Prompted by Poet's Place Cafe

Glory to the People Form of the Week Kwansaba

Glory to the People

I propose my purpose at the moment
on this fifth honored day of Kwanzaa
is to create with words a song
of hands held, each driven to share
their efforts and assets in willful intent
of artful talents gifted by our Lord.
Raise your voice and join the jubilee.
                             ~~Judi Van Gorder

Notes: ▶︎

Verse Form: Kwansaba = 7 lines of 7 words each, no word longer than 7 letters, celebrating the 7 principals of Kwanzaa.

For "Form of the week: Kwansaba"  

Previously I wrote:

Day 1 Dec 26 Celebrate Unity/Family

Sisters and Brothers

We bond in blood, grow in love,
two families unite for double blood bond.
Sunday dinners hosted laughter, tears and debate.
When in doubt or in some trouble
I know who to call when right
or when wrong. It takes a team
to carry the load, DNA links strong.

Day 2 Dec 27 Self Determination

Being Me

Scrappy, they call me. I keep coming.
I'm willing to work with my hands
and my mind and always my heart.
Focused on points far in the future,
I train to take hurdles in stride
kicking out high and long to propel
over the rails without a second's pause.

Day 3 Dec 28 Work Collectively

Collective

You have heard it many times before
"no man is an island unto himself"
You are not alone, nor am I,
we are here in this with others.
We must learn to share our talents
lending our hands and our hearts
to the task of making things whole.

Day 4 Dec 29 Cooperative Economics

Can Do

"Put your money where your mouth is."
Another good old saying to live by.
He is hungry, she needs a coat,
they need shelter, we want to learn.
People helping people in what they can,
Even the poorest can share one thing.
One by one we rebuild our world.

Day 5 Dec 30 Purpose

Here I Am

What does this world hold for me?
Am I here simply to be here?
What are the gifts I've received
and how can I use those talents?
A purpose or reason to be alive
is why we learn, why we grow,
why we give and strive and search.

Day 6 Dec 31 Creativity

Creation

Born in His image, we too create.
I write, you paint and she sings.
If it is dreamt, it can be.
So much beauty and pain to explore
To be heard, really heard, my soul
to your soul can only be done
through the gift of art, our reward.

Day 7 Jan 1 Faith

Faith

I've said it many times, I know
faith is an action word, for faith
without works is dead. My God lives.
What would Jesus do? I'm called.
I am charged to honor His words
and care for others as my own
for they are His, as am I.

Technically, for me the most difficult element to embrace is keeping the words at 7 letters or less. The other element that gave me some trouble was writing 7 words not syllables in a line.