The Bitter Cup
I drink from the bitter cup
With the choking oil of prejudice
To quench my thirst.
I ask for a cooling drink
Of the water of freedom
To soothe my parching lips.
Instead they give me
The gall of oppression.
And the dreges are so bitter;
My god, they're bitter!
And they tell me I must drink and like
it!
My soul burns within me
At the sight of that cup,
And every day the man
Within me stirs
And whispers, oh so clear:
" 'Tis better to die of thirst
Than drink forever from
The bitter cup."
- Bro. Cornelius V. Troup
Believe in Yourself
Believe in yourself, don't give up the
fight
Just keep on struggling with all of
your might,
Reslove that you will not yield in despair,
Your burdens, then, will be lighter
to bear.
Believe in yourself, then work doubly
hard
To acheive your goal despite every odd.
Faith in one's self and the will to
succeed
Are the requisites that all of us need.
Believe in yourself and be not dismayed!
Take courage from those who have made
the grade.
Keep monig on with a resolute will
And you'll reach the top of life's rugged
hill.
- Bro. Cornelius V. Troup
Consolation
Calm down and sease from secret groans,
While you may lose a hard fought race,
THe sun will melt away your moans,
It rays and light will give you grace.
Cool down and cease from sweltering,
You cannot win all the time,
You'll always have a peltering,
No matter what your race or clime.
Rise up to face the common foe,
Surrender not your fate to him,
Perplexities of grief and woe
Can also s tare him with a grim.
Calm down, dejected soul of man,
And cease from whining all the time;
You have to fight in this short span,
If you must conquer, you must climb.
-Bro. Nnamdi Azikiwe
To Sigma
Thy scattered sons with lofty hopes
and aims,
Achieving greatness which the world
proclaims,
Regarding life with tenderness sublime,
And with design which knows no race
or clime,
Appeals to selfish man to serve and
love
God's handiwork created from above;
Phi Beta Sigma stands this test for
years
Supremely over blight and cringing fears.
With unflinching will that cannot fail,
The sacred cause advances to prevail.
Give us the conscience staunch and spirit
brave,
To master stormy sea and angry wave,
And as the curtain falls o'er this brief
life,
We'll march triumphant from this din
and strife.
-Bro. Ben Nnamdi Azikiwe
BLACK MAN!