by Ernie McCray
Hey, I just want to say
“Hi” to you “Boys of Excellence”
of Hoover High,
especially since I haven’t
met with you as much as
I would have liked to.
But, I often think of you
and I value each moment
I have spent with you
kicking back in my seat
munching on a treat
listening to you speak,
coming to realize
that you young men,
when it comes to excellence,
can’t be beat.
I mean you guys,
in my eyes,
epitomize
young men
of quality.
And I can’t help but see
you as Keepers of the Dream,
a dream
first dreamt
by a people
as they were being corralled,
cursing and screaming
to heaven and hell
in a tongue
that could no longer serve
them well,
to be sold
and stocked as
cargo on ships
and unloaded
in homes and fields
conceived in hell –
then emancipation came
offering very little change
and here we are today
still struggling to fulfill the dream:
true “liberty and justice”
for all human beings.
And I can easily see
that you honor that dream
in how you’ve chosen to function
in a world of dysfunction
with open eyes,
looking at what you see
critically,
reading between the lines
for clarity
so you can speak your truths
refectively
from the depths of
your hearts and souls
openly, boldly and clearly –
giving heed to our ancestors’ call
earnestly
with way more purpose than gall,
with way more poise
than noise,
like a Frederick Douglass
or James Baldwin
or W.E.B. Dubois
to name a few.
You embody brilliance
and I feel proud
just knowing you.
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