Dictators: Pablo Neruda
An odor has remained among the sugarcane: a mixture of blood and body, a penetrating petal that brings nausea. Between the coconut palms the graves are full of ruined bones, of speechless death-rattles. The delicate dictator is talking with top hats, gold braid, and collars. The tiny palace gleams like a watch and the rapid... Continue Reading →
Video: that poem that said what needed to be said in a hard time to say anything
Emmanuel Ortiz - "Moment of Silence" Before I start this poem,I'd like to ask you to join me in a moment of silence in honour of those who died in the World Trade Centre and the Pentagon last September 11th. I would also like to ask you a moment of silence for all of those who have been harassed, imprisoned,... Continue Reading →
The Human Voice, by Galeano
Some prisoners spent more than ten years buried in solitary cells the size of coffins, hearing nothing but clanging bars or footsteps in the corridors. . .[they] survived because they could talk to each other by tapping on the wall. In that way they told of dreams and memories, fallings in and out of love;... Continue Reading →
Bought and Sold
Smart big awards and prize money Is killing off black poetry It’s not censors or dictators that are cutting up our art. The lure of meeting royalty And touching high society Is damping creativity and eating at our heart. The ancestors would turn in graves Those poor black folk that once were slaves would wonder... Continue Reading →
Illustrated: Women in Struggle
The artist, María María Acha-Kutscher, says, "The aim of the Indignadas series is to make women's efforts more visible and place women at the center of these social struggles ... The drawings show a female body not offered as support for the man's eyes, but as support for the political message ... This is another way to connect... Continue Reading →
At a Deportation Centre by Warsan Shire
Well, I think home spat me out, the blackouts and curfews like tongue against loose tooth. God, do you know how difficult it is, to talk about the day your own city dragged you by the hair, past the old prison, past the school gates, past the burning torsos erected on poles like flags? When... Continue Reading →
Ben Okri Quotes: We Are Living Our Stories
“The law is simple. Every experience is repeated or suffered till you experience it properly and fully the first time.” “That's the way it is. If you believe in something your very belief renders you unqualified to do it. Your earnestness will come across. Your passion will show. Your enthusiasm will make everyone nervous. And... Continue Reading →
The obscenity of war has many faces…
By Leunig.
Lost: Poem from Sudan
This poem is taken from a sequence called, ‘Weaving a World'. ‘October' and ‘April' in the poem refer to the uprisings in Sudan, in 1964 and 1985, respectively, against the dictatorships of General Abood and General Numairy. It was originally in Arabic. Out of reach, stripped bare, orphaned, betrayed by the secret fires that October... Continue Reading →
Poem dedicated to a girl
Listen girl, when they compliment you, calling you beautiful, or when they humiliate you, calling you ugly, don't listen to anyone. They only want to lock you up in the mirror of a different kind of loneliness. You should live, not please. Beauty is in life. When they read Little Red Riding Hood to you,... Continue Reading →
Revolutionary love
Mario Benedetti's poem Te Quiero in English: Your hands are my caress my daily reminders I love you because your hands work for justice if I love you it's because you are my love my accomplice and my everything and in the street arm in arm we are more than just two people your eyes are... Continue Reading →
Raised By A Same-Sex Couple: An Open Letter to the Australian Christian Lobby
Written by my partner...
Brother from the West
A poetic appeal by Frelimo (Mozambique Liberation Front) for support in its liberation struggle, 1973. Brother from the West (How can we explain that you are our brother?) the world does not end at the threshold of your house nor at the stream which marks the border of your country nor in the sea in... Continue Reading →
I want you free, not submissive
Not submissive, not devoted. Woman, I want you free, lovely, and crazy. By many anonymous grafitti artists.
On borders: Dot and Dash
Between your people and my people there is a dot and a dash: the dash says you can't pass, the dot says the road is closed. And like that, between all the peoples: dot dash dot dash. With so many dots and dashes, the map is a telegram. Walking about the world one sees rivers... Continue Reading →
Just Another Drunk Black?
Just another drunk black is what u said, When u came n 'helped' him today, Your eyes were filled with a look of disgust, As you came and took him away. Who the hell are you to judge him, I ask, Do you think ur shit really don't stink? Just because he has dark skin,... Continue Reading →
Phenomenal Woman
Pretty women wonder where my secret lies. I'm not cute or built to suit a fashion model's size But when I start to tell them, They think I'm telling lies. I say, It's in the reach of my arms The span of my hips, The stride of my step, The curl of my lips. I'm... Continue Reading →
By Farida Iqbal
resistance words 