The Touch of the Master's hand

It was battered and scarred and the auctioneer

Thought it was scarcely worth his while

To waste his time with the old violin,

But he held it up with a smile.

"What am I bid, good people," he cried

"Who started the bidding for me?
One dollar? One dollar. Do I hear two?

Two dollars, who makes it three?

Three dollars once, three dollars twice,

Going for three..." But no!

From the room, far back, a grey-bearded man

Came forward and picked up the bow.

Then wiping the dust from the old violin,

and tightening up the strings,

He played a melody, pure and sweet,

As sweet as the angel sings.

the music ceased, and the auctioneer,

With a voice that was quiet and low

Said "What now am I bid for this old violin?"

As he held it aloft with its bow.

"One thousand? One thousand, do I hear two?

Two thousand. Who makes it three?

Three thousand once, three thousand twice,

Going and gone!" said he.

The audience cheered, but some of them cried,

"We just don't understand.

What changed its worth?" Swift came the reply
"The touch of the Master's hand."

And many a man, with life out of tune,

All battered with bourbon and gin,

Is auctioned cheap, to a thoughtless crowd,

Much like the old violin.

A mess of pottage, a glass of wine,

A game, and he travels on.

He is going once, he is going twice,

He is going, and almost gone.

But the Master comes and the foolish crowd

never can quite understand

The worth of a soul, the change that is wrought,

By the Touch of the Master's Hand.

In Memory of Paul Douglas

Paul was a good friend of mine and he did a lot of me and the community.


Poem written in memory of Paul Douglas (taken out of his funeral program)

“ Paul was a very devoted volunteer at Union Mission where he bestowed us with his many talents and natural gifts. He also helped impact the lives of hundreds of people. Paul also had the ability to connect with those in need of a helping hand he always gave them an encouraging word. Paul was a special kind of person that saw the good in everyone. He was a person with a very large heart and loved showing kindness to everyone he met. Paul was dedicated to his friends, family, country and community. He will be greatly missed by all of us who knew him.”

The Final Flight

Don’t grieve for me, for now I’m free,
I’m following the path God laid for me,
I took his hand when I heard his call,
I turned my back and left it all.

I could not stay another day,
To laugh, to love, to work, to play.
Tasks left undone must stay that way,
I’ve found that peace at the end of the day.

Be not burdened with times of sorrow,
I wish you the sunshine of tomorrow.
My Life’s been full, I savored much,
Good friends, good times, a loved one’s touch.

Perhaps my time seemed all too brief,
Don’t lengthen it now with undue grief.
Lift up your heart and share with me,
God wanted me now, He set me free.

National Homeless Persons' Memorial Day

“All labor that uplifts humanity has dignity and importance and should be undertaken with painstaking excellence.” – Martin Luther King Jr.


December 21st is the first day of winter and the longest night of the year. It is also National Homeless Persons’ Memorial Day. I ask that you remember those who continue to struggle with day to day living and get involved in you community by giving back through volunteering your time to those in need. I recently wanted to volunteer at Second Harvest here in Savannah to help stock the food shelves. When I got there, they had so many volunteers that they didn’t need my help. This was a beautiful thing to see. There were adults, teenagers and little children taking time out of their day to make a change within their community. Although it was great to see so many people helping out and donating their time to those in need I didn’t see anybody who looked like me.

I think that it is important that we as Black people start helping our own community and uplifting each other. We have a Black president who has called for all of us to make a change. That means a change in the way we are living. People are dying on our streets from alcohol, drugs and guns. Maybe if we were more involved in uplifting each other and our communities we would have peace in the streets. I have a lot of friends who have done so many great things for my surrounding community and I am thankful for what they’ve done and what they continue to do but I think that more people need to get involved, more people like me; people who have grown up in these communities.

My friends, you all know how passionate I am about ending homelessness and violence within our communities. I wish that people would trust in God instead of a gun. I understand their struggle because I grew up in these neighborhoods and I hustled in these neighborhoods just the same but I made a change. I had to in order to keep living. If we continue to live in a destructive manner we’ll all kill each other. We need to stop killing each other and start caring for each other through advocacy and community service. We need to uplift our communities. I’m doing all that I am able to do with what God has given me. Politicians, CEOs and case workers do what they can but there are some people who are doing nothing.

Remember that there are a lot of people who are still hungry and struggling with addiction on our streets and they need help everyday not just during the holidays. Thank you to all of those who continue to give back and work towards making a change in our communities. Thank you to all of those who have donated their time and their money towards social justice. Thank you to all of my friends who are good people doing good deeds. To those who don’t know whether or not they should volunteer or give back just think about the condition of our community and open you eyes to what is going on. Uplift your community and be excellent in helping each other achieve that goal.

For the 2008 statistics of our homeless population in Savannah please visit the following link: http://www.homelessauthority.org/savstatistics.htm

If you are interested in volunteering for the Savannah community but don’t know where to start go to http://www.handsonsavannah.org/ If you are from another city visit http://www.handsonnetwork.org/ to look up your local chapter. You will find a calendar of volunteer opportunities which is how I reconnected with Second Harvest.