Modern History I

In the name of the Empire, for its sustenance, its glory:

The devastation of ancient Africa;

The near extermination of the Herero;

The imminent cultural genocide of the Pigmy, of the San

. . .

The herding of Her children across the Atlantic

Their strong backs hunched over vast fields of puffs of cloud

Their breath tormented by the amoral sun;

“Strange fruit hanging from the poplar tree”

The palatial homes of the “gallant” south

The wealth of the nation itself

. . .

The murder of the dissenting god: “I have a dream! I have a dream!”



© 2006 Ségun Ògúntólá