Elegy for Sweet Paula Shular
For you, Paula
Who handled yo bizness
Who enjoyed the best of life
The joy and the pain of it all
What else is life about: joy and pain
Sun and rain
Some want the sun all the time
They run from the rain
But no cross no crown.
You suffered the cross
So now you shall wear the crown of eternity
There is no death in eternity,
Somebody say ache, amen.
The Africans say the only death is to be forgotten
Sweet, Paula, you shall never be forgotten
Your smile, your laugh, your joy, your love
Shall be with us always and forever
You did the best you could with what you had
Who can ask for anything more
A true trooper
You know how we used to do it
Coast to coast
Frisco, Oaktown, Berkeley , New York , Newark , Philly
When I did the show, you did the show bizness
I didn’t have to worry, you paid the musicians, got them in the limo
Leroy had your back
Remember that Night in Newark at the Baraka’s house
You and Leroy heard them talking late into the night
Amina told Amiri, “Don’t mess us up! Don’t mess us up!”
Yeah, she told him to handle his bizness.
We gonna miss you soldier
But you remain forever a sweet memory
A little angel chile
Who came down from heaven only for a moment
Then returned home
Surely we are from Allah and to Him we return.
For Leroy who caught you at the bus stop
when you were young and tenda
Better know he loves you
He loves you and honors you in life and death
You helped him find the many mansions in His Father’s house
You know that nigguh was a fool for you
Don’t you ever doubt it, Sweet Paula
You gave him that wonder child, Yusef
We don’t know what he gonna be
But he Gemini
So you know he gonna be something else
Ride on, Sweet Paula
Ride into eternal life
Ride into the sun
Dance upon the sea upon the waves
Walk upon the water like Jesus
Tell the water, tell the waves, tell the wind
Peace be still
Peace be still
Peace be still.
As-Salaam-Alaikum
--Marvin X, Minister of Poetry, 8-25-05
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