Four Poems by a Homeless San Francisco Vet

On a recent trip to California we spent a day in San Francisco and I had the privilege to be approached by a poet as i waited for a cable car ride at the turnstile in Union Square. James Harper offered up this short collection of poems on copy paper, signed and stapled. For the few dollars he was asking, I thought it turned out to be quite a deal. He shyly solicited his work as he told me that he and his wife were living in the alley nearby. We thanked each other and he disappeared in the crowd while I folded the papers into my jacket pocket as our ride began. I didn't find or remember to read them until back in Ohio a week later.

Hopefully you'll be moved as I was and am everytime I read them. If you have the good fortune to be in the Union Square area of San Francisco, please keep an eye open for James...you'll recognize his nubian skin, nappy hair and knowing, tolerant smile. Pick up a copy of his latest poetry. It'll do you no harm.

I have tried to place his four poems in here as accurately as possible, although some of the punctuation may vary slightly from his copy. There were some ink smudges in some parts that made it a bit difficult to read.

Thanks for reading James Harper.

“Viet Name is My Test-A-Ment”

by James Harper

I was taken from home

and trained to kill,

Another human being

against my will.

He fought real hard

to protect himself, and his land,

but i had no choice but to survive.

And now i live with blood on my hands.

“Viet Nam, is My Test-A-Ment”

I always had to be aware of where

i’d place my next step,

or i could find myself down

in panic, screaming “Medic Help!!!”

A lot of good and brave young boys

are now dead, and gone, Please someone

tell me why, because we made it back

to America, but not back home.

“Viet Nam, is My Test-A-Ment”

We were always smoking weed

and staying, high

because it helped our young minds

to get by.

Yes Viet Nam is My Test-A-Ment for the

way I live life, so for all the fellows

that didn’t make it, i have no further

respect for the Stars and Stripes. Because,

“Viet Nam is My Test-A-Ment”

“The President”

by James Harper

If I was the President

I’d give everybody a ride on air force one,

I’d let you see all parts of the world

We’d have a whole lot of fun.

If I was the President

All of the little children

would have a home, and plenty of food to eat,

Plus, everybody would say hello-and how are you

to everyone they meet.

If I was The President

they, would Elect me on Friday,

Assassinate me on a Saturday,

Bury me on a Sunday,

And everybody would take their asses

back to work on Monday.

If I was the President.

“The Creator”

by James Harper

I am the Creator,

existing long before your time.

And all that you see, and do,

is granted only by the will of mine.

I am the Creator,

Even when you hear the sound

of a new born baby when it cries.

No one seems to realize the fact

that someone, somewhere, dies.

I am the Creator

All of this –my Creation, is of

My so infinite power,

And when your time comes, you

too, will submit to the newborns

cries from high atop my yielding tower.

Yes, i am

That Creator.

“Another Day Did I Rise”

by James Harper

This day did i rise

only to face another, as the last,

confronted by deprivation, and rejection,

Hell!! There’s no difference now than

in my historical past.

Another day did i rise

As i sit in this San Francisco

alley watching the pigeons fly in,

I’m then reminded of the sad fact

of just how, Un-Free i am all over again.

Question: Is my Nubian skin, and

nappy hair a curse of nature, (or) a

blessing in disguise? And why am i

frowned upon, and avoided, by those of

lighter complexion (none are anymore

intellectually superior,) and after all

don’t we, all as humans seek the same

life prize?

Another day, did i rise

Well, surely i’m blessed because the

highest praise that one human can offer to

another as a compliment, (or) in recognition

of, is done simply through the act(s)

of Imitation/Emulation.

Another day will i rise.