more than men's dreams die,

Too many new coffins float

Through ancient river beds

Collecting broken vows

That be our salvation.

Copyrighted 4.25.15 Latorial Faison
www.latorialfaison.com

Unpacking It

by Latorial Faison

Moving in my forties

like having to extract

my own teeth with pliers

Look at all the boxes

staring up & down at

the me that used to be

young, strong, interested

How many states have I

loved & left wondering

what beautiful ugly

packing & dragging these

memories through thin air

those people I love/hate

No one to call on but

our last names & blood ties

& nineteen years that passed

without unpacking it

this box of wedding gifts

©  2014 Latorial D. W. Faison

www.latorialfaison.com

History Woman

by Latorial Faison

It was a dying womb
where you came from dreaming
of life in Norfolk & new shoes

a place to call your own, a clean room

Orphaned, you were grateful
for this little life of yours & mine

that God cared enough to make room
in a house without a welcome mat

where you were too black & too big

for the opportunities of white folks

But you could cook & clean em'

you could love a white child to death

nurse a malnourished black one to good health

with your poor, dark, giftedness

You knew it all 'bout tobacco leaves, "solja" beans,
cotton fields & seasonin' greens. 

when you fried your fish & baked

your famous cobbler dish, it was genius

how you always made sugar from shit.

A Good Father is Never Dead

by Latorial Faison

A good father is never dead,

gone with yesterday, forgotten,

erased from mind & memory.

He lives on. He lives long, present

& alive in words that survive,

wisdom that has made time stand still.

He reaches from glory with strong

hands lifting up toward sky through

whatever chaos comes bearing

witness, whatever confusion

compiled, whatever confessions

come to light each pathway gone dim.

Copyrighted June 14, 2014 Latorial D. W. Faison

I'm Just Looking for a Good Poem

by Latorial Faison

I'm just looking for a good poem
something to get me through more than just the night
something to have, to hold, till death do us part

I'm looking for the right poem
a poem that works, gives more than it takes
a poem that cooks and cherishes the love it makes

I'm looking for a poem with good sense
a poem that looks good, feels good, is good to me, is good for me
a poem that's mine
a poem populating space with all the right words
a poem that speaks, makes powerful statements
one that stands up and stands out

I'm just looking for a good poem
a poem that makes minds read it and think
about poems that are not poems
about poems that long to be
words that do and don't come together
for the sanctity, for the ebb and flow
for a good poem, I'm just looking

Daddy's English

by Latorial Faison

A man of few words 

famous for calling women 

their husbands' names or nicknames 

Mrs. Cat or Mrs. Charlie

He'd call you a cracker jack  

if you couldn’t be still

a shot for trying to be somebody you were not

a pistol if he thought you were mean as shit 

He might even call you Tharl, Jespa, or Ettie

a girl-child if you were a boy 

primping in a mirror too long

Copyrighted Feb. 2014 Latorial Faison

www.latorialfaison.com

The Resurrection

An Easter Poem

by Latorial Faison

Close your eyes, come go with me

To a remarkable place, Mount Calvary

Feel the hatred that was displayed

In a world that by His hand was made

Envision them mocking our Lord

As “King of the Jews” with a crown of thorns

The Son of God hanging way up high

On a rugged cross beneath the sky

See the blood come streaming down

Feel His pain, hear the sounds

The Christ’s last words upon the cross

They live forever to save the lost

Through the passion of that final hour

He took the blame that was really ours

Now stand we here, at the foot of the Cross

Where the Savior paid the absolute cost

Right then and there, our Lamb, the Christ

Was accepted by God as the ultimate sacrifice

The true Messiah who had walked this earth

He put on humanity through a Virgin birth

There on Calvary, the hour had come

He said “It is finished” so it was done

Redeeming us, He paid our debt

Now at the right hand of God our Redeemer sits

He rose three days later, to the surprise of man

Got up from the grave with all power in His hand

Power over Heaven, power over earth

That same power that ordained His birth.

It was there, at Calvary, where a Son was crucified

Who so loved the world that for it He died

In Him is life, the truth, and the way

Though He died, He lives this Resurrection Day

Copyrighted April 2006 Latorial D. Faison | www.latorialfaison.com

Don't Waste this Time

by Latorial Faison

Don’t waste this time

Making a New Year’s resolution

Or debating God’s creation

Versus Darwin’s evolution

Don’t waste this time

Observing thy neighbor

Or coveting blessings

And the fruits of their labor

Don’t waste this time

Concealing infamy or shame

Or fixating on circumstances

From whence you came

Don’t waste this time

Enabling negative seasons

Or giving permanence to gloom

In search of profound reasons

Don’t waste this time

Deferring dreams and goals

Or neglecting faith in promises

Of what the future holds

Don’t waste this time

Denying wisdom and truth

Or chasing all the joys

Accomplished during youth

Don’t waste this time

Resurrecting issues now dead

Or awaiting those words

Left unwritten and unsaid

Don’t waste this time

Contemplating love

Or debating revelations

And the hate thereof

Copyrighted © January 1, 2013 Latorial D. Faison

www.latorialfaison.com