Poetry

"I Know You . . ."

This is a poem about a perceived state of Black Couples these days and the permeation of 'self-loathing' that sometimes 'infects' a fledgling or even mature relationship, due to The African's collective transplanted experience in the Americas, over the centuries.  This is way different from our Regal Past . . . that society has taken great pains to make sure we DO NOT remember.  Ethnic Studies and Afro Studies programs are being cut all over the country.  Black History is not a standard subject for ALL to learn.  There is still some work to do in this regard . . .

"I Know You . . ."

I know You, have known You . . .

You’ve been my companion, through infinite lifetimes

You sat at my side when I as Master overlooked that great river in the east

And the world thought of our names with great laud, honor

You were the extra pair of hands that was needed

To unlock the secrets of the Universe and Life within this realm of existence

And with your insightful tutelage dispensed it to our children, our people.

Latent sensations of your deft caress . . .

The resident passion in your full lips . . .

And the ability of your voice to harmonize my soul

Gave me the strength to be the warrior I am, have been, through the ages.

This present time period saps me of life force

I am held in mouths like spoiled fruit,

Ripe for exclusion and eminent destruction

Discoveries, treasures and heirlooms have been violently wrenched from my grasp

And claimed by the Others . . .

Our children roam the streets like strays;

Mindless, no remorse; no knowledge of self or their royal history

Any attempt at reclamation crumples against a wall of apathy

Amidst all of this ruin, through this smog of indifference . . .

You are not by my side . . . as before

Your presence is mysteriously lacking . . .

Might I have reincarnated too soon . . .?

I know you, have known you . . .

I in sensory recollection relive a time long past

In a place where the sun bathed everything with its ageless warmth

And all manner of creature great and small existed in equilibrium

Walked stride for stride with . . . Us.

The land in which we dwelled was forever framed with lush green

I walked with you, as we were embraced by fragrant showers

And petals willingly fluttered into our path

At nights . . . at tranquil times, we slept under blankets of each other

Kept our spirits warm in each other;

The resultant exhalations were odes to each other

As our essences homogenized within you.

The Gods climbed mastery’s peak to see us.

We were the prototype from which all else evolved.

The dawn of this day finds me restrained, chained

I no longer soak up solar energy at leisure;

My tanned hide stretches its tongue out in desperation

To lap up the slivers of sunlight that manage to escape absorption

By the rungs of Cages . . .

In this new echelon I witness carnage,

I am an object of blood-lust; unlikely parties dine on my flesh

The Others are reveling in the stormy weather;

They blankly stare as a smoldering rain consumes my many bodies

In my path vines hugged by thorns lash out

Extracting pieces of my soul with satisfied grunts and crocodile tears.

I shiver in this biting wind of nonchalance, apathy

The frost of hatred and self-scorn collects around my nose, stifling me

T’would seem that my scarf has been wrenched from my grasp during the Tempest at sea

I hope that you have not blown too far . . .

Lest the Others snatch you up to warm their festering groins

Hypothermia quickens its pace

And the petals . . . they float only in mourning . . .

For centuries now I have been battered by this blizzard . . .

Still I cannot encounter my shawl of Kente cloth

My source of impenetrable warmth

How much more must frostbite consume

Before I’m wrapped with you?

I knew you . . . once . . .

We were equal yet different . . .

We accepted our posts to please the ancestors

And were omnipotently, unflinchingly content.

As rulers of our fate and all we surveyed

We were the pieces that when joined together

Made the puzzle of civilization visible . . . and sumptuous.

We were the universal standard for civility

Our domestic structure was worth more than earth-locked treasures

And just as impervious as a diamond’s hide.

Lately . . . the house cat bleeds unchecked;

Its pelt mercilessly slashed by blades that once groomed it.

Driven into the heart by hands that once stroked it

Made it purr . . .

Why have you turned your wrath against Us?

What caused you to wear such a mask of chagrin, scorn, contempt . . . for me?

Have the Others gotten to you . . . infected you?

I see but cannot recognize you . . . but yet it is you.

I find myself fighting the onslaught of the Others . . . alone

I use traditional spears to parry their parched thrusts

And the Djimbe drums build my resolve

To stand on the edge of this cliff

As the ground crumbles beneath my feet.

I hope to reclaim our lost grandeur . . .

For I cannot deflect You when we joust . . .

I am powerless in your stare, incomplete

My blood will willingly flow forever . . .

If that is what it takes to make an ally of you,

Maybe it will resuscitate your poisoned, withered roots

With its endearing warmth

Sear the cataracts from your eyes . . .

Restore the preordained vision for our world

That our previous incarnations chiseled out of the rock of time . . .

I would hope to heal you soon . . .

So that I can know you . . . again