Tuesday, October 12, 2010

BARTERED

BARTERED

hunger diminishes me
thirst demurs my thinking
the life I tote astounds my frame
defiles my craved existence

upon this block I bargain
my soul inflamed in shame
two arms two legs a beating heart
for barter sale or trade

need I de-school my life for you
sodden in filth and shame
striped of essence and being
my famines on display

this vast judicial hellhole
is all I have to give
the land and people that I love
beheaded, raped and killed

the blanket is included
I wove the yarn by hand
he’s got no Aids or HIV
he’ll grow to be a man

my solitary jewel
ten toes on tiny feet
to wet the stench upon my tongue
for bread a square of meat

I do not thrive I won’t survive
militias rule my land
I’m traumatized and hungry
my crisis is my stand

upon this block I bargain
my soul inflamed in shame
two arms two legs a beating heart
for barter, sale or trade

Sunday, October 3, 2010

REVOKED

REVOKED

We ask you kindly to leave this place
We no longer want you around.
Your chiefs and leaders equivocate
Our authority remains propound.

Your armies harass and pilfer
Your security teams rape and kill.
You’re holding no one accountable
For the blood my people spill.

This is the place our forefathers braved
Where thousands of ancestors died.
You destroyed everything they accomplished
With your browbeating, loathing and lies.

In the midst of our political crisis
Statewide resolution absconds.
Our leaders are wadding the waters
As our tribes and our clans slowly drown.

Is my parliament made up of puppets
Controlled by your margins and bounds,
Whilst your coalition provisional pundit
Remains unabashed and profound?

Don’t sell me your internal hearings
Your assessment’s no more than a ruse.
This is my country my homeland
To hell with your canons and views.

Everywhere people are dying
Our civil war isn’t a joke.
This bloodbath you created is over
Your license has been revoked.

From "ONE DAY; Life, Love and Controversy in Middle America
by SHIRLEY HOWARD HALL