Opportunity’s
Autumn Burial
by Kemet Mawakana
Click the flash player below to hear this work performed by the Seven Foot Poet
{mp3}poetry/104_7ft_autumn{/mp3}
If leaves could fly
Would they fall prey to
the wind
Accept their
fate and simply give in?
If leaves could fly
Would they have already
left
Or remain
beholden to branches that promise freedom
The week
after next?
If leaves could fly
Would they remember
Those before
them that died in past Septembers?
If leaves could fly
Would the reminisce
On days of
hanging onto hopes of false bliss?
So I leave you now with one thought left
If leaves don’t try to
fly
The fall brings
certain death.
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 . . . InfinityCrucifixion
of My Soul. The collective body of
his works presented in www.blackagendareport.com
and www.voxunion.com 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) in Atlanta, Georgia
and can be reached at sevenfootpoet@gmail.com.
The late John H. Bracey, Jr. argued that Black Studies should be wedded to African liberation, not to the corporate-bureaucratic structure of the university.
The U.S. has declared China to be an adversary, but its economic prowess cannot be eclipsed by a nation that is addicted to provocation and war making.
This week’s featured author is Brian Jones. Jones is Director of The New York Public Library’s Center for Educators and Schools. His book is The Tuskegee Student Uprising: A History.
This week’s featured scholar is Moya Bailey. Bailey is an associate professor in the Department of Communication Studies at Northwestern University. Her article is “The Ethics of Pace.”
