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 sevenfootpoet@gmail.com.
Manning Marable reminds us that US fascism is institutional and normalized. The parallels of his 1981 essay with the present are obvious – US fascism remains ascendant.
The Washington Post’s latest anti-Eritrea propaganda demonizes Eritrean immigrants defending themselves in the West.
Annual climate gathering reflects divisions between the industrialized states and the Global South.
Glen Ford wrote many powerful essays, but his unflinching analysis of the history of the holiday we call Thanksgiving endures 20 years after he wrote it.
The People’s Summit vs. G20 and the International People’s Tribunal recently took place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, to counter the G20 Summit that occurred in the same city. Black Agenda Report…
