Finding X/Self
Many years ago a resource centre was throwing away
literature from the widest four corners of the
African diaspora a sea of books to sail to make
a voyage of discovery of New Words
Edward Kamau Brathwaite X/Self
Finds me
-1 MAR 1999
40p
X/SELF
Withdrawn
The words that follow I never fully understand
but page after page are turned greedily
eyes become fat and mouth become full
with verse and lyrics that leave their sweet taste
‘towards
algonquin Pontiac discovering his arrows were on fire
towards
Tupac amauri II
towards
My heart at wounded knee
towards
Red Tacky bleeding in the West’
Something sings a litany to me
fills my angry African self with belief
weighs heavy on my birthright
spins my triangle back to its beginning
gives me back my obelisk
Creating my own narrative
towards
James Cone liberating Black Theology
towards
Malcolm writing from Mecca
towards
Small axe big tree Bob Marley
towards
Martin Luther King’s dreams in a living nightmare
To the voice that walk across blared lines of humanity
a narrative free of constraints
self so assured it lives
beyond the boundaries dictated
towards
Nanny of the maroons catching bullets with her bottom
towards
The bare foot fakir/ Gandhi that brought the British Empire down
towards
A God/Allah/Jehovah without a name to fight or kill for
towards
Marvin Gaye and God save the children