Black Agenda Report
Black Agenda Report
News, commentary and analysis from the black left.

  • Home
  • Africa
  • African America
  • Education
  • Environment
  • International
  • Media and Culture
  • Political Economy
  • Radio
  • US Politics
  • War and Empire

Poetry from Kemet Mawakana
Kemet Mawakana
27 Feb 2008
🖨️ Print Article

7_foot_poet_upright_250wideaka "The Seven-Foot Poet"

 

"FARE" 

 

Our resident poet contemplates the "Fare" that Black folks are required to pay. When you read and hear this week's offering from Kemit Mawakana, you'll get his meaning.

To experience the written or audio versions of FARE, click the link below. 

 

 

 

Poetry from Kemit Mawakana

aka "The Seven-Foot Poet"

To listen to FARE, click the flash player below
{mp3}poetry/072Fare{/mp3} 

Fare

1 . . . 2 . . . 3 . . . . 14  . . . 15 . . . 16

A pariah!

Leprosy radiates my skin;

serving as a warning to natives and foreigners alike.

17 . . . 18 . . . 19 . . . 21 . . . 22 . . . 23

Death unto those that dare acknowledge my presence!

My invisibility clear to all who would dare look with a naked eye.

24 . . . 25 . . . 26 . . . 37 . . . 38 . . . 39

Hate, anger and vengeance swell up within,

breaking fences of common sense.

None of them - not one of them - None of them are bound by decency!

41 . . . 42 . . . 47 . . . 48 . . . 49

They hate the fact that me they only loathe and not despise.

They anxiously accelerate to save a business suit from my pursuit,

And the unspeakable acts that I perpetrate.

. . . 51.

Exhausted.  I'm home, no longer mad.

Clearly it's not fair - that I was passed up by 51 taxicabs.

 
Copyright 1996
 
Peace (when appropriate) War (when necessary)

Kemit Mawakana (aka "The Seven-Foot Poet") is a highly acclaimed spoken-word artist, and has published two books A . . . Z . . . Infinity and Crucifixion of My Soul.  The collective body of his works presented weekly in BAR are in tribute to Listervelt Middleton, Dr. John Henrik Clarke, and "For The People."  Currently, he is a facilitator at AYA Educational Institute (www.ayaed.com) and can be reached at sevenfootpoet@gmail.comThis e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

.

 

Do you need and appreciate Black Agenda Report articles? Please click on the DONATE icon, and help us out, if you can.


More Stories


  • Donald Trump and Zelensky
    Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
    Gerald Horne Analyzes Trump's Ukraine Policy
    14 Mar 2025
    Dr. Gerald Horne is an author and historian currently holding the John J. and Rebecca Moores Chair of History and African American Studies at the University of Houston. Dr. Horne is a prolific author…
  • Margaret Kimberley, BAR Executive Editor and Senior Columnist
    Mahmoud Khalil and the Criminalization of Anti-Zionism
    12 Mar 2025
    The influence of apartheid Israel extends all over the world. Its supporters demand that anyone expressing anti-zionist viewpoints be ostracized, harassed, or arrested. Now, zionists have added…
  • Editors, The Black Agenda Review
    Essay: The Caucasian Problem, George S. Schuyler, 1944
    12 Mar 2025
    “While we may dismiss the concept of a Negro problem as a valuable dividend-paying fiction, it is clear that the Caucasian problem is painfully real and practically universal.”
  • Ann Garrison, BAR Contributing Editor
    Podcasting Star Mario Nawful Talks to Rwandan President Paul Kagame
    12 Mar 2025
    High-profile X podcaster and Elon Musk protégé Mario Nawfal recently produced some slick propaganda with Rwandan President Paul Kagame. His team repeatedly asked me to record a six-minute response…
  • Anthony Karefa Rogers-Wright
    The Fog of Class War
    12 Mar 2025
    A class consciousness among the working masses, one that takes the issue of race seriously, is critical at this moment. Still, the democrats are working to disrupt this effort to organize against the…
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us