Lightbringer

Lightbringer

  By

  Qwantu Amaru

  * * * * *

  PUBLISHED BY:

  Qwantu Amaru

  Lightbringer

  Copywright 2012 Qwantu Amaru

  License Statement

  This ebook is licensed for your enjoyment only. This ebook may not be resold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each additional recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was purchased for your use only, then please return to Amazon.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

  Acknowledgements

  Thank God for the talent, mind and soul.

  Mom and Dad for the nurturing, morals, intellect and insight.

  Keith Rogers for the vision.

  Friends and family for the undying support.

  BackTalk! poetry troupe for the movement.

  contents

  Part I: The Word

  the word

  the light bringer

  mic check

  damn poets

  stream of consciousness

  Part 2: The Desert of the Real

  savage

  down south

  ja´ fui asaltado

  the day after

  broken home

  the truth

  hateration

  start snitchin’

  Part 3: The Life and Times

  six scarlet letters

  the corporate slave mentality

  work shit

  the first time

  blacklove

  brasil

  Part I: The Word

  the word

  it is a means to communicate inner feelings

  it is the medicine for healing scars over 400 years old

  back when we were told to learn another language and religious practice

  and submit to the oppression of racists

  we decided to pimp their language and use it as the basis

  to create an oasis for our people to find freedom

  but the massa’s thought we were dumb

  for spending every free hour talking back through the drums

  nowadays we’re spending every free hour illuminating the imprisoned minds of the slums

  while ceos and their homies choke down tums to calm down ulcers

  we slanging their language to bolster the pride of nine-to-fivers and hustling survivors

  of this struggle to communicate exactly how it feels

  to watch your family get killed

  while vultures drink their fill of all the blood that has spilled

  and then spit it back in our collective faces

  sometimes i think that if it wasn’t for this peaceful space

  between myself and the mic

  some 1 percenter would be dying tonight

  and that’s why i write and that’s why we read

  because we need to hear more than bling bling and flossing messages

  our children keep getting neglected and our women been getting disrespected

  the poet knows this and shows this

  through lyrical landscapes richer than ancient africa

  we are the scribes that use the alphabet to describe

  what lies inside the minds of all the oppressed peoples of mankind

  the word is the newest testament and we are the latest prophets

  that got corporate america trying to profit off this anciently new phenomenon

  making every one say that their word is their bond

  and cashing in their u.s. savings bond just to buy a cd

  of some spoken herbs to elevate their mentality’s

  but what they don’t know is that the word has always been free

  and always will be

  the only way for me to truly express myself

  spiritual wealth plus wisdom equals power

  now is the hour for our reckoning and reparations

  because the x-factor in this equation is that the word when spoken

  equals salvation

  the light bringer

  i

  bring

  light

  to

  life

  the animation of creation without hesitation is my mission

  through fission i divide the mind’s eye

  and remove visions through verbal incisions

  sharp like swords yet deadly like words chosen carefully

  skillfully

  i ride light in waves

  turn night into day

  making you long for a replay

  but resist that temptation

  stay patient from midnight until dawn

  what once was gone is now back

  to attack preconceptions and prejudice

  like brutus or judas stabbing god’s children in the back

  for fame or hundred stacks

  unpack your baggage

  and bathe in this inspirational light

  that ignites your senses

  removes defenses

  brings down barriers and fences that separate you from the truth

  let this lightning illuminate your synapses

  until your shield collapses you will never learn to love

  what shines down from above

  and below

  the chasm between wrong and right grows

  enormous in this light

  fight the urge to scream for like bad dreams

  it’s never as bad as it seems

  or is it

  physics

  like this energy neither lost nor destroyed

  just transferred to fill your void with light

  insight and introspection take on new directions

  when you delve deep within

  sin

  all depends on what you believe in

  but is much easier when the light grows dim

  the whisperer works his wickedness

  providing yet another test

  but how do perform your best

  when you can’t even see the light at the end of life’s tunnel

  funnel your strength into focus on the road ahead

  or are you better off dead

  waiting for that final glimpse or glimmer

  of light that shines and shimmers divine

  the line that connects part and whole

  heart and soul

  become one

  in the light

  angels fly like kites made of caring

  sharing your experience closes the book

  that begins and ends in resurrection

  brilliant like total internal reflection

  let your light escape and reveal shapes

  of analogies and verbs that flow like a stream through me

  to whet your appetite for the light

  for in god’s sight

  i am the light

  you are the light

  we are the light

  mic check

  i used to be a shy guy

  sitting behind the scenes

  with dreams of blessing stages

  with my pages of delicious poetry and prose

  but i was a virgin

  and she was experienced

  like mrs. jones

  i wanted to own her

  and make her moan

  just by lowering my vocal tones

  but she was too grown

  and she had many other lovers

  she didn’t discriminate taking on all comers

  male or female

  sometimes even ten or fifteen a night

  and to make her come right

  they had to come correct


  because she didn’t get butt booty ass naked for just anyone

  she demanded respect

  and got it

  i watched as one by one

  they approached her from the back

  stroking the black surface of her skin

  getting into the act

  i knew i should have been covering my ears

  because this shit was explicit

  but i felt like a voyeur in the woods

  watching animalistic instinctive passions unfurl

  she was the epitome of uninhibited

  and only liked to do it in public places

  making me wish i could be trading spaces

  with the cat next to her on stage

  she liked it sitting down or standing up

  cuz she was flexible

  and the energy she emitted

  was far more than sexual

  she was a conscious bi-coastal phenomenon

  and no matter who she did it with

  her concentration was always fixed on reaching the back

  of that room

  where i was patiently waiting

  for my chance to romance this enchanting creature

  like a feature performer

  i planned to start slow

  knowing that’s how she likes it

  because like most women

  she has to get warmed up

  before she can get excited

  and as i recited

  lines of my most intimate thoughts

  she let me know that i had found one of her spots

  and as we taught each other

  how we liked to groove it

  before i knew it

  i was losing my inhibitions too

  i no longer cared

  about who was staring whenever we got down

  i started staring back

  and then i started talking back

  speaking

  like mummified tongues would if you removed the wrapping

  she and me were tapping into a higher consciousness

  everyone kept telling me to bless her

  like she was sneezing

  she had me believing that i was the only one

  but i knew better

  because her eyes never stopped roaming

  picking and choosing other’s

  enticing them

  into taking a try at making her monogamous

  the truth hit me hard that for her

  one would never be enough

  and so we broke up

  but we still have occasional flings in different cities

  and don’t take pity on me since i couldn’t make her mine

  because i used to be a shy guy

  sitting behind the scenes

  now i’m blessing stages

  with my pages of delicious poetry and prose

  i know now she’s not a ho or easy

  she may appear to be that way from the outside

  but take a try and step to her

  you’ll see

  that when you step to her

  whether its singing, rapping, or poetry

  you’d better step correctly

  because she’s got crazy jealous lovers like me

  that won’t take you misusing her lightly

  she ain’t no game

  she ain’t for the faint of heart or tame

  she’s for the wild of heart and free of spirit

  so when you get near her don’t fear her

  just keep giving her what she deserves…respect

  that’s the true definition

  of a mic check

  damn poets

  i’m no slam poet

  i’m a damn poet

  damned to know it all

  and show it all

  like a tell-all biopic

  i’m forced to report on everything

  from the obvious

  to the microscopic

  shit you ignore every day

  i’m the dam that gets in your way

  and interrupts your flow

  forcing you to grow in another direction

  introspection is my weapon of choice

  along with my razor sharp mind and voice

  and i’m not asking you to agree with this

  i just can’t help it

  because while you smell air freshener i smell shit

  i’d sometimes like to quit or turn-off these sensibilities

  but i’m a damn poet

  blessed with these abilities for a purpose

  when i step up to the mic i make audiences nervous

  spoken word has nothing to do with customer service

  because i’m giving you the tips

  and all i ask for in return is

  your attention

  if necessity is the mother of invention

  oppression must be a kissing cousin

  damn poets are like microwave ovens

  cuz i can cook a brain in 3 minutes or less

  in this life game

  i’m the play by play announcer for the peoples pain

  damn poets like to ramble on and on and on

  we even got our own unique jargon too

  this damn poets’ mission is to open blind third eyes

  and force you to gaze upon babylon

  explaining hidden meanings on tell-lie-vision

  but that’s what we do

  trust that the fucking time limit rule was put in for you

  because i realize people got short attention spans

  and for a damn poet

  slamming forces you to pimp time

  control it

  flip it

  and drop it like it’s hot

  why oh why did you even come to this poetry spot

  frequented by damn poets from coast to coast

  to me a poetry slam is nothing more than a comedy roast

  but guess who’s getting roasted

  not me

  wouldn’t you agree

  that this world would be worse off without damn poets

  damned to know it all and show it all

  like tell all-biopics

  but you picked this poison

  you could’a been up in da club

  bottle full of bub

  people i got what you need

  if you need to rise above

  ain’t nothing wrong with sex

  but i’m into spreadin love

  so come listen to we

  if you’re into getting free

  nas say

  you can be what you wanna be

  but as for me

  that there’s nothing i’d rather be

  than a damn poet

  black on black rhyme—stream of consciousness

  you can run

  but you can’t hide

  from this vibe

  that strikes

  like lightning bolts of enlightenment

  excitement

  is what we

  package

  produce

  and sell

  for those that dwell on street corners

  or those that reside in mansions

  we be planting

  seeds

  in the mind estates of statesmen and women alike

  this and like that ya know

  not the phat cat but a blessed black cat ya know

  that crosses paths and brings good luck

  awakening

  like a pluck of hair from the skin

  our rhythms dwell deeper within

  than simply skin follicles

  with each inhalation of this

  pure

  heat

  you

  breathe

  we dive deep

  into your soul

  like moles hiding from the light

  you crawled into a poetry spot tonight

  and got blinded by insight
r />   tight verses so versatile

  got you shook up for a while

  and no matter how many napkins you use

  you can’t wipe the smile

  from your face it

  though you were once complacent

  subconscious skeletons started climbing out your minds basement

  the moment these poets showed you

  what bass meant

  drummed meaning into your everyday life

  completed the cipher of senses

  now you

  hear

  smell

  taste

  see

  feel

  and flow

  like you know

  the truth

  about the tooth fairy

  santa clause

  and easter bunny

  but it ain’t funny

  ‘cause we never pause for applause

  since the cause we fight for

  will enrichen the poor

  massage the sore

  and even the score

  as we tour the circumference of your cerebellum first

  and then the world

  war

  will cease to exist

  leaving only blissful utopia

  we were hoping ya’d stop by tonight

  so you could hear stories about

  the beginnings of humankind

  and the inner workings of black thought

  we’re that soulfood you’ve often sought

  but you’ve been caught up in the rat race

  now you can replace the long tail whiskers and blackface

  and examine your beautiful black face

  and love what you see

  like we love what we do

  to you and yours

  deposit this message in your mental savings account

  and just keep raving about

  the troupe

  that speaks

  the truth

  until our tongues fall out

  we give you something

  to write home about

  and scream and shout

  and rant and rave

  and heal and save

  and hear and do something for your people

  before other people can undo you

  through

  racial profiling church bombings or death threats

  don’t you get it yet?

  why after all the suffering they’ve put us through

  they want us to forget it

  and go back to work for them on corporate plantations

  picking workstations

  instead of cotton

  we’ve been left rotting

  in a ditch

  on the side of the information superhighway

  thinking we paid the ultimate price to play

  but we still remain

  on the sidelines

  that’s why the backtalk poetry troupe and all poets are on the front lines

  lyrically fighting to regain control of our peoples minds

  and if you want to find out how this whole story ends

  keep reading the headlines

  and you’ll see a story about the time

  human kind was saved