December 0

Blog Archive

Thu, 24.09.2009

PRIMARY LESSON: THE SECOND CLASS CITIZENS by SUN RA.

The second class is the second grade
And the second grade is the second dimension of learning: Another phase of wisdom.
The second grade is the root of the secondary education….
The secondary education is the Higher form of wisdom,
The magnificent and advanced precept.

It is given to the Secondary Word
From the Secondary God
To the secondary citizens of the Second Class.
To “on” the advance is to “own” the advance.
The Advance Prophet transcends the
Law concerning “A prophet”…
Reprinted by permission of Sun Ra.

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Thu, 24.09.2009

LEGACY: MY SOUTH by Dudley Randall.

What desperate nightmare rapts me to this land
Lit by a bloody moon, red on the hills,
Red in the valley’s, Why am I compelled
To tread again where buried feet have trod,
The shed my tears where blood and tears have flowed?
Compulsion of the blood and the moon
Transports me. I was molded from this clay
My blood must ransom all the blood shed here,
My tears redeem the tears. Cripples and monsters
Are here.

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Thu, 24.09.2009

AUTUMN GOD by Eugene Redmond.

On an Autumn day
I took a leaf,
Yellowing in its
Tenuous attachment
To the tree.

There were others,
But of no interest to me,
Since the one I held
Held itself a worm
Rushing to be free.

And cruelly,
With each attempt to flee,
I brought it back
To the center of the dead leaf.

Until at last, in seeming glee,
The worm struggled
To one corner
And in a jump
Was rid of me.

Undaunted, I stopped
To see
Where it dragged slowly
Along leaf after leaf;
‘Til it reached the trunk
of the tree
and turned.
Then again it was worm
And me.

Under my heel I crushed the vicio

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Thu, 24.09.2009

DID YOU EVER by Jimmy Rushing.

Did you ever, did you ever wake up and find your baby gone?
Did you ever, did you ever wake up and find your baby gone?
You were so disappointed, until you cried all day long.

Yes, you left, yes you left me, left me broke without a dime.
Yes, you left, yes you left me, left me broke without a dime.
Now you won’t call me on the phone And give me five minutes of your time.

I can remember , yes I can remember When you used to call me “Daddypop”.
Yes, I can remember, I can remember When you used to call me “Daddypop”.
That was when I gave you all my money And was buying those good lean

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Thu, 24.09.2009

WATTS by Conrad Kent Rivers.

white man dead
to free the nigger
in his head???
Reprinted by permission of Cora Rivers.

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Thu, 24.09.2009

MILTON by Henrietta Cordelia Ray.

O, poet gifted with sight divine!

To thee t’was given Eden’s groves to pace
With that first pair in whom the human race
Their kinship claim: and angels did decline-
Great Michael, holy Gabriel-to twine
Their heavenly logic, through which thou couldst trace
The rich outpourings of celestial grace
Mingled with argument, around the shrine
Where thou didst linger, vision-rapt, intent
To catch the sacred mystery of Heaven.

Nor was thy longing vain; a soul resolved
To ponder truth supreme to thee was lent;
For thy not sightless eyes the veil was riv’n,
Redemption’s problem unto thee

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Thu, 24.09.2009

THE REACTIONARY POET by Ishmael Reed.

If you are a revolutionary
Then I must be a reactionary
For if you stand for the future
I have no choice but to
Be with the past

Bring back suspender!
Bring back Mom!
Homemade ice cream
Picnics in the park
Flagpole sitting
Straw hats
Rent parties
Corn liquor
The banjo
Georgia quilts
Krazy Kat
Restock

The syncopation of
Fletcher Henderson
The Kiplingesque lines
Of James Weldon Johnson
Black Eagle
Mickey Mouse
The Bach Family
Sunday School
Even Mayor La Guardia
Who read the comics
Is more appealing than
Your version of
What Lies Ahead

In your world of
Tomorro

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New Poem Each Day

Poetry Corner

This poem re-stages a tracing match (quarrel) between two Jamaican women. Common cuss-words like "boogooyagga" (low-grade) "heng-pon-nail " (bedraggled) are used. Gwan gal yuh fava teggereg, Ah wey yuh gwine goh... CUSS – CUSS by Louise Bennett.
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