Black Swan

AswadBajaaah
Jul 24, 2017 · 2 min read

Be of good cheer;
my GG said to me
Strapped down by struggle;
yet, you are what they envy

Marked out for disfavor;
wars waged against you
Wiled from wholeness;
the ancestors’ cries we rue

Bound in oceans of tears;
bearing the whelps of colonial rule,
up from the desolate corners of history;
we still await 40 acres and a mule

Misled by your steel constitution;
the infinity of its brawn
Unfurl, leap forward, and soar;
like the plumaged Black swan

Like Kings to their courts;
we are immortal majesty,
Like seas and like sands;
we respond and contort,

Like opals and like rubies;
we entrap peering dames,
Unbending, unfaltering, unyielding;
like moths to steady flame

Journey the misty path, King;
steady and measured,
the resilience of your smile;
coined as national treasure

Time hangs heavy;
over windswept dunes,
kinky crowns extend and shine;
to the golden suns and silver moons

Ruled as pharaohs and regents;
now fossilized beneath the earth,
Resurfaced as artisans and whistlers;
avowing my utter worth

We governed tribes and engraved tombs;
from the valley’s ravine to the mountain’s peak,
Branded, beaten, buried;
yet we’ve risen, brethren, of whom He speaks

How do I collect myself, and cope,
when the world turns me down?
I’ve matured to the realization,
as a King, I bear the crown

We are rich like brocade;
Delicate like chiffon,
Lasting like tweed;
And, natural like silk

Our laughs are fleeting birds;
chasing freedom’s call,
From tiny brook to raging torrent;
planting dreams where water falls

Run, tender boy, run;
bear towards the light,
Be tender, child;
and joyous in flight

Let your chorus flutter;
as it sings unflinchingly gay,
Lift your hands high;
and live aloud with sway

Unbothered like the lion’s mane, we flourish;
We forge onward — like camels endure endless horizons;
As elephants trod savannas,
our thickets of struggle become enlivened

I once wore shackles;
queued and affixed in procession
I now wear bangles;
adhering to no man’s possession

You question my existence
Why is he at the table?,
awestruck and wondering
as to how I was even able

We revel in pride and style;
teeming in African cloak,
Centuries and bloodlines gone
yet, our consciousness remains woke

Your identity is complex;
my GG said to me
go, King, as the wind billows
Black swan, you are free

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