This poem won't say a thing
To the ears of the uncircumcised
It won't mean a thing
This is not a poem to condone history's miscarriages
This is a poem of fury towards forgetfulness,
to spank and correct
Of hypocritical ships, deadly seas, storms and drowning
Of treachery, treason, deceit and betrayal
About nations of Mizrah and Ethiopia
About cities: Selma, Monrovia, Accra, Lagos and Soweto
About treatings: slavery, segregation, and false equity
About names: Martin, Garvey, Madiba, Kwame, Douglass
About kidnaping, mobbing, lynching, brutality, injustice
About abbreviations: the KKK, ANC, WCC, SCLC
About prison:Robben Island and Birmingham city jail
About jobs: coal mines and sugar cane plantations
About symbols: freedom fist and black power salutes
About struggles: protests, civil wars and revolutions
About women with skimpy dresses, men with infidelity
About self-loss and identity miscarriage
About the darker brother, who also is American
About hope to live but preparedness to die
About gods: Jehovah, Allah, Castrol, Ghandi and Thoreau
By all means necessary, that we may overcome
Still we rise for phenomenal women still dream of rivers
This poem is not deep, but just a surface
This is not a poem that I should teach you
It is a poem that that you know enough to preach
This poem is meant to unsnarl your mind
About pain, bitterness, hate and compassion
About peace, love and reconciliation
But before freedom of speech get me in deep smittens
Remember that this poem, never said a thing!
This poem has not been translated into any other language yet.
I would like to translate this poem