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He was the cobra
That stopped the
Nazi at Auschwitz;
He was the anaconda
That stopped the
Kamikaze at Iwo Jima;
He was the shore
Batteries at Onitsha;
He was the Ogbunigwe
Bombs at Abagana;
He was the unripe
Fruits of Asaba
That lined up a
Country soccer field
And were sledged
One by one by
Wrenching bazookas;
He was the lost
Ghost of Michael
That wandered lonely
In a London cloud
While a disheveled
Father planted a stone
At a hilly farmhouse;
He was the one-eyed
Pirate, an importunate
Wedding crasher of
Rime of the ancient
Mariner, who killed
A clingy albatross
And blessed a thousand
Water snakes;
He was the mockingbird
In the basement, whom
Everyone talked about
But none wished to see
At dinner table;
He was the bright fire
Burning at the window
Of the granite house
On Broken-Gun Hills.
By Obiwu
© 2009 Obiwu
This poem is excerpted from the book, Unspeakable Protocols (forthcoming, 2009)
He was the cobra, yes he was and still is. Even after death Michael Jackson is in our everyday lives. Weather it's me on a date with a caucasian female enjoying her company, or when a black harvard professer is being wrongfully arrested by a caucasian officer, I can't help but hear "Black or White" or " They don't rally care about us" in my head on repeat. Michael has been in my life as long as i can remember and will continue to be. the day he died I went out and bought 5 of his albums. this poems brings nothing but good memories to me. He was the cobra, he stopped wars and brung about peace in this forsaken world. June 25, 2009 we lost more than a musician, we lost an angel....
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading this poem about the late but great Michael Jackson. I think Professor Obiwu was trying to represent the power of Michael Jackson's persona and the walls he knock down to get to this point. Everybody knows that Michael was an influential person; he was the first African-American to have a video shown on MTV. The things written in the poem are things that he didn't actually accomplish but it represents the how people looked at Michael Jackson even after the rape accusations. This poem was well-written, had perfect grammar, and flowed perfectly.
ReplyDeleteIndeed Michael was a cobra. A angel from God I would say. This man is not just music and not fame, he was someone gave back to people all over the world. This man came from a person with no friends but a mouse name ben, from people all over loving him. I love the fact that the poem say that "everyone talked about him but none wished to see at the dinner table". How could so many people love what he do as a person, an what he do for the world but would not have them in their house. Mr.Jackson will forever be a icon... Long live the Cobra
ReplyDeleteAric Barr said....
ReplyDeleteI like the poem, it made me think of how special and how much of an influence Michael Jackson was to every one. He made history for so many things including being the first African-American to have a video shown on MTV which was a white network. Although he was accused of things I'm sure he did not do he continued to be strong and live a happy and full life. Even after his passing he still influences people to enjoy life. This poem was well thought out and had great use of grammar.
I found this poem very interesting and creative. Professor Obiwu thought long and hard while preparing this poem. I believe his purpose of the poem is to illustrate Micheal Jackson of how he was a very popular man. He stood out no matter what he did. Whether it was to help others, or make great music for the world. Micheal never discriminated, that's why everyone loved him. No matter what people thought of him, he dared to be different. He was different in music, the way he dressed, and even the way he looked. We accepted him, flaws and all. He was still looked upon as the King of Pop from the world. Micheal did none of the things mentioned in the poem, but anything he did was talked about, good or bad. People still loved him. Even though Michael is not present today, his spirit and music still remains.
ReplyDelete