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

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

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.

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


More Stories


  • Trump’s Prosector Fani Willis Sent Black Educators to Jail
    Margaret Kimberley, BAR Executive Editor and Senior Columnist
    Atlanta Prosector Fani Willis Sent Black Educators to Jail
    23 Aug 2023
    Atlanta is no mecca for Black people. It is a political plantation where the white overseers rule. Fani Willis’ prosecution of Black teachers was an awful example of the power dynamic in that…
  • SPEECH: Imperialism is the Arsonist of Our Forests and Savannas, Thomas Sankara, February 5, 1986
    Editors, The Black Agenda Review
    SPEECH: Imperialism is the Arsonist of Our Forests and Savannas, Thomas Sankara, February 5, 1986
    23 Aug 2023
    Thomas Sankara, radical leader and martyr of Burkina Faso, understood that the problem of ecological destruction was rooted in capitalism and imperialism.
  • Riggers?
    BAR Poet-in-Residence Raymond Nat Turner
    Riggers?
    23 Aug 2023
                                                           …
  • Policing the Police in the East Bay Area
    Ann Garrison, BAR Contributing Editor
    Policing the Police in the East Bay Area
    23 Aug 2023
    Acts of police brutality and other forms of misconduct are common throughout the country. The East Bay Area of California is exceptional only in that some officers have been indicted for a…
  • Mosaic: An Interview with August K. Clayton
    August K. Clayton , Roberto Sirvent, BAR Book Forum Editor
    Mosaic: An Interview with August K. Clayton
    23 Aug 2023
    Mosaic: An Interview with August K. Clayton
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us