south africans

by

abdulrahman’s revelations…

This poem is based upon a post from my friend Mirella ( http://mirellamccracken.wordpress.com/).

 

he lie
on the floor
a caged fallen angel
his crime
quite simply
refusal to deny hope
but that was cause enough
for the smoke of unreason
to rise from the depths of the earth
and they were as locusts upon him
grinding away at his soul
beating his dreams from his backside
breaking the legs of his resistance
leaving him as  a prayer rug on the floor
to be tread upon
as if humanity’s grand mosque
were not also a place of prayer
so
no longer
do they have the seal of god
in their forehead
it has long been removed
so in their last days
the locusts shall come
with the scorpion’s sting
they will be tormented
but not killed
they will not find death
but they
shall
seek it
but death
shall flee from them
and they
shall know
his pain

by

reading the paper at dunkin’ doughnuts…

 

honey
i am so depressed
did you look at the paper today
look at this
some nigerian village
    lost one-third of their children
    processing gold
    lead poisoning
    in the water
damn
   and here’s a state-of-the-art hospital
   in abu dhabi
   where pampered falcons
you heard me right honey
   falcons  
   stay in air-conditioned rooms
   fed a daily diet of quail
ain’t that a bitch
   and we got folks here
   still eating dog food
and if that weren’t enough
   says here in black and white
   in south africa
   folks are trying to come to terms
   with the ear-splitting vuvuzela cacophony
bet it beats the hell out of gun fire
   along a mexican street
child if this is civilization
count me out

by

can you hear the child…

you were
so
concerned
with dancing
stars
who
will
win
how could they
endure
such a
rigorous schedule
but
while
you
sat there
i sat
here
a child
from darfur
my dried tears
are yesterday’s fears
not today’s
this arid place
holds my forgotten face
as if bound to a cross
my body aches
from the janjaweed’s
penetrations
this was no wedding night
with one
lover
it was satan’s army
i was
the victor’s prize
and so my tears
went unheard
your
god
my
god
did not intervene
nor did any
one
change
the channel
for fear
of missing
who
the
winner was
it
was
not
me

by

questionnaire…

your personal interview with god
has been taken under advisement
please stay on the line
since your soul is important to us
we would like to conduct
a short survey
before processing your request
your call and answers may be monitored
for quality assurance
please respond to the following menu items
submenu one
how would you describe your primary religious affiliation
press one for
abrahamic religion
press two for
indian religion
press three for
east asian religion
press four for
african religion
press five for
indigenous tribal religion
press six for
none of the above
or
other options
submenu two
would you say that
during the last twenty-four hours
press one for
i helped someone in need
press two for
i tried to help someone in need
press three for
i thought about helping someone in need
press four for
i helped myself to something i needed
press five for
i don’t understand the relevancy of the question
submenu three
if you do not believe in a divine being would you say that
your behavior on earth has demonstrated a true love
for the tenets described in most religious texts anyway
press one for
all the time
press two for
well every now and then
press three for
i’m not sure
press four for
hell no

by

congratulations….

transparency international
would like to
congratulate
you
you
have been selected
at random
from thousands
to receive
an all expense paid vacation
to one of their
top ten countries
this trip will afford
you an opportunity
to live life as a local
experience the reasons
for all those heart warming stories
that you have only heard about
on the evening news
for example
watch a new-born infant
vainly fight for survival
then
wade through governmental muck
attempting to bribe a government official
to regain your passport
experience the thrill of the hunt
by being the hunted
run wild to foreign borders
be rejected
or
imprisoned in tent camps
this is just a sample of what awaits you
and although previous winners
have requested a travel brochure
i must sadly admit we have none
however
i have enclosed
several photographs
with comments on each
photo number one
a lovely camp in sudan
where you’ll  while away the hours
talking to natives from darfur
please ignore the small fire being set
in the foreground
photo number two
transportation system is displayed
these are somalian toll boats
please bring the correct change
since the captain only carries large bills
this is not some one time offer
like those silly tv commercials
this a stable world condition
so you need not rush to your phone
to respond
take your time
most people
have

by

call to prayer…

throughout the day
the voice
in tones
defined by god
reaches out to all
believers
as well as
to
nonbelievers
with a single message
it is time to pray
a message
we should
choose to hear
for indeed it is
time
to
pray

by

north africa american cemetery…

 

these graves
have names i know
from towns i have seen
and streets all too familiar to me
but this place is tunis
and each white cross
stands guard on a soul
separated from its home
carried here in the hands of thor
like so many others to this land
that has known so many battles
since men began their conquest
of what each other had
or desired
but these souls
rest here
witnessing
a quest for peace
but their voices
cannot be heard
so war around them
continues
and their brethren
continue to die
and walk dead
among the streets at home
ignored like a passing shadow
on a clear day
and slaughtered
with shoot-to-kill orders
in the very land that they loved
and would have died for
but a land without mercy
or even questions
of why such actions are necessary
just another case of
i was only following
orders

by

slideshow…

background sound
the circle game
swipe right
african renaissance monument
man, woman and child emerging from a volcano
man
annual income
one thousand dollars plus
woman
rape statistics not available
child
workers in sweat shops
supporting tourist trade
total cost
27 million dollars
over 2 million dollars per senegalese
fade to black
central Moscow
female bombers
husband killed by federal forces
detonating explosives
death toll
now forty
fade to black
trenton new jersey
public housing apartments
7-year-old sister
sold into sexual slavery
by step-sister for personal gain
immense pressure to make arrests
several arrests of men
aggravated sexual assault
endangering
the welfare
of a child
is there a charge
for creating a living death
fade to black
fade to black

by

carousel…

from within the universe
of smoke-filled rooms
and blaring jazz music
comes the artificial laughter
of a child named man
who rides round-and-round
on a carousel called life
who is forced to ride
until he grabs the brass ring
of death