| The Struggle
By Azim Hassan Jahaar (aka Kelly Watts), Prisonersolidarity.org
June 27, 2006 This poem is dedicated to Martin and Malcolm
Jonathan and George
And to all my sisters and brothers who
Died and fought hard.
With protests and petitions, prayers and plights,
With echoes of Black Power and clenched fists raised.
They struggled and fought for everyone’s rights.
Harassed and arrested, and denied their Civil Rights.
Beaten and bitten by the pig’s vicious bites.
Jailed without bail in an 8×10 cell.
What manner of man could create such a hell?
>From the Stone Walls of Georgia to
Washington’s Capitol Hill
One asks what you see between four grey walls and
Bars of cold hard steel?
And what have you done to our brother, Bobby Seale?
And what do you find in your heart
When you no longer feel?
And if we continue to sing, “Let Freedom Ring”
Will it help us to remember Corretta Scott King?
For, where there is overwhelming despair
There is space for love to abound.
And where there is darkness
There is light to be found.
And in his chanting words, boisterous and strong: “If we are wrong, the Constitution is wrong.
And if we are wrong, Justice is wrong.
And if we are wrong, G-d Almighty is wrong.” —
Azim Hassan Jahaar (aka Kelly Watts) is a native of Kansas City, Mo. He writes: “I write to define how I want to live life. Prayerfully, we could share our experiences through an interchange of communication. I look for a deeper smile inside another’s thoughts. It gets really lonely in here, especially when you lay down with your own thoughts. I walk in the prison yard alone, mostly because I want to talk with God and get close to nature. I am presently writing a book entitled, The Beast Within, which regards the things I’ve personally experienced and seen over years of incarceration.” Azim would appreciate letters and comments from Prisonersolidarity
subscribers. You may write to him at:
Kelly Watts, # 35401
Azim Hassan Jahaar
11593 State Hwy. 0
Potosi Correctional Center
Mineral Point, MO 63660
The following link offers tips for writing to prisoners: https://prisonersolidarity.org/TipsForWritingPrisoners.htm |