A SOLDIER IN BOOT CAMP: A RESPONSE TO THE SIGHTS & SOUNDS OF MALCOLM X

PROUDFLESH: A New Afrikan Journal of Culture, Politics & Consciousness

ISSN: 1543-0855

Issue 5 (2007)

Emily Kabir

(R)Evolution

I am no longer interpreting sounds

I am listening

I am no longer skimming letters on a page

I am reading

My vocal chords are no longer just vibrating

I am speaking

I have moved from the realm of animal

to the realm of man

and you can no longer hold me in captivity

I have evolved

A Soldier Is Born

A soldier is born

two eyes

with which to see the enemy

two ears

with which to hear the enemy

two hands

with which to fight the enemy

two legs

with which to run toward the enemy

and the best disguise of all

two breasts

with which to ambush the enemy

For Malcolm

There you are

a man I’ve never seen before

eyes I’ve never peered into

a voice I’ve never heard

a stride I’ve never walked beside

a presence I’ve never felt

a Man I never knew

and here you are

seeing with me

speaking with me

walking with me

existing with me

fighting with me

a man

the man

the man they couldn’t see

the man they couldn’t hear

the man they couldn’t stand beside

the man they couldn’t feel

the man they refused to know

the man

they just couldn’t kill

R.X. for Revolution

How do you kill a pathogen?

Sure, you could use antibiotics,

but that would only kill those that are susceptible.

Those that are resistant will live on

reproduce

thrive

in the body of the host.

Starting off small in number,

but gradually gaining momentum.

Even if you killed the original

the one that started it all

it would be useless

for we have all been infected

and its only a matter of time

before you die.

Citation Format:

Emily Kabir. “A Soldier in Boot Camp: A Response to the Sights & Sounds of Malcolm X,” PROUDFLESH: A New Afrikan Journal of Culture, Politics & Consciousness: Issue 5, 2007