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You, uninvited, suitcase and all
Bluntly insinuated into my life
Without a prior letter or call
Unfolding your drama, sharpening your knife
Your suitcase, filled with issues and such
Betrayals, lies, woes and sorrow
Unpacked deliberately, are quite too much
Baggage I care not to borrow
So ease from here, I beg you now
Pack that suitcase kept in your head
No more theatre must I allow
Your thoughts are waste, your words dread
Something inside you seems to suggest
That I fall amiss of my serenity
To tolerate you further is to strangle progress
It's impossible to relish your company
I want to address those truths I know
Without regrets, I must ask you to go!
copyright 2009, Georgette Jones
Whenever I'm feeling down, music is a sure way of lifting me up. Since childhood, I have turned to music for comfort or for answers to nagging questions. Certain songs have made me cry, laugh or just feel so alive. I cannot remember a time when I did not have an intense, curious and sensitive personality. Music has often been the catalyst validating my emotional make-up and connecting me to the spiritual inheritence of so many types of songs.
One of the first songs I remember waking up to each morning was "Green Door," which I think was by the Statler Brothers, but haven't yet been able to confirm through research. Mahalia Jackson, Rosetta Thorpe and The Rance-Allen Group were some favorites when I was growing up. These days, I am just as likely to listen time and again to spiritual songs by R&B singers or songs that are not labled as spiritual, but have an inspirational, soulful "feel" to them. Here are a few spiritual songs that will always be my favorites:
Nearer My God to Thee/ Al Green- My mother sang this song when I was a little girl, sitting nearby watching her iron my dresses. To this day, I love to iron, and love Al Green's version of this song because it's sung with so much emotion.
His Eye is on the Sparrow/ Marvin Gaye - To me, Marvin was the quintessential spiritual singer. Even his R&B tunes carried that flavor.
Suzanne/ Nina Simone - Best version of Leonard Cohen's famous song. Creative, innovative, brave.
Suzanne/ Harry Belafonte - Second best version of the Leonard Cohen song. Lost my copy, and haven't been able to find it anywhere.
Gospel Medley/ Destiny's Child - Hearing the meshing of the voices of Beyonce',Kelly and Michelle lilting this tune is pure pleasure. I always think how much they must have enjoyed singing this, which is composed of three songs, You've Been So Good / Now Behold the Lamb / Jesus Loves Me.
The Storm is Over Now/ R. Kelly - This song transcends any of his transgressions, and testifies to the God in most of us.
O Happy Day/ The Edwin Hawkins Singers- I love the contained, steady emotion of this song, which always makes me feel good.
Bird on a Wire/ K.D. Lang - Her version of Leonard Cohen's song sounds like an honest prayer to me.
Say Amen/ Howard Hewitt - This song is such a testimony to how we often give praise to a higher power within us. I love Howard's rendering of this song, but I have to buy an udated copy because the YouTube version sounds a bit grainy.
Mary, Don't You Weep/ Aretha Franklin- If you can sit still while listening to this song, please check your pulse. I have to at least clap, sway and/or moan whenever I hear this.
There are other spiritual songs I love by Aaron Neville, Solomen Burke, Jennifer Hudson and Patti LaBelle, among many others, which I hope to write about at another time. Please share some of your favorite spiritual songs in the Comments section at the bottom.
Always, my life has been a square
Of harsh confinement I strain to bear
Within boundaries so saliently spare
Neatly attending my own frustration
Always, to dwell within four walls
Whose lonely lines define the halls
Inside of which I heed life's call
Silently serving my vast obligation
Always, to seek from inside a box
Answers from life that open the locks
While producing work by heaven's clock
Diligently fulfilling my destination
Always and now in accepting four
Lines with choices that contain a door
Belatedly, to realize there is much more
Tasting the fruits of this revelation!
Now, in perceiving it's useless to be
Locked into four without a key
Doors gradually carved have set me free,
Finally enjoying victorious elation!
copyright 2009, Georgette Jones
How shameful to cling to this brazen bed
Where comfort embraces like arms
Where warmth ignores what lies ahead
To invite enjoyment of morning's charms
The perfumed pillow beneath my head
Forms a cuddle much like a lover's
Hugs me firmly to lie here instead
Coaxes me joyfully into the covers
The midwinter landscape beyond my view
Parallels the tedium of today's tasks
Where obligations are many, options few
No compromise coming, no need to ask
To enjoy for once, disposable time
Without structure, concern or worry
To claim this day a friend of mine
To enjoy life without hurry
But such indulgence is not to be
Calendar dates always creep through
The revelry of my morning and me
And admonishes us to pay our due
Now fully dressed, I walk away
From my lovely bed, now neatly prim
From my lovely bed, where I wish to stay
No telltale signs of my pleasure of him!
Copyright, 2009,Georgette Jones
