'Bible of an Alligator': One Black Man's War

Bible of an Alligator is the poignant autobiographical narrative of poet/author Alphonso Taylor. In his second collection of poems, Taylor expresses anger and frustration through free verse about the life experiences of a young black man living in the rough side of Southeast, Washington DC.

Denver, CO and Washington, D.C. (PRWEB) January 29, 2008 -- Bible of an Alligator is the poignant autobiographical narrative of poet/author Alphonso Taylor. In his second collection of poems, Taylor expresses anger and frustration through free verse about the life experiences of a young black man living in the rough side of Southeast, Washington DC.

An alligator is an animal typically underestimated until it proves otherwise; Taylor believes the alligator to be his alter ego. It is with verse that Taylor finds his final act of retribution. Defying the negative expectations society places on young black men, Taylor views his life to exist in a state of war. His words are his weapons, his ultimate act of vengeance. Through this prism of the world, Taylor's work is crafted with an urban edge and infused with his much-discussed "inner-thug."

Beyond the theme of war, Taylor elucidates on a variety of subjects: adolescence, education, religion, sex and prostitution; demonstrating both the transitions in his life and a versatility of style. Assailing the page with honesty, Bible of an Alligator is a collection of revealing and inspired work. It is a testament to sorrow, courage, and spirituality.

Young Black Man's War

My war is to stay alive

I don't know what racism is

In Black History

I done came across people looking like the KKK

showing me their hatred and animosity

trying to boycott me from making history

being successful

setting me up to get hurt like an assassination plot

They must be prejudice

it's like a burning cross

A violent march

hanging from a tree

fitting the description of police brutality

At last, I'm free

I'm still unsure if this a sweet land of liberty

In the early 1800s, we were denied of education

Now, we receive edumacation

The statistics shows young black men don't take advantage

We're incarcerated more than we're graduating

from society we're segregated

as low-lives we're discriminated

1830 to 1860 we were denied freedom to vote

The fifteenth amendment passed in 1869

We shall vote

Suffrage, the Voting Rights Act passed in 1965

In my time, it takes superstars to promote the act to vote

I vote, but I still don't see the differences I voted for

The situations are handled in war

How can I be concerned with terrorism from other countries

when there's terror in my own hood everyday

We used to be restricted from getting jobs

Today, looking for one, it's still hard

Can't keep making excuses blaming it on the White man

Don't want revenge by raping your women

We're trying to connect with our own women

Then again, can't blame you

We're always stereotyped as Generation X

it's always a saying, the reason is

We never had that one black man's leadership

A father

CRACK got us

But, we do it to ourselves

There was a time when Black men were killed for a cause

Now, we're being killed over petty situations

Can I escape like one of the great slave abolitionist, Frederick Douglass

I'm struggling in this new slave mentality

My 1863 Emancipation of Proclamation out of this can't be death

I just want to live with equal civil rights

But, I have to look out from young black men

who may want to take my life

We went from being Negroes to criminals

These days I want to be a Black Panther on the streets

with artillery to carry

In self defense be ready to kill

like Malcolm X says, "By any means necessary"

Let my own justice ring

But, sometimes I want to be Dr. Martin Luther King

Peaceful, nonviolent

regardless of the riots

They both were assassinated at the age of 39

The youth can grow old

Oh yes, I know it's gonna come, a change

This war on black men, I shall overcome some day

ISBN: 978-1-4327-18732    

Format: 6x9 Paperback    

SRP: $10.95

Genre: Poetry    

About the author: Alphonso Taylor was born and bred in Southeast, Washington, D.C. He is a graduate of Duke Ellington School of Performing Arts. He is also an alumni from the University of the District of Columbia with a BA in Theatre Arts. Mr. Taylor is a student of the human condition, wielding the written craft to enrapture the mind much like an artist wields a brush.

For more information or to contact the author, visit www.outskirtspress.com/alphonsotaylor

Email:castal9 @ hotmail.com

Phone: 202-562-3070        

Outskirts Press, Inc., 10940 S. Parker Rd - 515, Parker, Colorado 80134

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