Look for ’we’ in
the whirlwind
-to Blues for Huey, Hugh Masekela
(for the
December 12th Movement, Bilal Sunni Ali and the late Jessica Mbangeni*)
by
‘bro zayid’
“...Look for me
in the whirlwind...And 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 of Africa to aid you
in the fight for
liberty, freedom and life...”
Marcus Garvey, December
2, 1927
The
Ancestor has spoken
we’comin
we
comin
countless
millions countless millions
You
may not see it, or may not hear it,
but
know that u are feeling a surge of something eminent
deep
in your bones
look
for we in the whirlwind
we
comin we comin
With
Ogun’s slaughtering edge
we
comin
Yemaya
blue
Oshun
and Olokun true!
we
comin
Shango
sure
with
Oya’s blisterin awe
we
comin
encirclin
mumia
we
comin
So
sayeth the Ancestor
the
peacock poppin winged Ancestor
who
lifted all of our eyes with pride
hi
above the white man’s white supremecy lies
emerging
from that big sea
littered
with centuries of black bones
baptized
with boukman’s offering and sacrifice
denmark
determined
with
nat turner’s nerve
mutulu’s
magic
and
panther black leather swerve
we
comin
countless millions
countless millions
out
from sultry Black August heat
bold
and bad to our own insurgent beat
gallant
and gold holdin the flag hi
emerging
from that big sea
littered
with centuries of black bones
out
from the mtns where cecille had us conspire
out
from the swamps settin plantations on fire
out
from the sierra maestra teaching campesinos to unite
out
from those same mountains a sea peasants ready to fight
can’t
see it cant hear it
feelin
our imminent awe
look
for we in the whirlwind
we
comin
a
sea of black South African women burning pass books
marchin
down apartheids throat
a
sea of Mississippi black women
shutting
down atlantic city’s segregated boardwalks
with
fannie lou hamer at the point
with
safiya’s soul
with
huey’s heart
with
fred’s clarity
with
maroon’s ferocity
we
comin
o
yes we comin
out
of Black August’s sultry heat
cutlass
armed columns
marchin
to an insurgent beat...
with
baseball bats out from urban back alleys
with
ballots and with bullets and without any apologies
from
brooklyn to brixton
from
chi town to capetown
from
boston to buenos aires
from
harlem to havana
holdin
the flag high
furious
and fearless with pride
we
comin we comin
with
safiya’s soul
with
huey’s heart
with
fred’s clarity
with
maroon’s ferocity
carryin
emmitt till’s mutilated head
claimin
michael brown’s bloody body left on ferguson’s street dead
claimin
drew washington’s bullet shattered chest
certifyin
justin smith’s handcuffed spit in the face of tulsa pigs
turnin
white privilege on its racist head in harlem
turnin
watts into a wildfire of defiance
cant
see it cant hear it
feeling
our eminence raw
look
for we in the whirlwind
cause
we comin! we comin!
countless
millions countless millions
we
comin we comin
sealed
with david walker’s appeal
we
comin
with
bottles bricks and baseball bats
with
ballots and with bullets
with
jonathan as the jackal
and
capoeira cunning
takin
over slavers boats
with
a sea of black women
marching
down white supremecy’s throat
cant
see it cant hear it
look
for we in the whirlwind
look
for we in the whirlwind
we
comin we comin
countless
millions
we
comin we comin
with
safiya’s soul
with
huey’s heart
with
fred’s courageous clarity
with
maroon’s legendary ferocity
out
from mountains where cecille had us conspire
out
from swamps settin plantations on fire
with
columns of angry black ghosts
holding
the flag hi
with
baldwin’s love
and
with blood
in
we eyes!
“When you let
your enemy know that you will do anything
to get your
freedom, then you’ll get it...”
Malcolm X
*December
12th Movement, cherished Brooklyn based comrades, who know how to
shutdown the streets of New York! Beloved revolutionary Bilal Sunni Ali, who gave us a timemarking song 'Look for me in the Whirlwind'...Jessica Mbangeni, amazing young South
African praise poet and singer who died suddenly on August 31’24...
©2024 all rights reserved
