Poems

Thrive in 2025

Every year is a different year.

You are either stagnant, regressing or growing.

You are either failing or succeeding but, every day in life you are learning.

The seasons come and the seasons go.

Life is a cyclical movement of ups and downs,

Twists and turns, ins and outs, ups and abouts.

In 2020, it was the year of plenty.

In 2021, many victories were won.

In 2022, many dreams came through.

In 2023, It was the year to be free.

In 2024, it was the year of much more.

In 2025, it will be the year that we thrive.

Every year is different, every year is a different year.

You are either stagnant, regressing, growing, failing or succeeding

The seasons come and the seasons go.

Life is a cyclical movement of ups and downs,

Twists and turns, ins and outs, ups and abouts.

One thing never changes; God is still in control.

The sun, stars, moon still shine at the appropriate time.

The rivers still flow into the oceans and ten cents make a dime.

Everything was created for a reason and everyone was created for a purpose.

With steady movements and focus you could win the race like the tortoise.

Do something different for a different outcome.

The same old same old doesn’t work.

Don’t settle for less, don’t get into that mess.

Raise your standards higher and reach beyond the stars.

Evaluate your circles and reassign roles.

Stop dropping into those pot holes.

Think beyond the box, don’t get stuck in a rat trap.

Go out there for your success, it won’t just drop into your lap.

Are you a rat, running the rat race of life?

Or are you a human advancing in the human race?

2025 is a year of the open door and so much more.

It’s a year of more than surviving, it’s a year of thriving.

It’s the year of finding and realizing your true purpose and

It’s the year of operating with great purpose and passion.

It’s the year of striving for excellence in every way and fashion.

It’s the year of the abundant mindset.

On your mark, get set.

Get ready to reset.

Let’s go 2025!

It’s time to thrive!

– Erika Heslop Martin

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God is Great

There are no longer any revolutionary movements or wars of national liberation being fought for people’s freedom.

There is no such thing as morality, and anyone acting from a moral centre is naïve.

If you cannot act consistently from that position, your position becomes invalid.

In their world

Many of the heroes of the past become terrorists or supporters of terrorism.

Nelson Mandela

Malcolm X

Patrice Lumumba

Marcus Garvey

Michael Manley

Ho Chi Minhg

Toussaint L’Ouverture

Nat Turner

Amilcar Cabral

Kwame Nkrumah

Frantz Fanon

George Jackson

Our oppressors will always

Find ways to criminalize us

Our resistance to their oppression

Including criminalizing the guidance we receive from God

We are asked to ignore

What we see with our eyes

Our conscience

The righteous indignation of students around the world and guidance from our hearts

We are asked to condemn

Those fighting settler colonialism

And excuse the last settler colonial state

Practicing genocide.

We are asked to demonise those

Democratically elected

And give all rights to the entity that came to power

By ethnic cleansing and terror

One man’s Freedom Fighter is

Another man’s terrorist

To the hegemon

William C Rogers III Captain of the SS Vincennes was a hero

Orlando Bosch is celebrated for bombing an airplane killing 15 Cuban teenage athletes

So, democratically elected Hamas

Fighting against the Anglo-Saxon backed

Apartheid and genocidal state

Is designated a terrorist organization

That should be given no quarter

We are asked to condemn

Those rebelling against oppression

That has been in place for 7 decades

With no end in sight

We are asked to deny our humanity

And accept that a loving God

Would tolerate genocide

the slaughter of an imprisoned people.

It’s true what MLK Jr said

The moral arc of the universe is long

But it bends toward Justice

Karma is real and God is great.

– Wesley Morris

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Gratefulness – a depth of gratitude

Oh, to experience that most fulfilling thought—

A depth of gratitude that you besought.

Imagine a virtual video clip of your life,

And be amazed by the joys you’ve experienced, despite the strife.

Let’s recall the pleasure of a new dawn—

That magnetic pull of a sunrise to which your eyes are drawn.

The aroma of a steaming Mountain Peak

Reminds you of the joys that abound from simple pleasures of which we speak.

The love bestowed on you by family and friends

Is a boon that nothing transcends.

Enjoy the warmth of a glowing sun,

A gift that has been given to us since time begun.

The soothing comfort of a cool breeze

Brings to your mind, that nature, in all its glory,

Is so pleasing to humankind.

Remember that!

Your home, be it ever so humble,

Is a haven to which we can always stumble.

So! Each morning as we awake,

Let’s give thanks for all the blessings we have had

And hope to continue to partake.

– Dr Alverston Bailey