An Angel was born...

On November 19, 1918 an angel was born and her name is Carrie Ophelia Strickland-Boykin. This is a piece that I played around with to get my thoughts and feelings on paper.

God shared her with us but for an appointed season

During which time

She taught us to laugh

Give selflessly

And to love abundantly

She taught us that from little you could gain much

And she taught us that love, not money, answers all things

She walked boldly in a spirit of meekness and humility

Taught us how to treat everybody right including our enemies

And to do unto others as you would have them do unto you

To walk in truth

Although she was a woman of few words

When she spoke it was voluminous

Although she could not carry a tune to save her life

Her spirit sang with soul like Aretha

It was luminous

I can see her so vividly right now

Sitting on the 6^th pew clapping off beat

Giving God praise

Patting her lap and tapping her feet

I smile

I can almost hear her heart beat

Until I realize that one glad morning

That began with mourning

God called her home to rest in the heavily hills

In a city called heaven

Set aside

For those to reside

That lived virtuously

And gave forth life

That supplied the world with light

And that light that she instilled in me

It lives in me

Daily I contemplate

What would have happened had fate

Not taken me from the north side of a city to the

Eastside of the tracks

Had I never made it to Keys Street where would I be?

Honestly I could not imagine how my life would be

Had I not had her

And she not had me

Figuratively

Could we exist separately?

Metaphorically

I believe that God wove her together in her mother’s womb

Just for me

Without Ophelia Boykin there would be no Tree

No purpose

No mission

No pending disposition

No definition

No convention

No @ mention

Just a shell of a person

Flooded by emotions

Lacking devotion

But because He loved me

So Unconditionally

He pre-destined before the very foundation of the world

That he would send an angel in human form

To save the life of this little girl

And for that I am grateful daily

God loved me so much He not only sent Jesus to Calvary

He also designed a heavenly angel to raise

And watch over me

And although I did not always cherish that gift

He allotted time for me to make amends

Seek forgiveness & give restitutions

Before The End

And at The End

I began to see that it was bigger than me

This woman changed the life of my entire family

Through humility and grace

She ran her Christian race

And on July 1, 2006

Peacefully

She met our King

Elohim

Rest in Peace

My sweet Queen

 

Sandtrice Denise Russell

Victim

Victim

I wonder why the worst tears are the silent ones never to be heard

Hidden in the heart of a blameless little girl

Betrayed by some pervert

Not nourished by her life support system

But nourished by her life giver

Confused as to what she did to deserve

Such bitter pain

Nearly going insane

Yet she never complains

She fights back the tears and gets used

To the abuse

It’s all she’s ever known anyway

She keeps lookin for a brighter day to end life’s disarray

The light that once lit her soul

Seems distant

The angels that were heaven sent

Seem to have been sent back to heaven

This girl is only eleven

And this has been happening since she was seven

She cries at night, yet no one would believe

In fact their minds couldn’t possibly conceive

Nor could their spirit receive

The pain that this girl has endured

Little girls are supposed to be pure, I’m sure

After all they’re made of sugar and spice and everything nice

Nice enough to make some pervert defile her temple

It seems so easy to get over but it’s not that simple

Even though her predator is behind bars

It doesn’t erase the scars of her youth

God’s truth seems ruthless

To a girl that has only known how to lay on her back

And get slapped around by a man three times her size

Sad to say in her happy meal box their was no prize

You can see the pain in her eyes

Each night as he made her spread her thighs

And she’d cry and cry but

No one could hear her screams

In a world so mean

And cold with the spirit of perversion running around so bold

In this world that seems to be void and without form

Guess child molestation and pedophilia is the norm

Right along with kiddie porn

Where have our morals gone?

Victims don’t have to become victimizers

The earth needs a re-sensitizer

We need to develop a backbone and walk in Truth

Our we’ll forever cover the scars and be victims of our youth.

Sandtrice Denise Russell

Copyright ©2006 Sandtrice Denise Russell