Monday, October 11, 2010

My Poetry is Boring


 How can you still be doing Afro-centric poetry in the 21st century?
Aime Cesaire lived in another century
And so was Leopold Senghor
Frantz Fannon too
And revolutionaries like Che Guevarra are from another era
Marcus Garvey and Nkrumah Kwame as well
Your poetry is stuck in time
Slavery is a long forgotten crime
Write about technology, Facebook and MySpace
Don’t you think romance is even more chic?
Your poetry is boring
Time and time again I have been told

Yes, my poetry is boring
Because it bores into the depth of your consciousness that you’d rather keep tucked away
My poetry is boring
Because it reminds you of where you came from
And the sacrifices made so that you can be where you are
My poetry is boring
Because it has gritty political undertones instead of soft language like in Mexican soaps and telenovellas
Yea, it is boring
Because it talks of corruption in the aid industry funded by western governments
Instead of talking about the kid I read in the papers adopted by some celebrity
And other good news like scholarships and green cards offered by benevolent western governments
Yes it is boring, really really boring
For Cesaire, Senghor, Garvey, Kwame, Mandela and even Bob Marley were daft to think that the African could be redeemed
Yes, they were stupid to think the black broad nose was beautiful, instead of the hooked nose of our Caucasian celebrity idols

But why shouldn’t I talk about all these?
The Holocaust, driven by some mad Nazi lasted only a few years
But today talk of how Israelis are oppressing the Palestinians
And all you get is a cold look asking, doesn’t this buffoon remember the Holocaust?
Slavery took hundreds years, and so was colonialism with double brutality
Yet you want me to forget this African heritage?
And why shouldn’t I talk about corruption in the aid business
While the largest chunk of aid money finds its way back to the source countries
And the rest in the pockets of our corrupt leaders
Who in return provide space for a foreign army base
Or a conducive economic environment for multinationals to come milk local industries dry
Yes, my poetry is boring
But am going to drill it into your head
Until you realize that development goals, bureaucratic visions and strategic plans,
Can and will never be realized by sitting back hoping for the best
But should be driven by a collective consciousness on where we are from and dreams for which others died for, unrealized…….

1 comment:

  1. Indeed your poetry is boring but it speaks right into the heart of the matter. Great piece and a great break from common poetry topics.

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