lovestarved (for fidel and che’)
By ‘bro. zayid’
“ooo i…oooo i…
miss u, miss u, miss u, miss u, miss u,
baby!....
“ooo i…oooo i…
miss u, miss u, miss u, miss u, miss u,
baby!…”
-I Miss You, Harold Melvin and the BlueNotes
Si’ Cuba…
i miss u…
i miss yr tall defiant
chipped murals of Che’
here Che’…there Che’
everywhere the people be
u gonna find Che’…
i miss yr elders
talking about Fidel like a mischievous cousin…
i miss yr intellectuals steeped Marti’
in exhaustive pursuits of answers
to hard questions to real human problems
like enough food for everyone
enough running water for everyone
enough books paper pencils and pens
for everyone in school…
enough ink paint and paste
to celebrate yrselves
to continue to forge and affirm
yr own unique nat’l revolutionary identity with…
i miss yr pride in voluntary labor
yr proud sounding of yr litany
of internationalist missions
and Che’s presence ever glowing in yr eyes…
i miss the honor and audacity
of Maceo and yr Mambisi ancestors
in yr walk…
i miss yr incredible humility…
i miss yr black beans and rice
yr fish from yr sweet bluewaters
yr yucca and beets…
i miss yr percussive penchant for things romantic
at sunsoaked countryside workbreaks
and when u grow tired of dancing
deep into the late of night…
i miss yr rosters beating the dawn’s sun
for yr attention
and there is no full moon
like a Cubano full moon…
“…i swear i miss you, baby!...”
i miss the rhythms and energy
of yr rhumba centered MayDays…
i miss yr incredible patience with
the tough and tender of tobacco at its source…
i miss yr eagerness to taste
to touch to synthesize
everything good useful and human
no matter where it comes from…
i miss yr open ears
and yr raw real readiness
to defend yr revolution at a moment’s notice!...
i miss yr hospitality
and the honor and pride u take in making a home
for my exiled comrades, Assata, Guillermo and Nehanda…
and so many like them
seeking refuge from imperialist abuse…
i miss yr muscular sense of duty…
i miss the supreme beauty of yr women dancing
Si’, the conga curved fullness of the companeras’
the no nonsense heart of the revolution
i miss the marvel of their magnetism
their generosity their modesty
their much-needed forthrightfulness
bringing balance to the incredible
passions and efforts of yr incredible experiment
with this incredible idea called socialism…
i miss the warmth of the men
in love with good rum music
cigars chess boxing baseball dominoes
and who love to fight
especially against backwards ideas…
i miss the dignity and compassion of yr children
their eyes ripe with expectations for a better world
longing for mediocre northern organizers like me
to deposit that barbaric blockade
into the trashcan of history!...
and when enough of us get together
we will…we will…
i miss u welcoming me
to participate in yr incredible dance
with this socialist destiny…
i miss yr selfless willingness to share everything
making the Oshun in yr air
blush with pride…
i miss Afrika
teeming from yr mango lips yr hurricane hips…
i miss yr supreme sense of service
sparkling diamondbright
not just from being proud of coming from Afrika…
but for what u gave back to Afrika
yr top skills and yr top troops
with yr own hands and yr own blood
because when Afrika called, Cuba answered
‘When Afrika called, Cuba answered
‘When Afrika called, Cuba answered
Cuba answered…Cuba answered!’…
i miss yr undying emphasis
on doing things collectively
always for the greater collective good…
i miss yr making the rigors
the difficulties the sacrifices
the hardwork of revolution
seem so natural
so necessary
so sexy even
like those rhythms of conviction
of supreme confidence drumming in the walk
of the companeras’
in and out of uniform!...
and so
with volcanic longing in my heart
to dance on yr homeland again
with volcanic longing in my heart
to witness yr bold walking working nat’l definition
of dignity and selfdetermination
i say
Viva! La revolucion! Que viva!
i say
Viva, Fidel! Que viva!
i say
‘Socialism or death!
i say
‘Patria o muerte
Venceremos!’...
so like a lovestarved child
longing for longlost parents
a whole continent and several centuries
away
i say
‘i swear i miss you,baby!
‘ooo i, ooo i
Miss u, miss u, miss u, miss u, miss u,
baby!’...
si’ Cuba…
i miss u like that!...
here Che’ there Che’
everywhere the Cuban people be
u gonna find Che’…
©1997
All rights reserved
Bro. Zayid Muhammad shares a classic, his praisesong for the Cuban Revolution, dedicated here to the unconquerable Fidel Castro at 90, from his forthcoming volume of poetry simply called 'The Soul Poems'
https://theblacklist.net/
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