Bush Man Poem by Tosin Abegunde

Bush man

See how them they look oo,
See how them they look us
Ara Oko!

My name, though crude, is reality,
Seedling of men of integrity,
Progeny of black tilling race
With diverse links but on a trace.

Like the caribbean, I was scold,
And through culture, I was sold,
Because I have no foot print there,
Where sand of time is very dear.

See how them they look oo,
See how them they look us
Ara Oko!

To them I look like an ape.
Glaringly they look for the shape:
If, of a truth, I possess a tail,
As determined by a fairy tale.

Their father has painted me black,
And in reality, I'm made of black,
For they saw me in a witch craft,
Which is faster than their air craft.

See how them they look oo,
See how them they look us
Ara Oko!

This makes them fill with awe.
And swam I on the sea in the'r jaw
Oh happy and remarkable day,
That furnishes me to have a say!

Something good has come.
Nothing crude is left as they come,
Within, I felt like a hero,
But in reality, I weigh a zero.

See how them they look oo,
See how them they look us
Ara Oko!

They hated me because I'm crude,
But not accused of being rude.
My progenitors tailored them then
Which build them like lions in den.

My weakness is their strength,
But their weakness I trail at length
Yet to no avail, for I lost foresight,
Right from the genesis in our site.

See how them they look oo,
See how them they look us
Ara Oko!

Do you still see me as Ara Oko?
For they always eat under my hoe
And in the heart of our forests,
I see them run for a fortress.

My herbalist is their medic'l doctor
Their civilization is our traitor.
The strength of herbs and roots
Becomes their source of our loots.

See how them they look oo,
See how them they look us
Ara Oko!

I sip pap, they sip tea, we have sea
All these have fashions we can see
Are they not, one n't, but both hot
As their value varies in slot?

Shame, Oh shame I see, like flame,
Spreading to hang them on blame
For their doom is close behind,
As they'll cry over ones left behind

See how them they look oo,
See how them they look us
Ara Oko!

Who then is really uncivilized?
The source or one to be refined?
Who is superior black or white,
As there exists no blood like light?

I'm the grey of ages speaking wits
Not like wisdom boiled in wheats.
My father land is their saviour,
As their first man is my progenitor

See how them they look oo,
See how them they look us
Ara Oko!