Forty Acres and a Mule

1992

21 With arms, hands – and hoods To a rhythm of unmasked intensity A weapon masked A force raw, real and potent An enemy raw, real and potent ‘T’is the Word against the Sword Air fight Body, Mind and Soul The Word versus the sword 1992 Year of salvation, year of damnation Our hats to Columbus And his gift of a new world After centuries of self-slaughtering Today in one boat themselves do find In your Victory lap minions carry your bag Five hundred years after and the transatlantic nightmare The Others, waiting to exhale Forward and together, the one marches Backward and alone, the other staggers Unfinished still the odes to ‘sovereignty’ The serf mentality, the baggage Of these crabs in a bowl Dry harvests, to boot 22 Mimicking the mukala’s every sneeze and grin Clueless, still, to grow claws, these hens To protect the chicks from the Hawk Cheap meat for the Hawk Who pluck their fleshes bare As the band rolls on for the nation Note: mukala – whiteman Freedom Brand Inside the bar of this house We make-do on a single brand Love it to death, our brand Choice or none is no problem here Honey-sweet, deceptively too Knocks out at break-neck speed Gives a hardened pile effect, our beer So according to the bad mouths We acquiesce to the verdict Of some mad scientists and scholars Know, they must, a clean bill of health Does have our brand Until then, our lovefest lives on With Freedom Soon, as our god we will rename What a brand! ...