"The Chosen" - by Michael 'Storm' Miller

On Yom Kippur, 5778 (2017), I invited Mr. Michael "Storm" Miller to speak from the bimah during our morning service. Mr. Miller is a business owner in Chester, PA. He is a war veteran, a father, an African-American, an entrepreneur, and a poet. This is a spoken-word poem that he delivered to our congregation. It is his own composition, recited from memory, and only ever written down when I asked to share it here. Please feel free to share with me your thoughts and reactions. Thank you.

The Chosen

by

Michael "Storm" Miller

Sometimes I wonder what this world would be without words

Nouns, syllables and consonants formed from moving lips but,

never heard

And the loudness of whispers that feel like pinched nerves

Shooting pain deep into my soul

And these rhymes that I spit is the only way to console the cold

Of darkness because I'm feeling so alone but,

In the silence of my solitude I start to realize

How can I be in life any more than what I aspire to be,

Knowing Damn well when you look at me you are going to see

What you want to see but, I can't let that bother me

You see, I've been blessed with the knowledge

That the real test of honor is not in how I die.....

But, in how I live

And as long as I captivate your ears, knowledge is mine to give

Yet, the thought of that scares me

You see, I don't want to fail you

I do not want to be the nickel on life’s railroad track

Eventually trying to derail you

That's not my forte, I'm not put together like that

You see.... If I get lost, who will become this shepherd’s keeper?

And I'm going to ask you this question without an answer

Because I know it's going to make my question that much deeper

And all the while I try to walk a straight path through this chaos

Knowing that many brothers before me took a shortcut

And some way...... Somehow...... They all got lost.

You know what?

I don't want to be your idol

I just want to be one man with an idea, who against all odds

Always keeps it real

And if that means that you elect to follow me

Because of the way I make love to my poetry

Then let that be

And if that means that an army raises up off these reverberations

Then we will be marking time across every country

And if that means one day, together, we can raise mountains

out of the Dead Sea..... Then follow me

Never forget that will give you only what you give it

Never forget, do not walk amongst your brothers and sisters

with your nose in the air unless, you’re smelling "IT"

Never Forget, true love will save your soul from heartache

And always remember the LORD gives man life

So it will never be yours to take

So every night I beg of you

Please fall to your knees and give thanks to the Most High

Pray for the strength to see the truth

Instead of being blinded by this world’s lies

And maybe, maybe if I'm humble enough in time

These words that I speak will be frozen

And you all can laugh at me now but, before the rain fell

No one believed Noah was the chosen