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
  • omnibus

It Is Better To Give Than To Receive
Bill Quigley
10 Sep 2008

It
Is Better To Give Than To Receive

by Kemet Mawakana

To hear this original work performed by the Seven Foot Poet, click the flash player below

{mp3}poetry/1007ft_better_2_give{/mp3}

You
gave me your name

     And
I took it.

You
gave me your number

     And
I took it.

You
gave me your friendship

     And
I took it.

You
gave me your trust

     And
I took it.

You
gave me your love

     And
I took it.

You
gave me your self

     And
I took it.

You
gave me the world

     And
I took it.

I
finally am ready to give – and you can’t take it anymore.

By
Kemit Mawakana (aka The Seven-Foot Poet)

Peace
(when appropriate) War (when necessary)

Copyright
1996.

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
[email protected].

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


More Stories


  • BAR Radio Logo
    Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
    Black Agenda Radio May 9, 2025
    09 May 2025
    In this week’s segment, we discuss the 80th anniversary of victory in Europe in World War II, and the disinformation that centers on the U.S.'s role and dismisses the pivotal Soviet role in that…
  • Book: The Rebirth of the African Phoenix
    Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
    The Rebirth of the African Phoenix: A View from Babylon
    09 May 2025
    Roger McKenzie is the international editor of the UK-based Morning Star, the only English-language socialist daily newspaper in the world. He joins us from Oxford to discuss his new book, “The…
  • ww2
    Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
    Bruce Dixon: US Fake History of World War II Underlies Permanent Bipartisan Hostility Toward Russia
    09 May 2025
    The late Bruce Dixon was a co-founder and managing editor of Black Agenda Report. In 2018, he provided this commentary entitled, "US Fake History of World War II Underlies Permanent Bipartisan…
  • Nakba
    Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
    The Meaning of Nakba Day
    09 May 2025
    Nadiah Alyafai is a member of the US Palestinian Community Network chapter in Chicago and she joins us to discuss why the public must be aware of the Nakba and the continuity of Palestinian…
  • Margaret Kimberley, BAR Executive Editor and Senior Columnist
    Ryan Coogler, Shedeur Sanders, Karmelo Anthony, and Rodney Hinton, Jr
    07 May 2025
    Black people who are among the rich and famous garner praise and love, and so do those who are in distress. But concerns for the masses of people and their struggles are often missing.
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us