Cause You Know it's Got Clout to It

Maya Angelou wrote and read her thought-provoking poem when Bill Clinton was inaugurated. Inspirational and moving, she brought me to tears.

It was either that or the pot.

Recently, another African-American poet, this time from Tampa, read inaugural verse - for Charlie Crist.

A MEETING OF THE PEOPLE
BY JAMES E. TOKLEY, SR.

From the oaks of
Wewahitchka to the palms of Lauderdale
From the hills of Tallahassee to the
fertile Brandon fields
From the shores of Sarasota, snowy-white,
pollution-free
To the island of Key Largo, as it looks upon the sea
We
have come here as the people
And we stand before you, now
Not
Republican, nor Democrat, but we meet as one, somehow
And our minds are
independent, based upon a greater sight
As one people, we step forward and
prepare to take the mike
As one state, which is united by its greatness yet
to be,
Do we stand here now excited, on the steps of history
Do we claim
a common legacy based upon the kindred goals
of a universal freedom anchored
deeply in our soul!
So, let the voice who speaks, this morning
not
forget from whence it came
Let it resonate a language that bespeaks each
family name
Let its bloodline come from Cyprus, let it habla Espanol
Let
it parle Francais from Haiti, or intone a German brogue
Let its words
bespeak the Native blood that courses through our veins
or the words of
Black Floridians, forged in freedom, unrestrained
And let it draw upon the
spirit of the Florida pioneers
Let the dream that pressed them forward be
the anthem that we hear
And may the one who is about to speak bespeak the
common cause
of a state where love of Liberty is our most precious law
Let our children grow like saplings, planted from a righteous seed
Placed first within the nation, where each one classroom child can read!
May the roof and walls of Brotherhood protect us from the rain
Insuring
through calamity that our living is not in vain
And let whomever wonders
what we feel, upon this day
Be assured by the growing numbers who march with
us, on our way!
For, today, we pray a different prayer and sing a special
song
. . .a song that speaks for Dignity to carry us along
A song that
argues for respect for every human being
That sees in every citizen a noble
king or queen.
From the streets of Ybor City to the port of Tarpon Springs
From the noble town of Archer to the great St. Augustine
From Orlando to
Miami may our voices rise to say/ we
may be twenty million people, but we
speak as one, today
And may the one who represents us never cease to
understand
that we meet here, as the People. For, indeed, this is our land!

Good stuff. I still like Maya's though. Oh. And Robert Frost wasn't so bad either.

h/t to AP