Dis Poetry Poem by Benjamin Zephaniah

Dis Poetry

Rating: 3.7


Dis poetry is like a riddim dat drops
De tongue fires a riddim dat shoots like shots
Dis poetry is designed fe rantin
Dance hall style, big mouth chanting,
Dis poetry nar put yu to sleep
Preaching follow me
Like yu is blind sheep,
Dis poetry is not Party Political
Not designed fe dose who are critical.
Dis poetry is wid me when I gu to me bed
It gets into me dreadlocks
It lingers around me head
Dis poetry goes wid me as I pedal me bike
IÕve tried Shakespeare, respect due dere
But did is de stuff I like.

Dis poetry is not afraid of going ina book
Still dis poetry need ears fe hear an eyes fe hav a look
Dis poetry is Verbal Riddim, no big words involved
An if I hav a problem de riddim gets it solved,
IÕve tried to be more romantic, it does nu good for me
So I tek a Reggae Riddim an build me poetry,
I could try be more personal
But youÕve heard it all before,
Pages of written words not needed
Brain has many words in store,
Yu could call dis poetry Dub Ranting
De tongue plays a beat
De body starts skanking,
Dis poetry is quick an childish
Dis poetry is fe de wise an foolish,
Anybody can do it fe free,
Dis poetry is fe yu an me,
DonÕt stretch yu imagination
Dis poetry is fe de good of de Nation,
Chant,
In de morning
I chant
In de night
I chant
In de darkness
An under de spotlight,
I pass thru University
I pass thru Sociology
An den I got a dread degree
In Dreadfull Ghettology.

Dis poetry stays wid me when I run or walk
An when I am talking to meself in poetry I talk,
Dis poetry is wid me,
Below me an above,
Dis poetry's from inside me
It goes to yu
WID LUV.

COMMENTS OF THE POEM
Andrew James 29 September 2008

drivel... evidence that english culture is falling into a cesspool of illiterate dunderheads... zephaniah's ouvre is empty headed drivel... he has little to say other than preachy diatribes imparted with trivial insights slapped together for mass consumption and appeal... most children write better poetry than this garbage..

22 61 Reply
iain Robb 14 March 2014

Sorry, folks, but the only reason this dyslexic ex-burglar is printed is to appease the PC-agending setting sensibilities of the very same pseudo-liberal white establishment that has made a running farce of modern poetry, with its editorial incompetence. And it's also the same establishment he uncreatively takes swipes at constantly in his poetry, i.e. the one he owes his living to. Hart Crane he clearly isn't, and talent he has not.

13 55 Reply
voice of reason 13 November 2017

all i can hear when you talk is ignorance please educate yourself in the history of race before you comment again

2 2
Sakhiwe Shezi 14 March 2018

“Not designed fe those who are critical”

0 2
Ford Madox Makepeace 19 May 2009

I'm not saying it's wrong or racist to criticise Zephaniah, but let's examine your criticisms in detail: 'he has little to say other than preachy diatribes' - but is that true? 'Dis poetry nar put yu to sleep Preaching follow me Like yu is blind sheep, ' So he explicitly says he isn't preaching. It seems to me that everything he says is written as his opinion, not as an overwriting dictat. e.g. 'I've tried to be more romantic, it does nu good for me So I tek a Reggae Riddim an build me poetry'. You also say: it is 'slapped together for mass consumption and appeal'. It's obviously quite simple, but does that make it trivial? He is alienating the majority of poetry critics - so you can't accuse him of courting their popularity. And then, isn't 'mass consumption' the point of his poetry - not to sell but to include and involve: 'Dis poetry is quick an childish Dis poetry is fe de wise an foolish, Anybody can do it fe free, Dis poetry is fe yu an me, ' So to accuse him of something he is clearly proud of is pointless. He says he creates poetry that makes the author almost unnecessary and the poetry the mass, universal language that is 'below, above and inside'. Re-examine your criticisms my friend... incidently not a lot of dub poets on this site are there? Where's Jean 'Binta' Breeze or Linton Kwesi Johnson?

43 24 Reply
Dr Antony Theodore 22 June 2020

when I am talking to meself in poetry I talk, Dis poetry is wid me, Below me an above, Dis poetry's from inside me It goes to yu. a poet's heart and vision. goes with love to you. tony

2 0 Reply
Harindhar Reddy 27 March 2020

Loved your sweet poem on poetry.

3 0 Reply
book club 07 November 2019

dis poetry dis poetry is a

2 1 Reply
Ratnakar Mandlik 22 June 2019

" Dance hall style, big mouth chanting" What a stunning conceptualization?

4 0 Reply
Brian Taylor 17 May 2019

Great poem, I love this poem.

7 0 Reply
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