James Mallum Poems

I want to play
Like I used to when a napkin was as much a pant
As a pair of jeans
When there was still twilight in the west
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There's a song in our hearts
Who will sing along
If only we could dance
But we are too busy on the run
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Some too are lost and blind
With a vacuum lagging and filling inside
Like a comet flashing across the sky
They let the Universe their fate decide
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I pledge to this land
By the beauty of the Nile
Where even angels sigh
To a people black and bold
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Let me tell you about myself
And take these secrets off the shelf
Back then I was young
Life... Love... such a sweet song
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Close to the shores
Where slaves once reveled in freedom
They welcomed slaves as master of slaves
Another in the order, one man came
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A look at myself vivid and real
Not a reflection
From glass and from steel
So was I conceived of thought and deed
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Heartbeat of a raging lion
The voice of a beating drum
Like a clay pot covered in iron
Such, his dueler's rump
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Royal blood
That is what I am
Not by the beads crimson as ruby
Nor with adornments gold and shiny
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They say they come rare
Those without heads for yams and condiments
Those that make pittance where they went
Oh! How bent are their backs
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