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We love…Haki Madhubuti’s poetry!

You Will Recognize Your Brothers

 

You will recognize your brothers

by the way they act and move throughout the world.

there will be a strange force about them,

there will be unspoken answers in them.

this will be obvious not only to you but to many.

the confidence they have in themselves and in

their people will be evident in their quiet saneness.

the way they relate to women will be

clean, complimentary, responsible,

with honesty and as partners.

the way they relate to children will be

strong and soft full of positive direction and as example.

the way they relate to men

will be that of questioning our position in this world,

will be one of planning for movement and change,

will be one of working for their people,

will be one of gaining and maintaining trust within the culture.

these men at first will seem strange and unusual but

this will not be the case for long.

they will train others and the discipline they display

will be a way of life for many.

they know that this is difficult

but this is the life that they have chosen

for themselves, for us, for life:

they will be the examples,

they will be the answers, they will be the first line builders,

they will be the creators,

they will be the first to give up the weakening pleasures,

they will be the first to share love, resources, and vision,

they will be the workers,

they will be the scholars,

they will be the providers,

they will be the historians,

they will be the doctors, lawyers, farmers, priests

and all that is needed for development and growth.

you will recognize these brothers

and

they will not betray you.

   –Haki R. Madhubuti

 

Copyright © 1998 by Haki R. Madhubuti. Reprinted from the book

HeartLove: Wedding and Love Poems published by Third World Press

with permission of author.

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