dis poem

[Yann]

dis poem
shall speak of the wretched sea
that washed ships to these shores
of mothers cryin for their young
swallowed up by the sea
dis poem shall say nothin new
dis poem shall speak of time
time unlimited time undefined
dis poem shall call names
names like lumumba kenyatta nkrumah
hannibal akenaton malcolm garvey
haile selassie
dis poem is vexed about apartheid rascism fascism
the klu klux klan riots in brixton atlanta
jim jones
dis poem is revoltin against 1st world 2nd world
3rd world division man made decision
dis poem is like all the rest
dis poem will not be amongst great literary works
will not be recited by poetry enthusiasts
will not be quoted by politicians nor men of religion
dis poem is knives bombs guns blood fire
blazin for freedom
yes dis poem is a drum
ashanti mau mau ibo yoruba nyahbingi warriors
uhuru uhuru
uhuru namibia
uhuru soweto
uhuru afrika
dis poem will not change things
dis poem need to be changed
dis poem is a rebirth of a people
arizin awaking understandin
dis poem speak is speakin have spoken
dis poem shall continue even when poets have stopped writin
dis poem shall survive u me it shall linger in history
in your mind
in time forever
dis poem is time only time will tell
dis poem is still not written
dis poem has no poet
dis poem is just a part of the story
his-story her-story our-story the story still untold
dis poem is now ringin talkin irritatin
makin u want to stop it
but dis poem will not stop
dis poem is long cannot be short
dis poem cannot be tamed cannot be blamed
the story is still not told about dis poem
dis poem is old new
dis poem was copied from the bible your prayer book
playboy magazine the n.y. times readers digest
the c.i.a. files the k.g.b. files
dis poem is no secret
dis poem shall be called boring stupid senseless
dis poem is watchin u tryin to make sense from dis poem
dis poem is messin up your brains
makin u want to stop listenin to dis poem
but u shall not stop listenin to dis poem
u need to know what will be said next in dis poem
dis poem shall disappoint u
because
dis poem is to be continued in your mind in your mind
in your mind your mind

Mutabaruka

[sisMenenI]

The confusion today ...I say
Must be led away
By our need to be fair and just
Not for some but for all of us

To counter the need for greed
To starve the hatred we feed

History will teach us nothing
If all life can end by the press of a button

So now we have to check
What must be saved and what we wreck
To see the good in things
we have to see ourselves in thing
No peace no peace
Until there is equal rights and justice       (repeat)

Many have heard this before
Many still fight for what they are not sure
No peace no peace we shout
Liberty and freedom that's what its all about
So we turn to leaders of the state all we find is more and more hate
No solution for our problems at hand
Everyone must take A STAND

So here we are still
Tryin to find the will
To fight a lie that have been told
A truth they stole
A heart gotten cold

If what is to be
then we will have to make it be
If what we seek is to be free
Then all will have to be free
If one is free
And the others are not free
Then no man can truly say he is free
Because the freedom of one
Is dependent on the freedom of all     (repeat)
And if the all should fall
Then the one cannot stand

The cry of the poor
Is getting louder for sure
Chances must be taken
The dreamer must be awaken
Awake from the illusion
Face the confusion
Freedom starts in the mind
Now is the time
Open the door
Freedom is the cure

The sun will shine bright again
Joy comes sometimes with pain
Take a stand
Make a plan
Freedom can come from the power of one
-Mutabaruka