We are Human
We are one
We are equal
Let nobody divide us
Let nobody insult us
Let nobody disturb us
Let nobody change us
Let not because of the skin that we are divided
Let not because of wealth that we are divided
Let not because of knowledge that we are divided
Let not because of language that we are divided
Let not because of culture that we are divided
It’s not the race that decide
It’s not the color that decide
It’s not the banner that decide
It’s the people that decide
ideology is just a term
ideology is just a word
ideology does not prove anything
ideology proves that it is there to divide us
let not because of ideology we killed our own species
let not because of ideology we distance ourselves from or own species
we are human
we are one
Can you grasp something that's invisible
In the streets governed by the streets driven criminal
In the sheets, painted up with a face that isn't yours
and your hands tainted with the blood of others, and unopened doors
The sun has gone down, and the homeless are freezing
Some dancing around, and with food appeasing
While you and some others are in the room all alone..
and the air smothers you, and anxiety brings life out of the zone
A hand comes out of your thumping heart, and suffocates you silly
It comes out screaming, and dumping the pain of the world, and you get chilly
You wish you could save the world, and cradle the ill in your hands
Bring, pave and stretch out the curled, lost, to comfort the bullied trans
What is the world, when you walk around to live with someone else's blood on your hands
To live when you ignore and talk happiness but can't give and end the flood to the disappearing lands?
Don't you ever wonder what the world means when there's a bunch of so called nobodies?
Acting like a blunder is a murder and people just have a hunch who you are, and lay on our tragedies?
What is morality?
When we are bathed in brutality?
Laugh it off like we don't know,
While people are screaming below
and someone has to pay and die
and all people say is "I'm sorry, I can't, goodbye."
This is humanity.
We all try to ignore the insanity.
and someone's on the floor crying for someone to be there
and others just seem to kick, scream and glare
but for their sisters and brothers they'd probably shed a tear
But for anyone else they say they can't be here
It's truly disgusting
Respect is forever rusting
Screaming "Equality!" yet fighting and burning homes in it's name, adding blood to the unnecessary sea of issues of gender and "race" and the others trivial differences we try to hold
Through actual frivolity of rewriting and turning around simple non-offensive words like its a game, yet somehow determining what you are by shape of your face, through privileged or how old
When we both share the same organs, the emotions, and planet
breathing the same air, through the grass and granite
and still we fight which status, and hands matter the most
Competing with our apparatus and plans, that catch the eye to bleed one of our fellow brothers as a host
What's the point if we stand on dead bodies to live?
To disjoint lives that are so much more meaningful and bite the hand that gives?
This must be the meaning of our lives
To bleed a poor soul and find the next one that arrives.
What if I wasn't like you?
And I was just me, and Myself was true?
And if you did bad would it mean I would too?
Would it mean if I did it, I'm exactly like you?
Would I be subject to your evil?
Would I be subject to your internal upheaval?
What if I am good in spirit,
And you might just rather not hear it
And if I did bad, does it mean I'm just like you?
Looking for an excuse for the culprit that causes blue?
Decisions left to baseless comparison
Myself gone from me, and origin
She tells me so, I'm just like him and her
Do you see my other qualities as just a blur?
Bring my poison, she admits me to it
Determines me as someone else and then she sits
Then, who am I?
A continuation of your deranged views, someone elses cry?
as long as
we keep an inkling
the size of a
mustard seed
that there
will be another day,
there is hope
for change
and growth.
as even those who have
no knowledge of
the virtue of hope,
are but slaves to it
as long as
a single soul
on the face
of the Earth
believes in it's worth,
and that is what
he who hath no hope
despises most.
10:57 AM 6/17/2013 ©
Screw all the dumb teenagers who use the term "YOLO"
While you're at it screw Drake too and the song "the motto"
I can't tell if the people are dumb or just simply confused
I reckon I should give a lesson on when and when not to use
You've got inspiration born from dedication from people who live once
then you got the stupid born from society deciding to eat a worm for lunch
Its gives me little faith in humanity seeing how people live their lives
I know it isn't mine but I think its a waste for the many soldiers that have died
We've been given freedom and equality I'm sure they'd be ashamed
The overdose of poison injected in our ear, The doctors are to blame
All they talk about is a messed up life and exaggerate the truth
Between listen to the nonsense, I would rather loose a tooth
Its time to make a change society need a new leader
We need someone who will make a change and be a good preacher
Cleanse the delusional minds of the modern day "Hip-Hop"
Its the same as a Chinese made Iphone, they're both rip offs.
They say to stand tall
Don't they know?
Know it can take it all just to crawl?
Silly to pretend you've never hit a wall
You're not the only one
We're all not alone
And neither are you
And neither am I.
Notice the flow
And learn it's fake
See the stuck around you
You're above, as you watch from below.
- ¡¿†¥lΣ®?!
39 POEMS TO SACRED PATHS ALL WOMEN TAKE
1000 LIVES
One thousand male arrows
it takes
to make one maid
dandelion seed ball
After 1000 lives
as husband son and brother
God did trust him
with one lifetime as a mother
*
(to WHO who works so hard
for his wife and children)
*
SPEED AND INACTION
*
The mind is attracted
to speed..
the heart to the slowness
of listening.
*
FREED FROM FACT
*
A woman of liberation
without limitation
A woman confident
soaring above imitation
whose ideas may fly
freed of a cage of facts.
(to Elizabeth Williams
who discovered Mad Deer Disease
25 years ago at a research
station in Colorado)
(Currently many say that
the Colorado Dept of Wildlife
spread Mad Elk Disease)
http://www.mad-cow.org
*
PRIEST AND RED SEA (VISION)
*
A priest walked through a huge crowd which parted before him like the Red Sea as he carried the lidded monstrance which contained within it the Host, the Eucharist, Christ as Bread. He approached a woman and handed her the chalice. (Of the many possible interpretations one is that whenever a soul is liberated, she is handed her own
divinity. Another is that women will inevitably be priests.
*
DIEU NHAN
*
Little baby girl
crawling on the floor
past the toys your
mother placed for you
.. over to the pen..
the pen to women
forbidden..
over and over
to the pen..
as blood flows in
all beings
so the ink waiting
to be written
flows in all women.
(to the first recorded Buddhist
Vietnamese woman poet)
*
BEV EYES
*
Bev's eyes are portals
to realms immortal
realms which her
kind heart rules
*
BYERS AVENUE
*
On Byers Avenue in HIGHland
Square in SUMMIT County
in Akron (Akros.. Greek for High)
in O Hi O
there lived an abortionist..
He asked a little girl across
the street
and aged six
to weed his garden for
2 bits. Sh hated it.
She took out all
of a certain blue plant.
He told her to go back
and get the rest.. so she took
out another kind.. a bright
red weaving weed.. He told
her not to finish til all
were gone.. til there was just a muddy
pile.. where once there'd been
green growing life.. ......
that was the last time she killed
for money.
(His mansion surrounded by high iron
fence is gone now... a high rise
senior citizen apartment building
has taken its place.)
*
(to M. B. Wallman)
*
PARTIAL BIRTH ABORTIONIST
*
She saw a partial birth abortionist
on tv.. a jet
pilot who had dropped a daisy cutter
bomb on a pregnant woman.
*
DELAYED ENTRANCE ON THE STAGE
A woman went to someone with gifts of
spiritual prophecy.. the seeker
had had 3 abortions.. the prophet
who knew nothing of her
said to her "I see a soul has knocked
on your door three times.. The 4th
time you will let him in."
The seeker burst into tears, for she
realized she had not taken away a soul's
only chance at human birth, but had only
delayed his entrance on the stage.
POWER AND BEAUTY
most statues are of warmongering
old men..
most pornography is of young women..
inflexible ancient stone..
.. rigid power seeking to violate
is beaten by concord
.. now new green ivy leaves
.. have conquered.
CINDERELLA PUMPKIN
This year an 1100 pound pumpkin
broke previous records..
... perhaps she is
sad to be trapped
in such a big pumpkin
shell
.. where her growers
have 'kept her very well'
but her size has so
blessed others
.. and soon Cinderella
will
burst out of
her private hell.
WATER MONUMENT
Next to the monuments to
famous men of action
are often reflecting pools
or lakes:
monuments to their wives..
a place of receiving
not of imposing
the stone in the statue
is inert while the water
continues to empower.
(It is not known by all that upon Thomas Jefferson's death over 200 of
his slaves were sold on the auction block.. slaves in many cases who
had worked for him their entire lives Jefferson fought to make
Missouri a slave state and allowed the French colonial invaders to return to Haiti
after John Adams had sent protection to the Haitian revolutionaries. Jefferson's legacy lives on as both Missouri and Virginia are in the execution column of states with racist patterns
of imposing the death penalty. Only 25% of US states and only 12% of the world's
countries are still involved in premeditated judicial, jury, and prosecutorial murder.)
FULL MOON PITCHER
The full moon poured
pitcher after pitcher
of coconut milk
into the sea..
and the sea..
the sea silvered it all.
(to Ruth Thomas, peace educator
for 18 of her 98 years on earth)
MOTHER EARTH GIVES HERSELF AN A
Flaming maple leaves
fall to earth..
and spangle every plant
as Mother Earth decides
to give herself
and all her children
an A in the fall
.. and in the spring
she gives each field
many gold stars..
of sunny smiling
dandy lions
HOW JESUS' SOUL CAME TO MARY
Like falling rain
oer lilyleaf tripped
Like pure moon into bright
cloud slipped
Like setting sun into
calm sea dipped
did Jesus' soul
come to Mary.
Like communion
chalice sipped
Like the river oer
fallsbrim lipped
Like dewdrop out
of buttercup dripped
was Jesus' soul
born of Mary.
(to Nancy M Wilson)
(S Everett told us that there is an ocean of deep blue light which
immerses the entire Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington
DC. Nancy Wilson left for God in September of 2002.)
SUN MOON AND STARS
When we were children,
we thought
our father was the gold sun,
and our mother the silver moon.
Not til earth set and
turned away from his sun, did we see
she was all the diamond stars.
(to our mother )
JILL OUT OF BOX
She liked sometimes to go to early morning
mass... when she was not a jack in the box..
told to stand up sit down kneel down
stand up sit down kneel down
And she was brave enough this weekend
to tell a man at the evangelical
gathering.. she no longer wanted
to be part of a flock of female
flamingoes..
or of sheep..
obediently following a hierarchical
male pastor..
She preferred alone
with God to confer
or in a circle of women
and men to concur
HEAD COVERING
Is it not odd
that in the holy temples
and mosques
head covering is donned..
while in churches
& chapels it is doffed?
Yet few change their hats
when they enter
the sacred ground
of Mother Earth
.. in spring greengowned
.. or in fall
when her leaves she
has offed
...........................
(The Course In Miracles: the holiest ground is that in which
2 former foes reconcile
Paul's injunction that women cover their heads in church is still
a cause of controversy.. though his intention was perhaps that beauty
not distract others from worship)
FIRE IN THEIR EYES
She could see
by the new fire
in their eyes
that she had lit
their souls
.. and yet
had not diminished
her own flame
(to Betty Friedan)
A 947 lb. pumpkin had been grown by a Smithville Ohio Carnegie
student 2 years ago and replaced by an 1100 lb. record breaker. God's
fruit yields 450,000 or more lbs. per acre.
http://www.acorn.net/fruitarian
http://www.egroups.com/messages/fruitarians not meant as an
endorsement of male oriented fairy tales but as an affirmation of the
infinite love within and around all beings
WOMEN INHERIT THE EARTH
The meek and women
shall inherit the earth
.. as macho male bodies
lie in the dirt..
while their souls have
gone to meet
the Maker of the Meek
(Men live longer on vegan diet Men live longer when doing work they
love. Most heart attacks occur on Monday morning as people go to jobs
they hate.)
GOD'S MAJORITY
Though her
inner voice
is only one..
by most a definite
minority
.. because
she is connected
to God
it ever is
God's majority
Though her sisters
around the world
sometimes feel
disempowered..
it is good to
remind each other
.. that we are
God's Majority
EVE RISING
Was it when Adam fell
or Eve fell
that
Eden fell
on a summer's eve?
Who knows?
but this we can tell
..
the bright moon
is on the horizon
and her
goddess Eve is Rising!!!
Fr Ron Lengwin of KDKA Radio: the apple was the heart of the first butchered animal
FELIX HELIX!
Eureka! Felix!
It's a helix!
to Rosalind Franklin whose research along with that of Linus Pauling
gave Watson and Crick crucial clues in their DNA discovery race
JEWISH WOMEN'S CAUCUS BOYCOTT OF MOSES
Before his death, her husband was sitting in the tub
musing one day.. and said "My wife organized the Jewish
Women's Caucus Boycott of Moses".. a few minutes went
by then.. "Wait! I am receiving a correction..! My wife
was the very last woman to join the boycott!"
Years went by.. and she wondered what he meant..
and began to realize that she was a latecomer to the women's rights
movement.. not having considered it as high a priority.. for she had
been saturated in love and empowerment by her parents And then came
the realization that she had wimped out on Vanessa Redgrave.. who was
ostracized for supporting a Palestinian state.
INVISIBLE WOMAN
More subtle is invisible
Unseen greater than the seen
High notes are soft but higher go
Jesus washed His disciples' feet.
Yond ego's pale
she left no tracks
Turned so fast she
seemed not to move.
The child in man
do women feed
for what is it
love has to prove
Who is the prime minister of love?
Who the president of caring?
Who the chief exec of Kind?
Who the highest head of sharing?
Male pyramids melt
in female fire.
Mens' skyscrapers stop
where women's sky begins.
Who advertise
the soul in their eyes?
Who do anonymous saints
immortalize?
Some day master learns
the faithful servant
was his guru..
Male foam wake of ocean liner
riding on a female sea.
Male speech echoes
in mate's silence
Soundless quiet which
holds all beings
©to Constantina Salamone of World Women For Animal Rights in
Brooklyn.. who coined the word speciesism and ecofeminist as she
built a network of 15,000 ecofeminists worldwide.. She passed out in
Manhattan in 1970.. pamphlets on women animals.. the vast majority of
abused animals.. whose milk and eggs are stolen ..She is an artist,
mountainclimber, and uncontainable mystic http://www.eggcruelty.com
http://www.notmilk.com http://www.veganoutreach.org
http://www.wfad.org http://www.meatout.com This poem is not meant as
an attack on the millions of sensitive men in the world.. Those who
believe in reincarnation often believe that we switch from one gender
to another, life after life, as we attempt to reach perfect balance
between our own yin and yang
TOMATO VINE
The tomato stake
was proud that
he was stable
.. upright disciplined
and able
.. but it was the
weak spineless tomato vine
who provided
all the food for the table
**********
Course In Miracles: paraphrased.. At a certain point God will ask you
to abandon rigid schedules.. to be more flexible to the calls of
Spirit
**************
MOON IN MIDST OF STARS
The harem man was a moon
surrounded by stars..
a moon because constant
preoccupation with the senses
had turned him into
the woman upon whom he focused
.. surrounded by stars.. harem
members
seemingly smaller in stature
but in actuality of much
greater spiritual size and light
PUMPKIN VINE DESCENSIONS
Nightly to heaven
their souls' ascension
To Heart Thrones,
heart queens' accessions
To lower boughs,
laden fruit trees' recessions.
To Earth Hearth
Pumpkin Vines' decensions
Now comes the Spirit
who frees
all women
from pumpkin shells
Now comes the Spirit
who liberates
women from sexist
Cinderelle.
to Constantina Salamone, builder of a
network of over 15,000 ecofeminists.. who has written
extensively on the semantics of human chauvinism
KWON YIN
She was Kwon Yin,
a divine mother of mercy
.. but when she had to,
she could also be Kwon Yang.
(to Jan F, Jan B, Jan E
JBO and JP)
EVE
As sun sets and in quiet
eve drops
a gentle rain now from
the eaves drops
Angels unbidden on Eve's soul
eavesdrop
rejoicing as guilt
finally... Eve drops
(the Sanskrit advaita theory of nonduality
as well as the unified theory of physics
.. say that God is the only Doer)
PEWS AND QUEUES
Women sat sheeplike
listening to men from pews
Women as slaves
for men's orders did queue
.. for the jails of pews
and queues
were our minded p's and q's..
Here and there we began
to gather clues
until from millenial
sleep .. out of the blue
we were awakened
by dawning freedom's
trumpet cue
STONE CHURCH
A stone church
of many chambers
in it at night
glow many lights amber
.. like an ossified
hierarchy...
whose laity
brings light
WALLFLOWERS
No more wallflowers..
no more women with quietly
broken hearts..
as they are passed by
at dances..
Women are freed
and women have..
the day seized
BAGLADIES
Why are bagmen
considered money carriers
while against bagladies
are erected barriers?
GODDESS OF THE SUN
The goddess of the sun
says goodnight
slipping away
behind her fan of rays
but in the morn she
comes our way
.. making rainbows of
crashing wave spray
MAGDALENE
No longer involved
in polyandry..
... her aura turned
all into Polyanna's
HEMLOCK
Socrates was killed by
the state with hemlock
... so many Greek men
then
did women's hems lock
.. did consign them
to domestic slavery
COMPLEX
The issues of sex
of gay
or straight
concave or convex
... have millions
of factors..
they're very complex
GOD'S SUN IN SIDE
EVERYONE
God has every
being with sanctity
anointed
not just those
in yoga double jointed
not just those by
male hierarchs
appointed
ARMAGEDDON OF AGAMEMNON
As the Armageddon
of Agamemnon
came through Helen
whom he had ravaged..
so will the Armageddon
of the violent men
who wage war
on this planet..
come from the hands of the billions
of women
they have abused, dominated, silenced.
Women will be more merciful
than the violent men they dethrone.
POWER AND BEAUTY
most statues are of warmongering
old men..
most pornography is of young women..
inflexible ancient stone..
.. rigid power seeking to violate
is beaten by concord
.. now new green ivy leaves
.. have conquered.
ANNE PERRY
As in the hive only the queen
had rights and all the other
women were slaves,
English law was kind to the queen
but other women had no recourse
when married to knaves.
(to Anne Perry whose book Bethlehem
Road details a litany of horrors
in the law)
NIGHT RESURRECTION
Resurrection is compared
to the sun's morning light
but yin sleep as well
has healed.. throughout the night.
DISTILLATION OF POETRY
While the nights are very still
the vine continues to distil
Then the days makes ripe
grape thoughts
Soon purple liquid poems outspill.
(to Rita Dove)
-Saiom Shriver-
. 1000 LIVES
. ANNE PERRY
. ARMAGEDDON OF AGAMEMNON
. BAGLADIES
. BEV'S EYES
. BYERS AVENUE
. CINDERELLA PUMPKIN
. COMPLEX
. DELAYED ENTRANCE ON THE STAGE
. DISTILLATION
. EVE RISING
. FELIX HELIX
. FIRE IN THEIR EYES
. FREED FROM FACT
. FULL MOON PITCHER
. GOD'S MAJORITY
. GOD'S SUN INSIDE EVERYONE
. HEAD COVERING
. HEMLOCK
. HOW JESUS' SOUL CAME TO MARY
. INVISIBLE WOMAN
. JEWISH WOMEN'S CAUCUS BOYCOTT OF MOSES
. JILL OUT OF BOX
. KWON YIN
. LAWBREAKERS
. MAGDALENE
. MOON IN MIDST OF STARS
. MOTHER EARTH GIVES HERSELF AN A
. NIGHT RESURRECTION
. PARTIAL BIRTH ABORTIONIST
. PEWS AND QUEUES
. POWER AND BEAUTY
. PUMPKIN VINE DESCENSIONS
. SUN MOON AND STARS
. TOMATO VINE
. VISION OF MONSTRANCE
. WALLFLOWERS
. WATER MONUMENT
. WOMEN INHERIT THE EARTH
39
Notes:
..
JBO recounts a NY
Times obituary ..
a pregnant woman
tried to abort herself
with a hangar
.. the baby was born
without arms or legs..
she went around Baltimore
on a cart.. she had
to prove to Children's
Services that she was
capable of raising
a baby.. and demonstrated
changing diapers with her
teeth.. before she
was hit by a car
and killed....
Starseed Transmissions:
One does not have enough
data to assign value to any action.
Several unelected presidents, judges,
senators and representatives
have voted for war
and pursued war with the
votes of the prolife
movement. Yet the babies
of Baghdad have been
bombed and the gold bouillion has gone to
billionaires.
(Summit comes from summa which is Latin for high..
Akron from akros which is Greek for high) As the world with 6 billion
people grows more crowded and green spaces are ever more precious ..
many Catholics look to contraception .. Ed Markovich has reported
studies of the pro choice prolife spectrum.. a. some think all
abortion is wrong b. some think all abortions should be allowed c.
some believe in first trimester d. some believe in first and 2nd
trimester abortions. Sai Baba has said that often the soul does not
enter the body until the quickening (first audible heartbeat)(usually
in the 5th month) .. JBO recounts a NY Times obituary .. a pregnant
woman tried to abort herself with a hangar .. the baby was born
without arms or legs.. she went around Baltimore on a cart.. she had
to prove to Children's Services that she was capable of raising a
baby.. and demonstrated changing diapers with her teeth.. before she
was hit by a car and killed.... Story B: L had 3 abortions. She went
to a spiritual healer who said that he saw a soul knocking on her
door 3 times.. the 4th time she would let him in. L burst into tears,
realizing she had not snuffed a life.. but only delayed a soul's
entry onto the world stage
May Democrats help
ban partial birth abortions
and pull Republicans
into opposition to
the partial birth abortion
of war.
to Wallace O
Please download on
the web on rice, cotton,
scrap, nontree paper,
or 100% recycled
*************************************************************
5 SHORT POEMS TO WOMEN
Eve Angel does never
evangelize..
but who can ever hide
the Godlove in her eyes
*
Every year Edith became less
and less rooster-pecked
*
She was not one to face the world
with lips pursed and tightly grabbed purse
*
He called her a clinging vine, did the
garden stake stable...
but it was she, the tomato vine, who
put all the food on the table.
The purple light which flows from
her ilght and hands has swirled around
her, folding into the swaddling
of the Divine Child
-saiom shriver-
5
Eve Angel is to EKB, who has attracted a husband of similar compassion and will
Not rooster pecked is to Jean Stapleton of All in the Family who enkindled
Edith Bunker
Tomato Vine is to all battered women and all the anonymous
angels who serve them
Purple light is to Karuna Anderson who has never passed a suffering animal by
Notes::
Mark Twain: 'Wherever
Eve is there is Eden'
***
THE GREAT PLACE
http://www.amazon.com/Great-Place-Soulful-Celebration-Beautiful/dp/14137... + http://uwachuku.googlepages.com/ugonnarevealed
Prologue
"Even though we face the
difficulties of today and
tomorrow, I still have a
dream. I have a dream that
my four little children will
one day live in a nation where
they will not be judged by the
color of their skin but by the
content of their character."
~Martin Luther King, jr.
In 1964, Nelson Mandela was sentenced to life in
prison. Seven years later, I was born. As soon as
I was old enough to understand, my mum and dad,
both historians, had taken me through pages in
history:
Outside the bloody, sad tale of the fight of my Igbo
people for survival and fulfilment within Nigeria,
that of the Jews, African Americans, native American
Indians, Koori (Australian Aborigines), Tibetans;
Palestinians; including Mexican Indians, and others
across the world of then and today, the story of
the blatant oppression of native, aboriginal South
African black people by a white minority struck me in a
moving manner.
By reading and observation, I followed the struggle
against apartheid. In humane spirit, I was drawn to
the humble, but unequivocal yearning of this South
African leader who had been condemned to spend
the rest of his powerfully advocative life in prison.
Mandela became an enigma to me. Far from me and even
farther from the world around him, Mandela, symbolic
of the courageous spirit of the South African people,
became a spirit of the deep ancestral Africa which I
resolved to uphold, embrace and celebrate after the
dawn of freedom I longed for.
Above all, I came to realize that I had fallen in
love with a people and their struggle for a peaceful
recognition of the worth and dignity inherent in their
human essence. This love stems from my family's
unwavering involvement in the South African struggle -
a high level involvement that date back to the time
my uncle, Jaja Anucha Wachuku, was Nigeria's Foreign
Affairs Minister:
Notably, a 1964 telegram from the United States Embassy
in South Africa to the Department of State read thus:
"Cape Town, April 22, 1964, 11 a.m
/1/Source: Department of State, Central Files, POL
29 S AFR. Confidential; priority.
Repeated to London, USUN, Pretoria, and Lagos.
...
...
/3/In the "Rivonia" trial, nine African Nationalist
leaders, including Nelson Mandela, were charged with
planning and carrying out sabotage. The Rivonia trial
was so called because of the arrest of a number of the
defendants on a farm in Rivonia, Transvaal.
I read the following statement to FonSec Jooste"
of South Africa "yesterday afternoon:
`Nigerian Foreign Minister Wachuku has expressed to
our Ambassador' - USA - `in Lagos his view that if
death penalty should be imposed and carried out on
Mandela and other defendants in Rivonia sabotage
trial it would place moderate African leaders like
himself and Government of Nigeria, who are attempting
to follow a reasonable course on the South African
problem, in an impossible situation...' Jooste took careful
notes. His reaction to Wachuku's statement was calm...
Satterthwaite"
Later, in the early 80s, as Senate Foreign Affairs
Committee Chairman, my uncle, Jaja Wachuku, against the
Nigerian government policy of isolating the South African
government because of apartheid, in a very dangerous
mission, secretly went to South Africa to put pressure on
president Pieter Willem Botha, then prime minister, for
the unconditional release of Nelson Mandela and others;
including the willing abrogation and total dismantling
of the obnoxious apartheid system in every humane sense
and truthful reality. Jaja Wachuku's meeting with president
Botha was a rewarding but acrimonious one. My uncle took
this great risk for the love of his fellow brothers and
sisters in South Africa. Unflinchingly, he truely loved
all humanity; and cared so much for people's well-being,
fulfilment and peaceful joy:
For example, after the sorrowful Nigerian - Biafran war,
there were so many orphans amongst our Igbo people
in Nigeria. Jaja took some of these orphans into the
Wachuku family and wholly trained and cared for them till
adulthood. Today, these orphans of yesterday are happy and
responsilbly fulfilled members of our big, interesting
Wachuku family and the Nigerian society at large. Today,
they are my cousins, brothers and sisters in that uniquely
African manner of caring, and overwhelmingly inspiring
family tradition. Throughout his distinguished 78 years,
(1918-1996), on this earth, Jaja Wachuku deeply believed
that a wrong-doer cannot be corrected by isolation; but by
compassionate and lovingly understanding dialogue coupled
with constant interaction in order to bring that person
to the same level of love and compassionate understanding
of the fact that we all are worthy and dignified human
beings created in the image of God Almighty:
Also, during 1979 to 1983, my uncle's days of service
to our people and nation in the Nigerian Senate, a
political correspondent of one of the Nigerian newspapers
reported one amongst Jaja Wachuku's numerous visionary and
proactive advocacy and practical solution to the South
African apartheid problem, in the following words:
"The redoutable Jaja held his colleagues
spell-bound on the floor of the Senate
as he weighed heavily on them with his
awesome oratorial machinery, defending
his vision that the defeat of apartheid
and freedom for South African blacks",
and other groups, "shall flow from the
barrels of dialogue and contact, not
from the barrels of isolation and
guns..."
So, With unwavering vision, for Jaja Wachuku, his unpopular
interaction and dialogue with the apartheid regime had to be
kept going; not just to free the blatantly oppressed and
brutalized blacks and other groups, but also to free
our beloved brothers and sisters - whites - from their
heavily overbearing circle of hatred and destructive
feelings entwined with fatal actions of hopeful
superiority upheld by glaringly unjust laws and
government policies which had no human face.
To understand more about my uncle's view as stated in
the preceding paragraph and earlier in this prologue,
please, kindly hear Frederik Willem de Klerk in his touching
autobiography titled: "The Last Trek - A New Beginning:
"It was a day of liberation - not only
for black South Africans, but also for
us white South Africans. Suddenly, the
burden of three hundred and fifty years
had been lifted from our shoulders. For
the first time, we could greet all our
countrymen without guilt or fear as
equals and as fellow South Africans.
When I woke up that morning" (10 May 1994)
"I was still the president of South Africa.
When I went to bed, the mantle had passed
from me to Nelson Mandela...
It is not only black, coloured
and Indian South Africans who have
been liberated. After generations,
whites have been freed from the
defensive Laager (the circled ox-
wagons which served as a kind of
fortress within which they could
protect their women and children
and cattle) in which they had for
centuries been confined...
It was the" Laager "ideal to which
I myself had clung until I finally
concluded, after a long process of
deep introspection, that, if pursued,
it would bring disaster to all the
peoples of our country - including
my own..."
Humbly, my family's unwavering involvement in the
South African struggle has many untold stories which
I would rather rest for now as I take you on this
soulfully moving journey through Spirit of the Deep.
However, I must let you know that everyone of us who
belongs to the Wachuku family is humbly proud to be
part of the bunch. Ours is an inspiringly outstanding
family which dates back, in known history, four hundred
and eighty years. This means that presently, the Wachuku
family of the area that is today known as Nigeria, is
in its twelfth generation because biblically, a generation
is forty years.
Indeed, over the years, my love for the South African
people and all of humanity has continued to grow
in unfathomable dimensions:
Then, when on 11 February, 1990, six years before
my distinguished uncle, Jaja Anucha Wachuku, went
the way of all mankind, Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela
walked out of Victor Vester prison, a free and
healthy man, unconditionally, I held my breath
with tears and hopeful unbelief. In the deepest
corners of my soul and being, I knew that Albert
John Lutuli's visionary South Africa was here:
Accepting the 1960 Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo, Norway
on 11 December, 1961, Lutuli said:
"Our vision has always
been that of a non-racial,
democratic South Africa
which upholds the rights
of all who live in our
country to remain there
as full citizens with
equal rights and
responsibilities with
others. For the consumation
of this ideal, we have
laboured unflinchingly;
we shall continue to
labour unflinchingly."
Today, as I write Spirit of the Deep - in celebration
of Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela and all the beautiful and
humanely brave people of South Africa - these "rainbow
people of God", I feel so fulfilled; knowing that an
enigmatic reality inside of me has finally found creative
expression and explanation within the inspirational depths
of my being and unfolding earthly journey.
Accordingly, afterwards, concerning the South African
experience, I was calmly moved by the following words
from John Pilger in his paradoxical British Broadcasting
Corporation (BBC) aired documentary film entitled:
"Apartheid did not die:"
"Coming back to South Africa,
I have been suprised to discover
a generosity of spirit that
survived the atrocities of
apartheid. It is a humanism
expressed in the distinctly
African notion that people are
people through other people.
This sense of community and
sharing is not without the
usual frailties. But the
evidence of its resilence
is everywhere in this country.
And this film has been a tribute
to that vibrant quality.
But tributes are not enough!
...:
It was the ordinary people
of South Africa who set the
pace of change. It was their
humanity and their courage
that triumphed here;
proving that fundamental
change is possible. It
will be a tragedy for all
of us if their continuing
struggle goes unrewarded;
for its inspiration and
lessons are universal."
From the enchanting, peaceful gardens and green country-
sides of poetic Geneva through the humbling confluence of
inspiring rivers Niger and Benue to the welcoming and
bravely kind Kraals of South Africa through to the ends
of our breath-takingly beautiful blue earth unbound, let
us acknowledge and uphold our love and cherishment for
one another. We must move with God's loving spirit in us.
Humanity must be willing enough to learn from the healing
South African experience or else, we are lost forever!
Indeed, may God Almighty gracefully grant us the mustard
seed faith to find our spirit of the healing deep in South
Africa's inspiring and powerful yearning for peace, harmony
and fulfilment founded on love, oneness and respect for the
divine worth and dignity of all humankind. These are the
subtle, soul stirring words I leave with you this day and
always.
Ugonna Wachuku
Geneva, Switzerland
Sunday 3 March 2002
Spirit of the Deep or The Great Place
~ Critiques/Comments ~
Marcia Ellen "Happy" Beevre
I don't know much about God, Ugonna. But surely if there is such a being, it's spirit has touched your heart, mind, body, and soul, and the hearts of your people!
Marcia
http://www.postpoems.com/members/happyb8888
Amy Riberdy
I WISH TO SAY MUCH, BECAUSE THERE IS SO MUCH HERE, BUT, MY COMMENTS WILL BE SHORT. THE PLEA, THE HOPE, THE LOVE, THE POSITIVE DESIRE & THE UPLIFTING CRIES FOR FREEDOM, THE SYMBOLIC REFERRAL TO THE RAINBOW PEOPLE, ALL MAKE THIS PIECE STAND FOR THE PLIGHT OF SOUTH AFRICA. I HAVE LEARNED MORE FROM THIS, THAN I HAVE EVER LEARNED. NOT ABOUT APARTHEID OR ATTROCITIES, BUT, OF THE SPIRIT, THE STRENGTH OF A PEOPLE THAT SOMETIMES ARE FORGOTTEN. WELL DONE!!!!!
AMY
http://www.postpoems.com/members/gentle
Teresa Jacobs
I often wonder why the world is so full of hate. We treat those who look different from ourselves with aversion. I believe that ultimately we are all brothers and sisters. My wish for the world is peace. Maybe someday we will find a cure for all of the injustices that have been placed upon those who look different and the ignorance that once was prevalent will cease to exist and all of god's children will live in peace. Your words have touched me deeply. Thank you so much for sharing them with me. You are truly a good person and someday the good will triumph over the evil.
Peace and Love
Teresa
http://www.postpoems.com/members/gentle
Serene Moment
AWESOME! I was mesmerized right from the start! As it slowly unfolds, I feel that I was right there at the scene. This piece speaks volumes of the messages of love, hope, courage, longing and aspiration for freedom. You have spoken the voice of your people. I was truly spellbound!
http://www.postpoems.com/members/serene
Angela Albee
I scanned what you wrote...not enough time right now to full read it, but what i did read was very interesting. I like the quotes incorporated into the text. I will look foward to reading it in it's entirety. thanks.
http://www.postpoems.com/members/darkangela
Joleen Skerkowski
Ugonna~ I too was trying to do a quick scan through...but I was indeed caught in your spirit in this writing..I had to continue.....there is hope in this world...spirit of community...and peace......your display is an ultimate work of the Spirit........through and through..I feel as though I am there....Thank you for sharing this ....and many blessings to you......joleen
http://www.postpoems.com/members/photojoski
Mona Omar
dear ugonna i hope the coming new year bring all your wishes true of peace and love for all humanity :) god bless you
http://www.postpoems.com/members/mona
Milton Manyaas
Ugonna, This speaks volumes of the spirit of humanity: the mesages of love, peace, justice for all and universal brotherhood.It is our sincere hope that the mankind would recognize these ideals in its endevour to improve our global village.
Milton
http://www.postpoems.com/members/meso
Mary Charest
Hi Ugonna, Once again I am thrilled to hear from you and to be counted among your many friends. This piece is very moving, yet bittersweet. Bittersweet because it reminds me of the one-dimensional thinking that causes all the pain that these beautiful people must recover from. If everyone could see the world from your viewpoint, it would be an ideal world. "Let your tears from yesterday find love and peace..." As always, from you, perfection.
Love and peace,
Mary
http://www.postpoems.com/members/maryfran444
Linda M. Medeiros
Ugonna, Bless you for sharing these thoughts of South Africa and the hardships that have occurred throughout her history. Your kind, caring, loving words have been well recieved and so shall they be to all who read. Our precious gift of life should not be entwined with hatred and war, but with love. Our human lifespan is much too short to continue living in the past. Time to drop all negative ideologies and pray to our Lord for guidance through the right path. I see He has started with you and amongst others, now we must spread this love so it does not vanquish into total darkness. Thank you for sharing.
Love and peace. Linda
http://www.postpoems.com/members/pudnsis1
Misty Lackey
Thanks for sharing the beauty.
http://www.postpoems.com/members/mistylls
Donna Allard
Well Ugonna,
What can I say ...we are all eagles soring above our countries..with hope and a tear that all will regain a peacefull inheritence. Many share your view(s) but few decide to write. Cheers to you for sharing your voice. I'm expecting a 'signed' copy my friend This May our university (U of Moncton) is giving a Literary Conference of which my part is to be responsible for bringing in poets and authors who are associated with the Atlantic. Ie: Atlantic Canada, Iceland, France, Greenland, Norway etc.. maybe one day I can bring you to Canada. Can you send me a jpg photo and a short bio & biblo so I can add you to my Bookstore, and other sites. Thank you in advance. Cheers! Keep Safe! Keep Peace! Keep Informed!
Donna Allard Allard Creative Communications
Canadian Poetry Association Membership Coordinator
http://www.postpoems.com/members/saphire
Helen Schmidt
Ugonna, It was with humility and respect that I read your marvelous work, "Spirit of The Deep." My wish is that you and your fellow country men and women accomplish that which you have begun . . . bringing freedom, equality, and tolerance to all people of Africa. What a wonderful man your uncle was! How proud of him you must be. Thank you so much for inviting me to read this wonderful book. Best regards, Helen
http://www.postpoems.com/members/helen
Myra Lochner
Dear Ugonna,
On reading SPIRIT OF THE DEEP, it became clear to me that no other person could have written such an eminent tribute. As a Christian, a son of Africa, and traveller of our times, you understand the heartbeat of the South African nation as a whole, yearning for peace and righteousness. I am a white South African and I can honestly say that I was brought up by a Christian mother, who demonstrated love for all peoples of South Africa. The law of love is written on the heart... I should like to know about the symbolic background of the eleven eagles. Is that a reference to the South African languages? Are you the 12th eagle, representative of the rest of the world? Also, what is the meaning of the spear tilling the farmlands? Ugonna, may the peace and truth of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you where-ever you go.
Sincere regards,
Myra Lochner
http://www.postpoems.com/members/myrataal
Michelle Obakeng
Hi Ugonna,
I read through your book: "The Great Place." Thanks for posting the Prologue here. Though Frederik de Klerk may be a controversial figure, it is wisdom to have maintained his position in power with Mandela. Perhaps, that was the only way for the people of South Africa to have avoided social unrest. A bit like Abe Lincoln who unwillingly freed the slaves. God used De Klerk for good purposes.
In fact, your book is a tribute to peace and peacemakers of which Nelson Mandela is a leading figure, and your Uncle: Jaja Anucha Wachuku whose name is not included in the history books. Yes, the people of South Africa deserve to be called "Sons of God", a title that would fit every nation that has been oppressed under heaven. Your work is proof that one can still fight under God's banner for justice -- What God demands: "Let justice roll in the land". And as you said it: "We must move with God's loving spirit in us..." Will this publication contain illustrations? Thanks for including me in your panel. May your work continue to touch hearts.
Michelle
UK
Mark Le Roux
Real musical quality. Can well imagine it with drums and dancers. Would work well in a theatrical context and on the silver screen. Passionate. Has well researched South African setting. Imaginative! Original!
Mark
http://www.adventist.truepath.com
Farah Didi
Ugonna,
You have really excelled yourself here,
in "SPIRIT OF THE DEEP." The spirituality,
the oneness of humankind, the shared
human values you bring out in the book
through the story of South Africa has no
bounds.
It is true that "Nkosi Sikelele Africa" is
more than just the National Anthem of a country.
It embodies the suffering of the natives of South
Africa in the apartheid era. And your story and
poem brings out the heart of their suffering.
Interestingly, I was blessed in meeting Nelson
Mandela when he came to visit Wales a few years
ago! I shall never forget that day!
Thank you, Ugonna, for this wonderful visit to
South Africa!
Farah
MALDIVES
http://www.postpoems.com/members/destiny
2002-03-04 09:55:55
Adele Smith
I never thought of South Africa
in the contents you wrote this
interesting book.
Although I live in South Africa,
I have never felt like a South African.
I feel like an outsider in an ever
changing world.
Keep up with your writings!
Adele
http://www.postpoems.com/members/alienadele
2002-03-21 05:09:59
Douglas Lazard
"Jesus loves the little children...(ALL)... the children in the world!" The day is coming soon my friend, when we shall walk in that blessed light as the children of God! The Pain and shame that we fill now for the way the human race has treated it's brothers, will be washed away forever and replaced by everlasting love,joy and beauty! Rejoice my brother!!! For the signs are all around us and that day draws nigh!
Peace and love ~~~~ Dougie ~~~
http://PostPoems.com/members/dougie
2002-04-26 08:51:56