by Ngoma
On the day the pope died
no one knew that he'd been dead since before 911
no one told you
no one paid enough attention to push him over
obviously not crusaders
praying to jesus
while bombing mosques
they say he was a man of peace
admonished by St. Lauryn Hill
for the sins of pedophile priest
gas prices rising like the flames
of souls dying for oil
and the lies about those
weapons of mass destruction
yet to be found-
Tsunami's rage
like the tears of the planet
wounded and ravaged
of a raped ecology
as water becomes the next commodity
It wasn't on the Disney Channel
so don't look on Fox 5
or Hot 97
where misled hip hoppers
pimp coca cola
and labor leaders disappear from Columbia
where the peso is worth even less than a dollar
Did the evangelicals tell u in church on sunday
that social security has been high jacked by gangsta's
the christians that lied and stole 2 elections
on the day the pope died
the most impoverished people of the land
who are mostly Black, Beige and Brown
still genuflect to a white man
heads bowed
kneeling on the ground
not realizing they've been
hoodwinked into thinking that they've sinned
giving their hard earned cash
to one of the richest men on earth
while the kingdom of heaven is within
so on the day the pope died
the truly faithful cried and gave praise to Mary-the Black Madonna
otherwise known as Isis,
marched in the street bearing death symbols-
turned their backs to the vatican
for not excommunicating Hitler
opened their closets
and burned sage to exorcise demons
set fire to democracy disguised as witches
fanned the coals
while channeling phoenix
on the day the pope died
el Salvadoran martyrs
were still not vindicated
Archbishop Romero
turned in his grave
as the death of Sister Dorothy Stang
of Brazil is being investigated
and the conspiracy of murder continues
for peasants protecting the rainforest
angels of justice guard
brave priests like Reverends Leclerc
and Sandoval
as they preach the theology of liberation
in a world that is still evil and hostile
on the day the pope died
it seemed as if no one had been listening
as millions of oppressed nationalities
left the earth from man made dis-eases
while coat hangers return for those seeking abortion
still Mumia Abu Jamal sits on death row
and our children suffer death from MacDonald's
trying to pay student loans w/salaries from StarBucks
dreaming of a making a living on Def Jam
combing the country doing
open mics and poetry slams
til realizing the dream's turned into a nightmare
as Def Jam Poets line up for Welfare
on the day the pope died
we pray for a new regime
that truly projects a "culture of life"
where the strong will truly protect the weak
as bells ring in the vatican
vibrations striving to save the planet
for true liberation of the human spirit
Ngoma is a performance post, multi-instrumentalist and paradigm shifter based in Harlem, NY, who for over 30 years has used culture as a tool to raise socio-political, and spiritual consciousness. For continued news and updates visit his site Ngomazworld at http://www.ngomazworld.com/Ngoma_ParadigmShifter26E.html by clicking on the following . . .