Tuesday, April 8, 2014

A Tribute to Billie Holliday

A tribute to Billie Holiday (A poem)
( (c) by Stephanie Jeannot)



Eleanora Fagan
Started sangin
While a lil thang
She had that swing
And all that jazz and blues
And the fanciest poppin shoes
And a white gardenia
A Billy Holiday signature
Creative and vivacious 
Added her own touch
To standards and poems
U2 described her as the Angel of Harlem
And dem Gershwin tunes
Or that song "Blue Moon"
And "God Bless the Child"
On April 7, 2014 would've been 99 
Thankful she shared 
this that and those
And her singing of the poem 
"Strange Fruit" by Abel Meeropol
Added a sophisticated touch to songs
That even now have us be-bopping along
With that raspy sound
The diva won over crowds 
Billie Dove
Happy birthday to you in heaven up above

(She did inspire something in my life which has also become part of me as it was in her. Flowers in my hair! If it's not a flower, it's a hat with a flower on it. All I know is I dig her style. So much that it's a part of mine: 

Thanks for reading my poem. Have a great day.)

Btw. . . 

If you never heard The song Strange Fruit, first read the poem written by Abel Meeropol in the 1930s and then follow the link to a YouTube clip of Billie's performance of it:


Strange Fruit 
By Abel Meeropol

"Southern trees bear a strange fruit,
Blood on the leaves 
And blood on the root,
Black body swinging 
In the southern breeze,
Strange fruit hanging
From the poplar trees.

Pastoral scene of the gallant south,
The bulging eyes and the twisted mouth,

Scent of magnolia
Sweet and fresh,
And the sudden smell of burning flesh!

Here is a fruit fir the crows to pluck,
For the rain to gather, 
For the wind to suck
For the sun to rot, 
For a tree to drop
Here is a strange and bitter crop 

And here is the link: http://youtu.be/h4ZyuULy9zs


Saturday, April 5, 2014

Forever Love

Still remarkable to me how love like that of my parents still remain through thick and thin, seasons of growth and regardless of changes in life or imperfections. Years never seem to grow old but the two individuals grow bolder in love and continue on through life as destiny suggested. This poem is dedicated to longevity. 

Forever Love
(C) By Stephanie Jeannot 


Love is meant to be celebrated
especially if the romance is heaven sent
like a relationship that lasts forever;
time seems to only get sweeter 
as the days go by.

So like birds of a feather you fly
on a journey of forever; two of a kind.
From sunrise to sunrise; timeless you shine
as one with love forever on your side, 
as God intended.


The following is a video clip of a celebration of love. After 20 years of marriage, the wife dedicated a live performance of their wedding song, Anita Baker's Sweet Love, to her husband. Please check out the YouTube link here: http://youtu.be/YfGoaO2gqa8

Wednesday, April 2, 2014

Day Two: Doctor's Orders (poem)

Day two of National Poetry Month and I’m fueled with a poem and hope that you’ll desire to read it; for it came to my heart inspired by life’s trials.

 

 

Doctor’s Orders

© by Stephanie Jeannot

 



The doctor told me life is but over.

Maybe I heard the wrong words wash over.

I seem to take things in like a coper.

I’ve been known to be an innovator.

 

Create in me a cause to want to be creative.

To the lines of a page, I am a native.

Life, as short as it is, is what you make it.

Love never made me feel oh so naked.

 

I walk with my heart like an outfit in fashion.

My face, so expressive, I emote a caption.

Whoever said life was to be approached in caution,

probably never purchased emergency medicine that had to be bought in an auction.

 

By medicine, I mean getting out there and letting go

For what tomorrow brings one may never know.

Today I awaken to the mighty star’s glow;

but what if there is no tomorrow?

 

So I asked him, “Doc! How should this knowledge be applied?

Should I let it wash over me like a tide?

When the wind blows should I take it for a ride?

Or is this my moment to let out a cry?

 

But then, I realized what he really had said.

For words, depending on how you cook them, is what you’re spoon fed.

But if you’ve envisioned tomorrow, dancing in your head,

you should let your life be spirit lead.

 

So I went to the pharmacy to fill my prescription

with no desire to swallow pills as per my doctor’s direction.

For I know what is for me, in my own dimension

but how could I be left with all these unanswered questions?

 

Like, why should I be the one to go without my smile?

And why am I to answer sad calls arrowed at me when dialed?

And why feel it in my heart for all this time?

And why are these dreams so deep within me that they run in my bile?

 

Sour sop was one of the meds I was to take

But singing seemed to be the sweeter healing to bake;

especially when it came from the pen when my mind spake

as if it were a hot summer day and the page was a refreshing lake.

 

Now on the follow-up visit to hear what doc has to say;

a check-up of some sort to put me in my place

before my living comes to one that is erased

and the many mansions of God stand before my face.

 

Words can tend to puncture holes in a shadow

and the circling of a message can dim the sun’s glow

so much that the stage that awaits for one to put on a show

can change its song and dance to a flow God enables.

 

What will be the healing over my own fate?

Because with tomorrow, I planned an intimate date

And hope to keep it and let faith sizzle in my plate

And choose today to live because even still, tomorrow might stand me up and never make its way.

 

 

Thank you for reading my poem. With all the ups and downs of life, sometimes you are left uneasy. Especially when faced with situations not used to. God is still awesome and makes miracles happen; perfecting what we have come to see as imperfect. As long as there is faith, there is a way. 

 

With that in mind, please check out a cover of Yolanda Adams' "Open Up My Heart" performed with Ladeezinthehouse Band here: http://youtu.be/i1kOZPvxoDA 


Prayerfully it will inspire at least one person who takes a gander at it.


Peace and blessings!