How to Save a Life: Poems and Inspirations

Copyright © 2011 by Jean Sanders.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

NKJV

Scripture quotations marked NKJV are taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Rev. date: 02/16/2015

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Contents

Inspiration

Introduction

Forwards

Acknowledgments

My Manifesto

POETRY

A First Time Mother

A New Beginning

A Wonderful Gift

Awake Unto Chaos

Before

Beloved

Broken

Captivity

Change

Childhood life

Dear Miss Valentine

Despair

Faith In The Face Of

Family

Fear Is the Opposite of Faith

Gal I need you

Get Well

Hard Hearts Mad Soft

Her Gee Spot Baby

How Sweet You Are

I am

I Am Not Your Victim Anymore

I Believe In Love

I Can See With My Eyes Closed

I Got the Blues

I Have Fallen In Love

I Love the Spring Time

I Said A Little Prayer

I Said a Prayer for You Last Night

I’ll Never Find The Words

I’ve Lost

If Only You Would Smile

If You Can’t Do Somebody No Good

Keep the Faith

Let Your Love Lord Shine on Me

Look Deeper to Help

My Dark and Lovely

My Fairy God Mother

My Meaning to This Life

My Newborn Identity

My Prayers

My sweet

Observations 1

Observations 2

Observations 3

On The Mountain Top

Seniors

Smile

Some Times

Storm Clouds

The First Time I Fell In Love

The Little Boy’s Dream

The Little Prince

The Only Way to Hold Me Tight

The Time for Change

The Union of Souls

The Warmth of Your Love

There Are No Easy Answers

Thinking of You

Thou Shalt Not Kill

Thoughts of You

To A Strong Black Woman

Unchained

What Would You Do

Why the Child

With One Lie

With You

You Are My Desire

You Are Never a Man

You Are Never Too Old To Learn

You Did Not Let Go

You Got the Rhythm Baby

Your Love

Zahniah

Pookie Pie

What Drugs Will Do

Drugs and Alcohol

Meth

How to Save a Life

FATHER’S AND MOTHER’S

Dear Dad

Fathers

I Am A Father

If Only My father were Still Alive

Just My Father And Me

Mother’s Day 1

Mothers

Mother’s What Can I Say

Mother’s day 3

To A Very Special Mother

BIRTHDAYS, ANNIVS, ETC.

† Happy Birthday †

A Young Woman’s Birthday

Happy Birthday

Happy Birthday

Happy Birthday

Happy Birthday

Happy Birthday

Happy Birthday

Happy Retirement

Happy Valentine’s Day

My Love

Happy Anniversary

Happy Anniversary

Happy Thanks Marry New

Season’s Greetings

Season’s Greetings

SHORT STORIES

Hatred

His Name Was Big R

Lesson’s From The Old sage

That Mangy Old 3 Legged Dog

The Ball Game Of Life

The Old Preacher’s

We Said A Prayer For You Last Night

INSPIRATIONAL

A Few Wise Saying My Elders Gave Me

A Sign in the Moon

Black History

If There Were No Black People

Can Anything Good Come Out Of Prison

Centennial

Failure Is a Relief

God Bless This House

I’m Still Ticking

Let Things Settle

Plant The Seed

Q

Thank You Miss T

The Seven Blessings of A Mother

The Vision of

My dreams

To The G Family

True Joy Is Birth through Sorrow

What DO The

Cross Mean

Wisdom Is

BIBLE COMMENTARIES

The Book of ST John

Wisdom From The Bible Prospective

Dedications

This book is dedicated to all my children;

to share a part of my heart long after I’m gone.

Children, I was never ashamed to face you,

I just did not want to disgrace you

Inspiration

From the poet’s heart

Beloved, it is my hope and prayer, that the lord would use this book of poems and inspiration to lift your spirit, encourage your heart build your faith and brighten your days.

Introduction

Into the spirit of the poet

I am an infant to this thing called poetry, the poems I write are just nursery rhymes in comparison to what I’ve read heard and seen from other artist.

One brother shared with me his books and I was astonished at his work. He used word and meanings to express his heart that I have just begun to understand. In the context of what he had expounded to me lead me to the different styles of writing.

I have no teaching in poetry nor did I go and read a lot of poems to get what I have today.

Forwards

From the mind of the poet

When I first sat down and began to put my thoughts and feelings on paper, I was in prison, and a very broken person, my life was destitute tormented and very much afflicted.

I had collapsed under the weight of my pain and suffering, my struggles were too many to be counted, my inner torments were the fertile ground of my spirits brokenness, and those troubles were the seeds that were planted in the ground of sorrow and despair.

My failures were the fertilizers that gave nourishment for their germination and the growth of my inspiration, the many tears gave much needed water for the manifestation of the poems that fallow.

I believe that what is concealed is always much more powerful than that which has been revealed, and one must be liberated in order to bring that which is hidden in the dark corners of the conscience, because spiritual truth has no boundaries.

After I was spiritually enlightened, the limitations and strongholds of the spiritual evil’s that imprisoned my life began to fall away and I began to see God’s light in everything and in every one.

Also there was glorious insightful wonders along with miracles that began to unfold in my spirit as I began to be inspired by the most simplest things in life, like the fragrance of a flower after an early morning rain.

Even So it was that which was lovely to my soul as I found revelations from looking into the scarlet night sky to the little bird with its mouth open wide being feed by its mother in a nest on a tree.

I also saw for the first time in my life that my pain could be channeled and transformed into poetry, and so by God’s grace and mercy, I birth forth this work,

May you enjoy it and find peace in your heart and soul, but most of all strength to live another day. TO GOD BE THE GLORY…

Acknowledgments

This book would not have been possible without some very important and exceptional people that God has put into my life, that have encourage me, supported, and gave me invaluable insight and counseled me on everything; to them and all others that I may not give a shout out to in this endeavor.

If you know me and have read this book and your name is not mention in this book, don’t feel bad or that I do not appreciate your input, truly if I was to name every name of the people that have been a blessing to me over the years, there would not be enough space possible.

First I would like to think and acknowledge my heavenly Father who is the head of my life, my Lord and savior Jesus Christ for his blood sacrifice a long time ago, and for the gift of the Holy Spirit that leads me and guides me through life.

The name of this book derived from a very special person and her family, without who’s finical support and every other contribution that I could think of, and who will receive the first alto graft copy, a person that has stayed on my side and has kept me in her heart through prayer, cards, and gifts for years; a person that, when I was down and feeling that life was not worth living anymore; that was in Church one day singing a song How To Save A Life with her family took the time to think about me and said a prayer for me at the very time that I needed it.

To you Adele Seger, and to Chad, Nick and Kinna I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart; to Julia, Andrew and Dan that are all in that circle of support, all of you are my Angles that were put into my life for this very purpose.

To Amanda Ripley I’ll never forget that cold February day when I shaked hands with Bill Clinton the X President in Harlem, you came into my life and have been an extremely indispensable bridge over the river of my past; by writing Outside The Gates for Time Magazine; witch is the title of my next book, you have told my story to the whole world in the most compassionate, hard factual text, with all the pain and dysfunction that goes with a broken man.

Despite my ambivalence and hesitation, you made it clear to me that you would write the truth and tell both sides of my story, even I had to cry when I read it for the first time; then you stayed with me throughout all my triumphs and failures, always supporting me sending me all kinds of gifts of encouragements, how could words express the gratitude I have in my heart for you.

To my brother Andrew, you have overcome so much and still you have never looked down on me when I failed you, always had a word of comfort to lift me up. I look up to you in so many ways; you are a good brother, a good husband and a great father to say the least.

DD aka Lady Penumbra and Ty Conscious; Thank you for everything, it was you that started me along my way in so many aspects of recovery, when I first came to you I was a broken little boy in a man’s jail, you gently began to peel away the layers of my pain and suffering opening up those heavy bars that had me in that endless abyss of misery and despair. You also gave me my first book and told me to write down all my feeling, always having something nice to say that had encourage me to do more for the next time you saw me, now after four books and hundreds of poems latter I do have closer on many of the childhood nightmares that used to terrorize my dreams.

To My daughters I already wrote about how I feel about you, I just want to let you know again how much it means to me to hear you say that you forgive me and love me and want me to be a part of your lives.

To my precious granddaughter, Sweet Potato Pie; you know how much your granddad loves you, how I do my best to shower you with hugs and kisses, you are the best reason why I keep on keeping on, I’m so blessed to have you in my life, and I will show you all the love that I was not able to give to all of my babies until the day I go the way of all man.

To my # 1 cuzz I’m just going to call you D; when I first came home and told you about my books you sat me down at your computer a let me start on my future, always saying to me remember to save, save your work, thank you so much for all your enthusiasm and