Liberty, equality, fraternity,
beautiful chimeras carved into the republican marble,
yet behind the motto, the Black Code,
the papal bull,
and the slave-trading betrayal as backbone.
Slavery, colonization,
xenophobia, negrophobia,
these are the legacies they disguise as civilizations.
Human zoos, colonial trading posts, the colonial pact,
the savage plunder wrapped in a tricolor flag.
In banana republics, tyranny is always under contract,
Françafrique and its neo-colonial military bases
feed African dictators at the service of the West.
Africa, the third world, whose misery has been planned for millennia,
this is how they name the cradle of humanity.
Under their blades, raw materials
become a procession of genocides,
and neo-colonial poaching devours heritages.
Assimilation, integration, alienation,
these three chains forged by the schools of the empire of Enlightenment.
But human dignity refuses to be sold,
the integrity and identity of courageous souls will never prostitute themselves.
Humanity and Africanity,
these two flames proclaim aloud
that the womb of oppressed peoples
shall never be reduced to the dust of servitude and submission.
The farther I get from religion
the closer I get to God
Clouds blown free—new imagery
a seed in Heaven’s pod
The farther I get from the papal bull
the closer His voice I hear
Grace so blessed—divine GPS
directions loud and clear
(Dundale: September, 2023)
a riddle in verse
What is the number of years
Israel roamed the wilderness
if we divide it by ten?
What is the number of ears
on a frog duo warbling so loudly
your head is starting to spin?
What is the number of gears
on an average-size semitruck
minus half of a dozen?
What is the number of beers
found in a guzzler’s six pack
if two of them are missin’?
Riddled number whether in Rome or right here
tells us how often we celebrate Leap Year.
The Gregorian calendar makes it quite clear.
Pope Gregory XIII made ten days disappear.
February 10, 2020
Juliet Ligon's contest: What's in a Number?
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