THREE KINGS AND A KETE DRUM IN DC

                                          copyright 2015 K. Omodele

When Kenny sent the invitation, the kings were tickled by the gold calligraphy and trimming and the request to R.S.V.P. But family is family, y'hear, so that sabbatical morning Irie, I-bo and Bongo drove from New York to D.C., a three-hour ride that stretched out to five due to them getting stopped and searched twice on I-95. By the time they parked at Union Station, they' just missed the ceremony.

Draped in flowing white Rastafarian robes and turbans, they caught sight of all them stiff-necked senator and dignitary types and realized:

"One day when we bent up and gray, we going laugh at this."

"Right. Laugh 'til we belly buss."

A sign pointed out the Clarke and Weatherman Wedding. The followed it like Wise Men trailing the Eastern Star and entered a world of glass walls and marble floors, where spectacular chandeliers loomed over linen-clothed tables. Someone greeted them and they were ushered to a table carded with their government names, while Black D.C. aristocracy, which now resided out in Montgomery and P.G. Counties, sat frozen with jaws bouncing off the polished floor and eyes spread wide as poached egg whites, taking in the sight of the three kings in dreadlocked beards. One king strapped with a Kete drum.

Joanna, the shiny bride jumped up, grabbed her gown tail and burst a sprint over before anybody could blink. Kenny trudged stiffly behind her.

"Glad you guys made it," she said. "Bongo, you gotta beat the drum for me-"

"Kete. Is a Kete drum." He placed the wooden, hand-painted drum on the white linen table cloth.

Kenny hailed them up, laughing nervously. "Bredren, you just had to walk with the drum? Here? Today?"

Joanna shooed him. "Of course they did." Then she announced, "Everyone, these are Kenrick's two brothers and his cousin, my brand-new In-Laws."

ABENG CARIBBEAN POETRY: CALYPSO (in TENNESSEE)

Caribbean Poetry: Calypso (in Tennessee)

       copyright 2014 K. Omodele

 



So, they're footin' it, side by side, shiverin'

'cross this Chat Town bridge with

pinkened lights, above, mellowing the

late-October dusk.

When they stop, toe the rail

overlookin' a docked-

grounded riverboat hotel,

she whispers, "It 'pose to be possessed; y'know, like haunted."

Then in her smile's incandescent wake the runnin' river shimmers

and the whole surroundin', suffocatin' city lights.

Then when she clutches his arm and

enwraps nippy fingers with hers,

it's like love-cravin' legs, like thighs,

her ankles encircling his back,

drawin' him in close, urgin'

"I'm try'na leave. Nex' time you go home,

PLEASE, take me with you!"

And this is the moment she begins, finally,

easing through his board and zinc fence.

Slips in, slow-ly, inching her way in

for the first time- she, spirited songbird

coos down his soul, entwines their thoughts,

titillates dreams, massages his need

to be needed; caressing wanting.

"Ain't no rush," he'd told her a while before

but both now realise she can masquerade no more

her lingering itch- her longing for

stimulating moments brimming over with Being

followed by endless wide-eyed

world-wide, whirl-wind tomorrows.

Now, face to face, their breathing flutters

hummingbirds suspended

       mid-air

her excitement building,

hovers-anticipating

long, deep-strokin', Rapture-floodin'-a

moon-soaked beach-in-a-hammock-under-

his-palm-tree nights...

             WHEW!

Temperature risin' now, beats throbbin' hot

Rubbin her up- this tropical riddim

tweakin' her treble, reverbin' her bass

pumpkin pumpin', pulsatin' her sumthin'

gradually sweetin', she- ripenin' papaw-

Tempo increasin', gatherin', growin'

now hurricane surgin'

'pon Carnival steel, pulse

pan, pangin'; pannin' and bangin'

slammin and rammin'

jammin' steamily

yearnin'. for. MORE:

BambooFireBurnin'DesireLifeLight

Stars Bright

Moonbeams SPARK

gush thru she heart

Now gallops settle and trot

trembles. sighs. still, now.

Eyes fill with wonder

mind graspin'

pantin'. gaspin'.

She breathless,

Kai so ca lypso

all up in she

Tennessee.

CARIBBEAN POETRY: Catharsis II: The Lost Writers' Colony

        CARIBBEAN POETRY:

Catharsis II: The Lost Writers' Colony

copyright 2014 K. Omodele

                                          

   

See that blood in their eyes?

red ink scripts their rage        

Them blood-fire hearts?

spit flames, scorch up page.

See them weapEns they holdin' like         

Shaka's altered spear?

pick Truth from scabbed wounds 'til

pus oozes, sores air.

Life's stumbles, flat falls?

bruise, etch, batik, stain,

write selves off them knees

dye canvasses rain.

They write 'cause minds barred-in must build in blocks,

Writing absolves scarred-up guilt in blocks,

Verbs purge, nouns foil, in cipher* guilds and flocks,

Stagnate in the box a dream wilts and rots.

They write characters smelted from building blocks

Granite Rocks molten, ethos smithed in hok

Weatherbeaten from storms, ships refuged in-docks

Paradox, they find peace weighin' sin in blocks.

Dormant time is unforgiving like jilted frocks

Themes and plots, narratives tilted clocks

Yielded Glocks, pens now wield in blocs,

Fury and sound settle like silt in lochs.

This is a wright-ers' clique/ with Sonny's Blues

Feelin' zoras and mckays/ kincaids and hughes.

* gathering of MC's, poets in a rap/spoken word session.

CARIBBEAN TRADITIONS: Ring Games (Small Days)

CARIBBEAN TRADITIONS:Ring Games (Small Days)

"Now when I was a little boy my favorite ring game was this...winey, winey/winey, winey..." /

~Peeny Peeny by Shabba Ranking

As a youth in primary school* I had a rough time concentrating on defending my wicket, or bending a cross from the corner, whenever the girls formed a circle in the school compound and started chanting and, ahhhm, dancing. I can't count the amount of wickets we boys left stranded, or footballs rolling lonely on a sudden-emptied field, as we rushed to join the girls in the ring. Full of mannishness, we sang

There's a brown girl in the ring,
Tra-la-la-la-la....

Whether she black or brown or surnamed Singh never mattered to me. The girl in the ring would prance 'round the circle of boys and girls while eyeing up a partner. Whenever we got to the part

...'cause she sweet like sugar 

and a plum, plum, plum...

she'd stop her 'lil false-shy self in front of whosoever she liked and pose up with her hands on her hips... anticipating...and as we sang

Now, let me see your motion, Tra-la-la-la-la

Show me your motion, tra-la-la-la-la-la...

she'd buss a wine.** Bare Precociousness. Listen, nuh man! I was a force-ripe pickney*** myself; so, I had no problem wining back. Worse yet if it was Miss-what-she-name, or Miss-you-know-who.

My favorite ring game went like this

Gypsy in the moonlight, Gypsy in the zoo/ Gypsy never come home till half-past two/So walk in Gypsy walk in, walk in thru my door/And turn to your partner and show them what you do...

By the time we got to this part, Miss Gypsy in the ring would done find a partner and with that last command, she would show how she could get on bad; indeed, rolling she hips and singing in response

I do not love no-bo-dy/ Nobody love me too...

When you check it out in truth, future dancehall queens learned to bubble right there in them ring games. Notice ladies! In protecting the not-so-innocent and bare precocious, I never called no names. I just fling stone in a pen. Whichever goat bawl out, is she get lick.

 Small days, still on my mind....

* Primary school is grade one to six (elementary school in the US)

**wine- also, wind. As in winding the hips and waistline

***force-ripe pickney is a child who acts "fresh", too grown for his/her age

SEVEN QUOTES BY NELSON MANDELA

                Seven Nelson Mandela "Tata Madiba" Quotes We Love

When it comes to inspirational quotes, Tata Madiba was as thoughtful in choosing his words as he was careful in implementing his plans, knowing he was setting an example. Though laden with introspection, these quotes possess an undeniable universal appeal.

 

1. "I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the ability to triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear."

2. "Do not judge me by my successes. Judge me by how many times I fell down and got back up again."

3. "It always feels impossible until it is done."

4. "Real leaders must be ready to sacrifice all for the freedom of their people."

5. "No axe is sharp enough to cut the soul of a sinner who keeps on trying, one armed with the hope that he will rise even in the end."

6. "Poverty, like apartheid, is not natural; it is man made."

7. "Overcoming poverty is not a task of charity; it is an act of justice."

ABENG CARIBBEAN POETRY: Nefertiti's Egyptian-Cotton Sundress

  Nefertiti's White Egyptian-Cotton Sundress

  copyright 2013 K.Omodele

                 

 

Nefertiti never filled 

a white, Egyptian-cotton sundress

with s'much breath-taking grace and copper-toned form.

In that Egyptian-cotton white dress

her smile couldna swelled her King's heart so, like the noon sun

have him clutching her hand, tight so, up Georgia Avenue.

If her King coulda seen what this King here knew-

that vibrant, white sundress on radiant you,

he woulda traded all Egypt

that Georgia Ave. noon...

CARIBBEAN POETRY: Coconut Tree (A. Haiku)

                                                          Coconut Tree (A. Haiku)
                                                                 copyright 2013 K. Omodele

 

                                                                          A coconut tree

                                 bends and bows in hurricane

                                        winds but doesn't break.          

 

DUB POETRY: Coramantee Heart (The Revolt)

Abeng Dub Poetry: Coromantee Heart (The Revolt)

copyright 2013 K. Omodele

                    

Re-volt noun 

1 an act of rebelling. 2 a state of insurrection. 3 a sense of loathing. 4 a mood of protest or defiance

              

 Medsing* thru mind window beyond barred sills, pass the mill,

Lift mine eyes up to the hills from whence come Jah will,

I sight Boukman, Bwa Kaiman, Palmares in Brazil,

Feel like Djuka to de bush and go Maroon in the hills,

'cause teLIEvision, pure derision, images unreel,

Vanity innoculate me like snake under heel,

Meh Granny used to warn me "hard ears goin' feel"

From chopping cane in the field, now life behind steel.

The wicked carried we away in slave bangles and rope,

We leggo cutlass and hoe, now tote the corporate yoke,

But revolt deh in meh soul like gold in Guyana dirt,

Pull on me Kwamina** pants, button me Cuffy***-link shirt.

Sight, that great Zimbabwe Wall deh masoned by us

Lalibela stone churches carved from rock and such.

Pyramid and Jah Eye inked 'pon the dollar they trust.

Timbuktu we build that up outta sand and the dust.

Thru the Door of No Return herded to hell in a rush,

Plantation by ship, prison complex 'pon de bus,

Rather chuck miself overboard, "freedom is a musss"

With meh Coromantee heart and meh Black Carib**** gut.

Wicked carry we away in rusty shackles and chains

Tried strip we culture and we pride, give we heckles and pain,

Revolt run thru me like oil under Trinidad soil

Sharpen meh Coramantee thoughts with meh Ashanti file.

The wicked Cari we beyond Mama Africa breast,

Far from de River Niger, just niggas in de West,

But Revolt boil meh blood like the Caribeyon' Sun,

Meh heartbeat...Coromantee; Hands beat Congo drum.

             

* medsing- meditating

** also Quamina, Kwabena (in Twi). Referring to the slave leader of the Demerara Slave Revolt

*** also Kofi (in Twi). The leader of the 1763 Berbice Slave Revolt

**** In the Eastern Caribbean (St. Vincent), slaves escaped to the hills, joined Caribs and intermarried.  Their offspring became known as Black Caribs.

             

             

             

CARIBBEAN POETRY: Withering Dreams (A. Haiku)

                                                 Withering Dreams (A. Haiku)
                                          copyright 2014 K. Omodele

             Withered dreams are streams
              trickled to motionless ponds.
              Stagnation is death.                    

SEEKING MAKEDA: Journey Through Affliction (Feeling)

SEEKING MAKEDA: Journey Through Affliction (Feeling)

copyright K. Omodele 2013

Fate's tormenting winds miscarried Queen's grain,

Hemorrhaged essence erupted her shame,

Then, snatched from her bust, King shackled and chained,

Fullness drilled hollow by heart-wrenching strain.

Late Mom's lullabies torched scars in her brain,

Teeth clenched as Fate pelted torrential baneful moments.

Lava, tears lament aflame,

Bare molten sorrow scorched cheeks like stained panes.

Empress Makeda balled fists through stone rains,

Soul anguished, blazing, inflaming her veins,

Scalding puddles waned formed pebbles of pain,

Wise mind*- a sword forged by life pounding change.

*Wise mind~Wisdom

Black Moses Seh: More Quotes from Marcus Mosiah Garvey

Today is Marcus Mosiah Garvey's 125th Earthday.  Blessed Earthstrong Black Marcus, my Prophet. As relevant now as he was then. Don't say that you understand, until yuh hear the man.

"This propaganda of dis-associating Western Negroes from Africa is not a new one. For many years white propagandists have been printing tons of literature to impress scattered Ethiopia, especially that portion within their civilization, with the idea that Africa is a despised place, inhabited by savages, and cannibals, where no civilized human being should go, especially black civilized human beings. This propaganda is promulgated for the cause that is being realized today. That cause is COLONIAL EXPANSION for the white nations of the world."
~ Philosophy & Opinions of Marcus Garvey,

 

"I stand before you this afternoon as a proud black man, honored to be a black man, who would be nothing else in God's creation but a black man."~ 1928

"If I die in Atlanta my work shall then only begin, but I shall live, in the physical or spiritual to see the day of Africa's glory. When I am dead wrap the mantle of the Red, Black and Green around me, for in the new life I shall rise with God's grace and blessing to lead the  millions up the heights of triumph with the colors that you well know. Look for me in the whirlwind or the storm, look for me all around you, for, with God's grace, I shall come and bring with me countless millions of black slaves who have died in America and the West Indies and the millions in Africa to aid you in the fight for Liberty, Freedom and Life."

~ in a letter from prison, 1925

"Before we can properly help the people, we have to destroy the old education... that teaches them that somebody is keeping them back and that God has forgotten them and that they can't rise because of their color.. we can only build... with faith in ourselves and with self-reliance, believing in our own possibilities, that we can rise to the highest in God's creation."

"Intelligence rules the world, ignorance carries the burden."

"Let it be your constant method to look into the design of people's actions, and see what they would be at, as often as it is practicable; and to make this custom the more significant, practice it first upon yourself."

"Among some of the organized methods used to control the world is the thing known and called PROPAGANDA. Propaganda has done more to defeat the good intentions of races and nations than even open warfare. Propaganda is a method or medium used by organized peoples to convert others against their will. We of the Negro race are suffering more than any other race in the world from propaganda... propaganda to destroy our hopes, our ambitions and our confidence in self." 

"Rise up Black Men, and take your stand. Reach up black men and women and pull all nature’s knowledge to you. Turn ye around and make a conquest of everything North and South, East and West. And then we you have wrought well, you will have merited God's blessing, you will become God's chosen people and naturally you'll become leaders of the world."

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Great Quotes by Black Leaders About The Right and Honorable Marcus Mosiah Garvey

 Marcus Garvey statue, San Fernando, Trinidad and Tobago. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

“Of all literature I studied, the book that did more than any other to fire my enthusiasm was Philosophy and Opinions of Marcus Garvey.”

~Kwame Nkrumah

"It has warmed us that so many of our brothers from across the seas are with us. We take their presence here as a manifestation of the keen interest in our struggle for a free Africa. We must never forget that they are a part of us. These sons and daughters of Africa were taken away from our shores and, despite the centuries which have separated us, they have not forgotten their ancestral links. Many of them made no small contribution to the cause of freedom, A name that springs immediately to mind in this connection is Marcus Garvey. Long before many of us were even conscious of our own degradation, Marcus Garvey fought for African national and racial equality."

~Kwame Nkrumah

Malcolm X

"Everytime you see another nation on the African continent become independent, you know that Marcus Garvey is alive. It was Marcus Garvey's philosophy of Pan-Africanism that initiated the entire Freedom Movement which brought about the independence of African (and Caribbean) nations."
~Malcolm X

"When my mother was pregnant with me, she told me later, a party of hooded Ku Klux Klan riders galloped up to our home...brandishing their shotguns and rifles the shouted for my father to come out...The Klansmen shouted threats and warnings at her that we had better get out of town because 'the good Christian White people' were not going to stand for my father's spreading among the 'good' Negroes of Omaha with the 'Back-to-Africa' preachings of Marcus Garvey."

~Malcolm X

"Marcus Garvey was one of the first advocates of Black Power, and is still today the greatest spokesman ever to have been produced by the movement of Black Consciousness...He spoke to all Africans on the earth, whether they lived in Africa, South America, the West Indies or North America, and he made Blacks aware of their strength when united."

~Dr. Walter Rodney

"They didn’t want Garvey to speak in New Orleans. We had a delegation to go to the mayor, and the next night, they allowed him to come. And we all was armed. Everybody had bags of ammunition, too. So when Garvey came in, we applauded, and the police were lined man to man along the line of each bench. So Mr. Garvey said, 'My friends, I want to apologize for not speaking to you last night. But the reason I didn’t was because the mayor of the city of New Orleans committed himself to act as a stooge for the police department to prevent me from speaking.' And the police jumped up and said, 'I’ll run you in.' When he did this, everybody jumped up on the benches and pulled out their guns and just held the guns up in the air and said, 'Speak, Garvey, speak!' And Garvey said, 'As I was saying,' and he went on and repeated what he had said before, and the police filed out the hall like little puppy dogs with their tails behind them. So that was radical enough."

Martin Luther King, Jr.

~Queen Mother Audley Moore

"...the first man, on a mass scale to give millions of Negroes a sense of dignity and destiny.”

~Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Jomo Kenyatta

"In 1921, Kenyan Nationalists, unable to read, would gather round a reader of Garvey's newspaper, The Negro World, and to listen to an article two or three times. Then they would run through the forest carefully to repeat the whole, which they had memorized, to Africans hungry for some doctrine which lifted them from the servile consciousness in which Africans lived."

~Jomo Kenyatta

"Marcus Garvey is a prophet..."

~Bob Marley

"I & I will never forget no way/ they sold Marcus Gavey for rice..." -in the song So Much Things to Say

~Bob Marley
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Please feel free to add any other quotes by leaders bigging up Marcus Mosiah Garvey in the Comments/Chat Yuh Mind section

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