The poem is by Vanessa German, National Slam Bush Champion.
Thank you, Mr. Bush.
Very powerful...
Slam Championship Writeup!
Thank you George Muthaf@%#king Bush
By Vanessa German
thank u
for makin it easier for me
to get a tech9 or AR14
than a pap smear & a good education
thank u
from the first boy i kissed
who u sent off to fight your war in iraq
he returned home only by telegram
& in a box
thank u
from me
from my body
from the woman i love
that i want to marry & call my wife
without u bible thumpin daggers
& demanding constitutional amendments
to prevent us from loving this revolutionary love
(az tho we cud soil the sanctitiy of marriage)
u cud nevah touch my love or fuck with my love
its just the right u seek to deny us
so we must fight for it in the end it's all a matter of
voice
of excercising choice & flexing the muscle of democracy
which shudn't be pigeon holed marginalized
or constitutionaly compromised
under the pretense that who i love
kiss fuck hold hands & make family with
iz destructive to the fiber
that quilts the fabric of america
which ironically happens to be
cotton
that notoriously bloody lily white thread
that my grandfather & hiz fathers fathers before
picked by hand in mer rouge louisiana
i hav not forgotton
that i am america
that my blood iz in these rivers
& at the roots of these redwood trees
i know that this country was built on the backs of blacks
that were shackled strapped & stacked
slashed gashed taxed & then cashed in on
like cattle
i hav not forgotton that i am america
& even tho u want me to be quiet & invisible
i will not
i hav decided that if u r not with US
then u r against US
US
the 99% of the population that makes less
than 1.2 million dollars a year
the 43 million people that hav no health care
the 14 million children that got left behind
that go to bed hungry every night
if u r not with US then
u r against US
& we understand
that terror iz not always guns & knives
& otherwise explosive devices of evil
sometimes terror
iz just making no living wage
going day to day pay check to pay check
praying that no one gets sick
terror iz not knowing which of ur sons
will fit the description & die while reaching back pocket
for identification to prove he iz american
but not american enuf to live free
terror iz being 13
having no access
no choice & taking matters
into ur own hands
terror iz being a woman
begging for emergency contraception
when u've been raped taken by force & foresaken
just like the constitution
after the presidential election of 2000
which u did not win
u stole like a purse
off the shoulder of an old lady
making america ur bitch
didn't anyone ever tell u
when u take shit that's not urs u give it back
& apologize
but no.
we realize that u mr bush
r just the figure head the smoke screen
the sony nike gmc tommyhilfigerbluejeans
brand name
of a regime of evil so vicious & arrogant
u hav the audacity to murder in my name
& call it justice call it liberation long time come
when all it really iz
iz economic imperialism
or occupation
which iz the same thing hitler did
in poland austria & hungry ...
if u really wanted to liberate
u cud hav liberated
delbert orr africa
janine holloway africa
micheal sims africa
or
mumia abul jamal
it wasn't 6 weeks
it waz 17thousand lives
not just american lives
but human lives
how sacred are they
tell me answer me
tell me how sacred are they
stop trying to convince us that justice
iz always this bloody
that liberation costs babies
& mothers & homes & sons
& lovers & fathers & dignity
& truth & purity & hope & democracy
thank u mr bush
for showing us
that we must fight everyday for our freedom
as tho we r fighting for our lives
obviously u r not going to beat a path
of justice to our frontdoors
this is my requiem
for the last four years
my premptive strike
on the next four years
this iz my love poem
to america even tho
he took u by force violated u
forsook u before they eye of god
made u barely recognizable to the rest of us
i still love u baby
he can not shame u before my eyes
u r beautiful
i will fight & die for u r the people
& i am u
this iz my love poem to america
