by ngoma
i wish i didn't have to write this poem
but New Year's was
just like another day in iraq
w/little time for celebration
soldiers marked off another year at war
new orleans citizens
packed into trailer camps
thousands of children missing
while the average american citizen
dumbed down by TV
doesn't realize
that the levee was bombed
and the real weapon of mass distraction
still sits in the white house
trading civil liberties for oil
big brother bush is watching
as the chicken hawks come home to roost
Impeachment--sitting like an owl on a tree limb
going Whoooooo!!!
so i've been looking for optimism
she's been missing since Faith
was found floating in the 7th ward
belly up in the sewage
next to Hope
seems much is needed to keep Hope alive
like more Charity
since FEMA came up
useless as a condom w/a hole in it
see, i wish i didn't have to write this poem
but too many homes lack books
so knowledge of self is absent
like fathers shackled in the criminal injustice system-
a very criminal system of justice
a world wide industry
where Abu Ghraib, Attica, San Quentin and Guantanamo
are just branches of the same tree
the interconnectedness of things
bothers me in my quest to be free
seeking sovereignty
environmental disaster swoops like a buzzard
waiting for the last heartbeat
so like bob -- "u need not be a weatherman to see
which way the wind blows"
Tsunamis and Hurricanes
global warming and acid rain
earth quakes and mudslides
w/no place to hide
soldiers suffering post traumatic stress syndrome
i wish i didn't have to write this poem
as the clock ticks in the brains
of depleted uranium riddled pawns
in this chess game of tyranny
orwellian in the 21rst century
as the cycle spins out of control
but someone has to let you know
there's much more going on
than what they're showing.
they're depending on you not knowing
so listen to this news i'm bringing
i wish i didn't have to write this poem
but your 70 inch, flatscreen plasma TV
murdered the american dream
put video games in the hands of yr. kids
so their finger reflex
and trigger dexterity
is quicker than
critical thought
is it bloods and crips
or the army recruitment office
collecting data from yr. school
be careful chicken hawks
prey on yr. children
send their bloodhounds to sniff them out
send them off to war
but i just thought u should know
the constitution's been kidnapped
by the neo cons
it's up to you to take it back
and i wish i didn't have to write this poem
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.