Shout Out to the Other Real Poets

I most recently read a few poems from an Armenian Poetry spot here on blogger. com. I really enjoyed the poems because they all have true life account of what happens in the Armenian culture. I also enjoyed the fact that the poems are all very, very visual and paint very clear pictures of what exactly is being described. The reason I was drawn to these poems is because they are all very similar to the poems that I am writing, in that they describe the perspective and point of view of a culture. My culture for example is that of an African American college student who is working to break a stereotype and establish himself as a writer. On the other side of that, The Armenian Poetry movement is one that is bringing to the forefront works of writing that the world may have never have even decided to look into. I encourage anyone that is interested and would like to check out this poetry to do so.

Armenian-poetry.blogspot.com/

Estudante da Revolução

+++ Our zoo very much has walls, and they are much too high for us to climb alone ...

I beg you my fellow man, let us not be like the gorillas that are locked in a cage. Let us instead be guerrillas of education and rage

Not blind like those that rape, pillage, and steal. But with the rage that makes us all so real

March with me my brothers and sisters, I promise you it is well worth the walk

Bring your boys and girls, bring your open minds, we must find a place to read and talk

I tell you, knowing that our zookeepers are not that kind,

That there is no need for shouting or blatant violence,

We must instead let no day go by in silence

We can teach our people together, hand in hand, person to person, and band to band

Take this poetry and show them... that guerrillas too can stand.

+ I had the inspiration for this particular poem as I pondered the current state of things with in our country. I just noticed that there are certain groups of people that are busy following and listening to the things that they are so used to hearing. For example the people that are so used to doing things one way, to only thinking one way, and then making the decision to treat that as the only way. The poem to me is a speech to the gorilla ( the person who is blind and does not want to see) from a guerrilla ( the person who is willing to fight and seek knowledge). It's far too common in todays world to literally overlook what is happening in front of our faces, simply because the people around us say it is not there. Does our world not turn because we don't see it ? Do our leaders of the world not sin because we do not hear of it on the nightly news ? To the gorillas no, because they will not look. But to the guerrillas, we have already seen. I say it with pride and conviction, our zookeepers are not that kind. One day they too will learn that they were the true gorillas all along...

Mission Statement

While they wear blue, Ill Stay Black

As Long as they Rule I am prone to fight back

I am a Negro poet, a soldier armed with Pen and Pack

My head under a helmet, that flies our colors of centuries back

Green for the land that we tilled

Red for the blood of my brothers killed

And Black, bearing skin yet to be healed

I stand as a United Negro Poet, we are the only force to be feared

-C.S Griffin


*** This poem came to me as I was sitting in the courtyard outside. I was wearing a hat that bore the colors of Rastafari, and thats where the inspiration for the helmet came in. Also this poem is a reflection of my recent embrace of my African American culture. I spoke to my mother about this poem shortly after writing it and she liked it very much. I hope that you readers, if there are any of you, will give me feedback on your reaction to the poem. Don't worry about offending me either, I want to deliver the best product to the world, so I welcome criticism.