The Collected Poetry of Nikki Giovanni by Nikki Giovanni Read Free Book Online Page B

part—they empty the bottles
    which the children can collect
    Teen-age girls can fill with flammable liquid
    and stuff with a rag
    Professor Neal says a tampax will do just fine
    Ammunition for gun and mind must be smuggled in
    Support your local bookstore
    Dashikis hide a multitude of Revolution
    Support your local dress shop
    As all reports have indicated our young men are primary
    On the job training is necessary
    Support your local rebellion—
    send a young man into the streets
    Our churches must bless these efforts in the name
    of our Black God
    Far too long we have been like Jesus
    Crucified
    It is time for The Resurrection of Blackness
    â€œA little child shall lead them” for the Bible tells me so
    And we shall follow our children into battle
    Our choice a decade ago was war or dishonor
    (another word for integration)
    We chose dishonor
    We got war
    Mistakes are a fact of life
    It is the response to error that counts
    Erase our errors with the Black Flame
    Purify our neighborhoods with the Black Flame
    We are the artists of this decade
    Draw a new picture with the Black Flame
    Live a new life within the Black Flame
    Our choice now is war or death
    Our option is survival
    Listen to your own Black hearts

Poem for Black Boys
    (With Special Love to James)
    Where are your heroes, my little Black ones
    You are the Indian you so disdainfully shoot
    Not the big bad sheriff on his faggoty white horse
    You should play run-away-slave
    or Mau Mau
    These are more in line with your history
    Ask your mothers for a Rap Brown gun
    Santa just may comply if you wish hard enough
    Ask for CULLURD instead of Monopoly
    DO NOT SIT IN DO NOT FOLLOW KING
    GO DIRECTLY TO STREETS
    This is a game you can win
    As you sit there with your all understanding eyes
    You know the truth of what I’m saying
    Play Back-to-Black
    Grow a natural and practice vandalism
    These are useful games (some say a skill is even learned)
    There is a new game I must tell you of
    It’s called Catch The Leader Lying
    (and knowing your sense of the absurd
    you will enjoy this)
    Also a company called Revolution has just issued
    a special kit for little boys
    called Burn Baby
    I’m told it has full instructions on how to siphon gas
    and fill a bottle
    Then our old friend Hide and Seek becomes valid
    Because we have much to seek and ourselves to hide
    from a lecherous dog
    And this poem I give is worth much more
    than any nickel bag
    or ten cent toy
    And you will understand all too soon
    That you, my children of battle, are your heroes
    You must invent your own games and teach us old ones
    how to play

Concerning One Responsible Negro with Too Much Power
    scared?
    are responsible negroes running
    scared?
    i understand i’m to be sued
    and you say you can’t fight fifteen hundred national
    guards men
    so you’ll beat the shit
    out of poor Black me
    (no doubt because i’ve castrated you)
    dynamite came to your attention
    and responsible negroes tell the cops
    your tongue must be removed
    since you have no brain
    to keep it in check
    aren’t you turned around
    teaching tolerance
    how can i tolerate
    genocide
    my cup is full
    and you already know
    we have no ability
    to delay gratification
    i only want to reclaim myself
    i even want you
    to reclaim yourself
    but more and more i’m being convinced
    that your death
    responsible negro
    is the first step
    toward my reclamation
    it’s very sad
    i’d normally stop and cry
    but evening is coming
    and i’ve got to negotiate
    for my people’s freedom

Reflections on April 4, 1968
    What can I, a poor Black woman, do to destroy america? This is a question, with appropriate variations, being asked in every Black heart. There is one answer—I can kill. There is one compromise—I can protect those who kill. There is one copout—I can encourage others to kill. There are no other ways.
    The assassination of Martin Luther King is an act of war. President johnson, your