An extraordinary tale

An extraordinary tale
A poem by Abdullah Al Mamun


The creases on your face tell me
You have grimaced in pain
For centuries.
Your huge hand and rough skin,
The dirt beneath your finger nails
tell me you've been on the cotton field.

Your fat neck tells me you have been lynched
over and over from the old tree,
Because you wouldn't say "My name is Toby".
Your strong chest and thick skin on the back tell me
you can take on a few hundred lashes easily,
And yet say" My name is Kunta Kinte".

The smudge on your face,
Sorry, my mistake,
God has smudged you in the first place,
All over,
So that you can become a slave.

You look down in front of your masters.
You have forgotten to look up.
Perhaps you have never seen the beautiful spring sky.

Your grey hair and frail body tell me
you've lived an extra ordinarily long life
So that you can tell us
your extra ordinarily long and sad tale.