“for etheridge knight, mamie & the hip-hop generation”

this praise poem will never end
projecting hope & courage
extending that malcolm/martin/corky dream
first motions of the next phase
liberation
for the brown/the blue/the red/black & green

this poem
this poem
this poem
is about a baton
being carried by fearless youth
again

this poem
lives and breaths
everyday/on streets called
crenshaw in l.a.
ramparts in new orleans
lindell in st. louis
convent & lenox in harlem
king in atlanta
5 points in denver
two street in richmond
southside in chicago
point breeze in philly
& on swope parkway in k.c.

this poem
is for those who admit being human
having made mistakes
this poem
is a tribute to the martyrs
folks who were tested/arrested/beat down
i said/ain’t never had a break
this poem
is about what we do everyday
and how we relate to people/the family we know
this poem

this poem
this poem
this poem
is for the truth
standing firm
all up in the face
of a lie
this poem is for those who’ve watched the
motherplane
glow amber/change into a pyramid/a light
and cartwheel across the sky
this poem
is for the white/blue/red
brown/green & the black
stand between us and justice
this poem’s
boun to jack
this poem

this poem
is for the hip-hop generation
that ain’t afraid to use an ak
but
would much rather live in a peaceful
way
this poem
changes by the second
changes by the minute
changes by the hour
this poem
is about real people
leading our next push
for power
this poem
has no need to slap or shoot ya
this poem is ancient/into the future

this poem
is for mother johnson
on the back row
of rev. hinkty’s
church
about to get put out

who every sunday
“hold my mule”
gots to catch power/get happy/scream & shout

this poem
is for little girls in
philadelphia
vietnam
grenada
panama
iraq
somalia
afghanistan
and on lakota indian reservations
who wish the world police
hadn’t killed they daddy
just cause he wanted to
free up the nation
this poem
this poem
this poem
is for our warriors
their nations/tribes & 21st rollin century sets
who want to come back
in from the cold
we welcome you home with no regrets
this poem is for our political prisoners/exiles
and prisoners of war
who also want to come back home
i’m talking bout comrades like
sundiata acoli/pete o’neal/leonard peltier/elizam escobar
harriet tubman (i mean assata shakur)
all of whom should be left
the fuck alone
this poem

this poem
is for the healing of the nation
reintegration/the end of devastation/the healing
the healing/the healing/the healing
our right to power/peace & self-determination
continuous revolution/real education/economic construction
& national independence
i said
love & liberation/whoop! there that is
the healing of aztlan

& the new african nation
this is how our future
can be
this poem
is for latin alliance/a lighter shade of brown/kid frost
body count & ice-t

this poem is not for opportunists/sellouts/snitches
nor the greedy
this poem
just like you/will not be faded & is down for a peace treaty
yeah/yeah/yeah/yeah
this poem is rollin/in the house
this poem’s a peace summit/in the house
this poem is you/in the house
this poem
is for the hip-hop generation/baaaby
this poem/rides a rhyme
this poem is about yo time
this poem is for the coup/freestyle fellowship/public enemy
x-clan/arrested development/paris/digable planets
it’s for common/harmony/society of soul/rakim & eric b
jesse west & sugar free/lakim shabazz & prt
king sun/kirk franklin/gospel gangstaz/divine styler/the goodie mob
food for your soul/oh yeah/oh yeah
outcast/the fugees/erykah badu
guru/spearhead & linque
tupac & biggie too
“we’ll always love our nation”
krs-one/dead prez/prince akeem/bahamadia/the chosen ones

all of whom i hope grow phat
this poem is like
this
this poem is like
that
this poem is like
this
this poem is about to fall back and say
hip-hop hurray
ho!/hey!/ho!