By: Cedric McClester

Do they suffer from PTSD?
Take a closer look to see
They’re not the people
That they used to be
After having been deployed
Multiple times ya see
For them the phrase,
“War is hell!” is  REALITY!

They’re just war veterans
The nation swore to protect
Yet their war related illnesses
Are found to be suspect
So they go largely untreated
But hey what the heck
Is there any wonder
Why their lives are a wreck?

When they went marching’
Off to war
In places that we hadn’t
Been before
To sacrifice on
Some misbegotten foreign shore
They did everything
That we implored

So this Vereran’s Day
When they’re on parade
I ask you to think about
The sacrifices they’ve made
And about their lost comrades
Who can’t be repaid
Before you allow
Their memories to fade
















Cedric McClester, Copyright © 2021.  All rights reserved.

By: Cedric McClester

Must we respect the dead
Despite the hurtful things
They might have said
Or the incendiary things
From them we’ve read?
Consider  where any of it has led
Before committing
Their rhetoric to your head

He was a racial arsonist
So don’t be mislead
By his black power fist
I hope that you get my gist
About a homophobe
Who was more than this
A Jew baiter and an apologist
For the man whose *** he kissed

He was quite a charismatic speaker
Whose arguments were weaker
Than that of the kind truth seeker
That he claimed to be
Mercy mercy me
He rapidly rose to fame
By calling others
Out of their name

He made his living
Off of selling hate
And invited other to
The debate
And would crush them
Underneath the weight
Of the baseless facts
That he would state





Cedric McClester, Copyright © 2021. All rights reserved.

By: Cedric McClester

Facebook has chosen
To avoid their shame
By conveniently choosing
To change their name
But despite the change
They’re still the same
Don’t they know that game
Recognises game

Their sole concern
Is a profit margin
So they don’t care
About us disparaging
Their right to exist
Or their integrity
Which is suspect
‘Far as I can see

Meta is their
Brand’s new name
But it’s still Facebook
Just the same
So don’t buy into
Their tricknology
Or their novel approach
To psychology

Meanwhile
There’s the same disregard
For those
Who’ve been hit extra hard
By their callousness
And lack of concern
Makes one wonder
If they’ll ever learn?










Cedric McClester, Copyright © 2021.  All rights reserved,

By: Cedric McClester

We’ve seen nothing
Quite like this
Yet there are those
Who still insist
That they’d prefer
To wait instead
Despite the inflicted
And the dead

I’m not questioning
Their right
To resist mandates
Or to unite
Though they contribute
To our health blight
By instead
Choosing to fight

They’re entitled to
Their points of view
Regardless of how
It affects me or you
Yet no matter
What they say
We’re entitled
To keep them away

We’re watching
This pandemic spread
Among those living
In their head
By avoiding the statistics
That we’ve all read
We’re never gonna
Put this thing to bed






Cedric McClester, Copyright © 2021.  All rights reserved.

By: Cedric McClester

My internal
Sense of self
Is unique to me
And no one else
It doesn’t have
To do with ***
So don’t take it
Out of context

Gender and
It’s Identity
Ain’t up to you
It’s up to me
Despite what you
May claim you see
Or use
When you’re defining me

Now I don’t care
How it sounds
Let me choose
My own pronouns
My pronouns are how
I Identify
You have no right
To ask me why

She or her
As it were
Them or they
Others might say
He or him
Identifies men
When it’s felt
Nothing else can








Cedric McClester, Copyright © 2021.  All rights reserved.

By: Cedric McClester

When we learned
James Baldwin was dead
From stomach cancer
His obituary read
We accepted the news reluctantly
And said a silent prayer
Then naturally wondered
Who’d be his heir

But alas Baldwin was
One of a kind
And like  a fine jewel
Hard to find
His perspective was
Clearly cutting edge
And sometimes he even
Went over the ledge

Baldwin warned us of
The Fire The Next Time
Borrowed from an
Apocalyptic paradigm
His words have proven to be
Quite prophetic
Yet the changes that occurred
Were only cosmetic

Baldwin pulled off
America’s scab
And revealed the raw under-flesh
That she’s always had
Lurking somewhere
Just beneath the surface
Ya see revelation
Was his sacred purpose









Cedric McClester, Copyright © 2021.  All rights reserved.

By: Cedric McClester

I’ve told you things
That you didn’t want to hear
And challenged some things
That you’ve long held dear
All in an effort
To make it crystal clear
That I know what it is
That you most fear

All men are created equal
Was nothing more than myth
The moment I was declared
Only one fifth
I was cut down
As if with a scythe
And told to worship
At your monolith

And to further plant
Seeds of my self-doubt
What about the history
That left me out
As if my culture
Lacked stature and clout
Now truthfully tell me
What's that’ about?

So to wrap it all up
In a neat bow
There’s some other things
That you need to know
Like what your destiny
Is bound to show
You’re gonna have to
Reap what you sow







Cedric McClester, Copyright © 2021.  All rights reserved.