Unity, Criticism, Unity

Shall I shoot you out the saddle
Rearrange the computer of your mind
shake yo nuts out the sand of time
relieve you of your comfort zone
drag your corpse out that shallow grave
remove your burial wrap like Lazarus come again
while Mary and Martha moan
softly in the night
the black night of our tears under the cross and lynching tree
let us reason together brothers and sisters
there is no exit
we must debate in civil
lower the bass in our voices
before we stroke or heart attack
even devils converse late into the night
in their secret dungeons and black holes

Up from ignut
yet we can dream plan
but don't forget dry bones in the hood
strange fruit on the tree
broken bones in the swamp
death on the plantations of our mind
resurrect the 200,000 warriors from civil war days
disarmed by reconstruction
and the freedman's bureau
moving on to segregation
up the mountain like Sisyphus
down again into the shallow grave like Lazarus
new beginning in the renaissance
civil rites sun ra said
rites at the cemetery
last rites for pax americana
black power, black arts, black studies
so much to do so little time
we drag our feet again up the hill
sometimes shooting ourselves in the foot
dreaming of other worlds
forget the negro in the hood
free outter space
fight the green revolution
how can you save the planet
the planet has come to devour you
consume you for your iniquities and shame of Mother Earth
let the oceans rise until you wail and drown
let the birds bees ants bite your asses
into righteousness
let the exhaust from your cars take you along freeways of madness
some yakubian architect constructed
half your chilldren never graduate never speak another language
never travel beyond hood and turf
no news reaches their ears beyond the madness of chris brown and rihana
stuck in the BET world of nothingless and dread
and yet we rise
the motion of the ocean carries us if we float on our backs
be still dog peddle
until we come ashore.

-Marvin X
Houston, Texas