In a world where absentee fathers
Run faster & go farther
Than first round draft pick
NFL starters
I was just trying to run harder than my daddy
Every Saturday
Outside the library of Tulane University
See, that was a ritual for him & me
Then he, would go study
And I would go exploring
True story, I used to watch my stories on the 3rd floor
Where they kept the TVs
And after "All My Children"
I spent the rest of my day reading
On the floor sitting Indian style
Between the Secondary Education & English Lit isle
I was a professor's child
And in between classes and educating the masses
He found time to raise me
Race me
Even amaze me
By simply being, my daddy
Born within a parish of a city within a city (aka the country)
This name sake of a prize fighter
Son of a sharecropper
Husband to a show-stopper
And the greatest father
To his son and daughter since Bill Cosby
My daddy, with the soul of a soldier coming "Up From Slavery”
Body weak from life's ills but, heart full of bravery
He was my everything
And the blueprint for what every man should be
See, most people idealized their favorite celebrity
But, my daddy was A-List to me
A warrior on the battle field for his family
Never met a stranger and knew no enemy
Best known grio this side of the Mason Dixie
Used stories of his family as a teaching tool
And every student on campus thought my daddy was cool
Placed him on a pedestal
Perched up high
Amongst the Martins, Malcolms, Medgars and Fredericks of Heaven's freedom side
Which is why, I cry legacy tears
Whenever I think of the history he left here
And let me be clear
This isn't easy for me
I'm a 'daddy's girl'
And that man meant the world to me
He was more than just Professor Caldwell
He called me his road dog
And he was my homie
My mentor
My daddy
My hero
And I'm a miss all the places
We used to go
And I'm a miss the way he would challenge me
And well daddy,
"I know I act a fool
But, I promise that one day
I'm going back to school”
And I promise that one day
My kids WILL know you, Paw Paw, Ma'Dear and Big Momma too
I promise to continue doing what you do
Educating the masses
Holding onto moments in between classes
And to anybody asking
"I'm hanging tough"
Just tryna make it through
By leaving my footprints and making my own rules
And I'm taking care of momma just like you asked me too
Daddy, I love you
And I’ll miss you till I'm with you
But, I'm happy for you
Because Heaven just got a new angel
With wings of purple & gold
Dr. Joe Louis Caldwell
The greatest story God ever told
About Me
- Lifestyles of a Diva Named Peaches
- New Orleans, Louisiana, United States
- I'm an inter-national spoken word artist who teaches spoken word performance and history in the New Orleans Recovery School District. I am also a mentor to each of my students. I am CEO of DivaStating Arts & Entertainment Group, LLC which is a multi-media company specializing in: PR, Advertising, Promotions, Event Planning & Artist Development. I work as a: Events Consultant Fashion Consultant Publicist I also have an internship program for any college students wanting to gain knowledge in arts & cultural entertainment industry Additionally, I started The Sankofa Project as a structured means of reach so many of the young souls that I come across that need a positive outlet for their frustrations, pains, for their story. I'm basically a young sista who view the world through a poets eyes and feels that sometimes it doesn't hurt to just loose yourself in a rhyme because the divine can and will heal the word in due time...if we let it or write it.
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