Abeng Dub Poetry: Coromantee Heart (The Revolt)
copyright 2013 K. Omodele
Re-volt noun
1 an act of rebelling. 2 a state of insurrection. 3 a sense of loathing. 4 a mood of protest or defiance
Medsing* thru mind window beyond barred sills, pass the mill,
Lift mine eyes up to the hills from whence come Jah will,
I sight Boukman, Bwa Kaiman, Palmares in Brazil,
Feel like Djuka to de bush and go Maroon in the hills,
’cause teLIEvision, pure derision, images unreel,
Vanity innoculate me like snake under heel,
Meh Granny used to warn me “hard ears goin’ feel”
From chopping cane in the field, now life behind steel.
The wicked carried we away in slave bangles and rope,
We leggo cutlass and hoe, now tote the corporate yoke,
But revolt deh in meh soul like gold in Guyana dirt,
Pull on me Kwamina** pants, button me Cuffy***-link shirt.
Sight, that great Zimbabwe Wall deh masoned by us
Lalibela stone churches carved from rock and such.
Pyramid and Jah Eye inked ‘pon the dollar they trust.
Timbuktu we build that up outta sand and the dust.
Thru the Door of No Return herded to hell in a rush,
Plantation by ship, prison complex ‘pon de bus,
Rather chuck miself overboard, “freedom is a musss”
With meh Coromantee heart and meh Black Carib**** gut.
Wicked carry we away in rusty shackles and chains
Tried strip we culture and we pride, give we heckles and pain,
Revolt run thru me like oil under Trinidad soil
Sharpen meh Coramantee thoughts with meh Ashanti file.
The wicked Cari we beyond Mama Africa breast,
Far from de River Niger, just niggas in de West,
But Revolt boil meh blood like the Caribeyon’ Sun,
Meh heartbeat…Coromantee; Hands beat Congo drum.
* medsing- meditating
** also Quamina, Kwabena (in Twi). Referring to the slave leader of the Demerara Slave Revolt*** also Kofi (in Twi). The leader of the 1763 Berbice Slave Revolt
**** In the Eastern Caribbean (St. Vincent), slaves escaped to the hills, joined Caribs and intermarried. Their offspring became known as Black Caribs.
