In this country not of my own

In this strange country

I feel the weight of one hundred years of oppression
One hundred years of misery
One hundred years of solitude

In a country far from my own

I feel the weight of one hundred years of colonization
One hundred years of beating
One hundred years of rape

In a strange country far from my own

I feel the weight of one hundred years of displacement
One hundred years of forced labour
One hundred years of rebellion

In a strange and far-away country

I reminisce over many sun-kissed days
The custard apples in my mother’s hands
And the vibrant laughter that echoed in the hills

In this deafening country

I despise the silence
I despise the rotten smiles
And I long for kindness that has the power to heal

In this country with people not of my own

I long for the still quiet waters
And the roaring mountains
That dared to be

In this country not of my own

I long for people to wake up
To quit talking about post-colonial discourse
And realize that we are still living in a colonial era

In this country not of my own
I long for many things

Oscar Grant: A Case of Pre Meditated Murder?

I've been thinking a lot about the issue of Oscar Grant, watching the YouTube clips over and over again and wondering what could have gone on in the police man's mind and make him reach the conclusion that it was alright to reach for his gun, cock it, and shoot Oscar Grant in the back. I know about police brutality. We see it on the news almost every day. But this was not a case of police brutality. This was a case of cold blooded murder. What is worse, was the excuse given. To me, mistaking a gun for a taser would have been the same thing as mistaking a gun for a cell phone. That is beyond ludicrous to me. They do not look or feel the same, they do not work the same way, you do not hold them the same way let alone in the same hand and you surely do not get up to position yourself, and cock it if it's a damn taser! This officer should be sentenced for first degree cold blooded murder!