Tribute Poem for Imamu Amiri Baraka
(for his 75th Birthday Celebration)
Magnificent warrior
Master of excellence
Gladiator for justice
The frontline’s guardian and gatekeeper
Know that your work, your struggles
your sacrifices
have not been in vain
For the world hears you
As you spit blazing razor edge truths
From tongue and pen
That enemies cannot dispute
You deliver prophetic messages
from the ancestors and spirit
Reminding souls from whence
We came and where we must go
Your legacy and works are blueprints
Offering guidance and
Providing the pathway
That leads us
To be great again
You move hearts and heal wounds
Fill inner spaces once empty of hope
with insightful answers to unspoken questions
That trouble souls
You uplift us, raising our vibrations
with your victorious words and inner visions
of the inevitable new and better day
that’s now on its way
We have gazed the brilliant light
Of your knowledge and wisdom that you bestow
Wherever you go
as the Creator knew you would
You, Amiri, are the Master Conductor
Of the new Freedom Train
Emerging from underground once again
To continue the journey
of work started long ago
By the ancestors
Who are ever with you
It is you, Amiri, and your comrades
who have kept their torch burning
Like those before you
Following not only in
the Ancestors’ footsteps
But beyond
Creating your own unique trail
that leads homeward
Go on, Ancient Pharaoh you
with your resurrected self
Continue to teach and share
Enlightenment received from the Most High
And sealed in your heart by divine spirit
You are fulfilling God’s master plan
To restore our people to our rightful place
on this world stage
Generations will know your name
For you demonstrate what real love
for one’s people taste like
Oh, the warriors you have trained…
Because of you Imamu Amiri Baraka
We rise again!
–by Angela Kinamore
