Djellabah Poem by Mekael Shane

In my mind I raced against time
I smoked peyote with the Apache
I chased Kangaroos
Through the bush with the Aborigine
All the while
I searched for the power within me

In my mind I outpaced time
I drew cave art with the Neanderthal
I climbed to the top of the mountain with the Sherpa
I hunted seal out on the frozen tundra with the Inuit
All the while
I searched for the power within me

In my mind I eclipsed time
I wrote poetry while under the tutelage of Langston Hughes
And I created visual greatness while apprentice to Gordon Parks
I even stood on the wall with Che' Guevara like a Sentry standing watch
All the while
I continued to search for the power within me
In my mind I turned to face time
I wrote an addendum to the Emancipation Proclamation
And I saw the ugly truths, of freedom's farcical Declaration
All the while
I continued to search for the power within me

In my mind I embraced time
I sought to free my nation from the pandemic perils of cocaine
And I prayed that we Americans would be free of
The snares of racial and economic divide that still has us chained
I did this while searching for truth, in this, our most tenuous hour
Then finally, God touched me, and I found my power

* Reprinted from 'Exegesis a Decade of Poetry by Mekael' *
© July 14,2009 by Mekael Shane