Soul Gone Home

SOUL GONE HOME

for Eldridge Cleaver

FINALLY
ice melted
falling into the fire
the old man
walked to the mountain
and disappeared

he had come to us
from prison
in our hour of need

crazy nigguh
trying to help us gain sanity
strength to stand
defend our peoplehood

he talked, he wrote
with the fire & eloquence of Baldwin
the rage of Nat Turner
somewhere in his heart
the dream of Martin
he wanted to include not exclude
he told whites to join freedom
hippies and yippies were his friends
told brown people to join freedom
Asians could join too.
So said minister
of information

generous, almost selfless
yet in rage
reckless
not beyond murder
even rape
but he was needed
at the time
as we cried out
from the lashings of the devil
beasts in blue uniforms
terrorizing the hood

He ran for president
ambushed the pigs
Lil Bobby Hutton went down
Poppa Rage fled to Cuba
Algeria, China, North Korea
Africa and Europe
Became our diplomat
gave us international relations
international standing
the black man was world man
He came home with a vision
of Jesus in the moon
no more revolution
the fire was gone
he saw a new world coming
no more dictatorships
no more enslavement of souls
the people can not live on bread alone
he saw a world crying for freedom
freedom from right wing slavery
and left wing slavery
freedom
let the world sing a song of freedom
Soul gone home.
Peace.

- Marvin X

5/3/98