A Poem for Mumia
Bulldozing through ignorance, violence,
bigotry, shame, hatred, and silence
To reach truth
To embrace beauty
To give life a place to live
Demanding the most simple rights
Means revolution
In the land of the oppressed
Home of the coward –
who stole even the paper upon which
he wrote our stolen history
with invisible ink.
On the other end
Mumia’s pen
Is filled with dark permanence
The truth of which he writes
Cannot be washed away
It is rooted in goodness
Sealed in justice
And encased in reality
Inescapable generosity
His very existence is an offering of hope.
Fighting fistless
Screaming through bullet-proof glass
And still he delivers the punch
His message heard loud and clear
From Philadelphia
To South Africa:
“I am a man you cannot kill.”
“For my spirit is already in the people.”
Kill me
And you kill yourself.
The old will recognize your true
murderous nature
The young will lose all hope in your system
And what happens when hope is lost?
If it is true hope
The spirit dies
If it is false hope
The spirit finds a new path
The mind’s eye opens
And the mission is clear:
Alleviate the suffering
Eliminate the source
Greed, fear, lust, and power
Dawning contemporary robes
Undertaking new identities
As capitalism, sexism, homophobia, racism,
and classism
All of these evils spewing forth from
Mommy’s mouth and Daddy’s lips
To baby’s ear
Regenerating violence
As every fifteen minutes
A woman in America is beat.
As every time I leave my house
I’m treated like a piece of meat.
As every third Black man will soon be
off the street
And behind bars!
This Keynsian bullshit’s leaving scars
And what does our generation have
To anoint the slayed flesh?
To mend the broken bones?
Our father who art in prison
Hallowed be thy name
Though your belly bears no womb
You have given birth
Though you are Abu to only a few
You have many children
For all those who have read your words
Heard your voice
Or know your story
Have been taught a lesson in reality
Have been given a dose of nourishment
Have been cared for by your unseen hands.
You have been unable to embrace your wife
For as long as I have been alive
But I am your daughter.
A father is one who creates new life energy
And this you have awakened in me.
A father is one who gives reinforcement when
the soul is tired
Indeed you have invigorated me.
A father is one who weeps with his
wounded children
In fact, you swallowed our defeats.
A father is one who protects and defends his
young
And still your heart melts steel
To hold us close in one hand
And fight our predators with the other.
As your children
We will do the same for you.
Millions for Mumia
Children for Abu
Justice for Jamal!
-RAINY DEMERSON
(UCLA YSA)
