The Journey

The journey…(aflame) Song lyrics by akua naru. “…The Journey Aflame” © 2011 akua naru First At once We were people on our land African feet touch the sand Free woman and man Stand tall Respond call Conga djembe We sing a song for our first born Skin uncovered unashamed original names We served god through a pantheon, then secular world came Some prisoners of war betrayed by our own others chained, some sold stolen from The shores by a foreign man we never seen before, families torn Put in chains The chattel slave trade Black bodies chained, whipped, burned, maimed Many tongues speaking the same pain Confused, i can't understand a damn thing World view rearranged, in el mina’s castle caged, somebody say a ship came Forced board. feet lusting for my soil, what the fuck is going on? “ain't i a woman?” Somebody just jumped overboard Cross the atlantic, skin branded, left stranded, laid in fractions Heart in fragments, captured, deemed as savage, pull my body backwards Chorus “no chords could strum the root of my pain/they set the journey aflame” Second v White man Crush my womb. shattered. scraped, raped. battered Another miscarrage. another baby born to a world of shackles Fire crackers, havin flash blacks. the middle passage Spoon fashioned, semen, blood, urine, dragging. human organs splattered Scattered cross caribbean. carolina Reduced to fractions divided by my black vagina Enter in the battle, in this so-called “new world” Look at this nigger-girl on iriquois/pequot earth (turn around) u up first Smile, teeth strong, assess my worth On the auction block, they say im ripe for birth, strong stock, look at my buttocks Hair like wire u need brush not Nothin pretty to rub hot Behind my chest heart beats the first seeds of hip hop Fire burnin rage is... gun cocked My water breaks. the beat drops Mic chords bind me. stop rewind me Let my memories rock, enemies drop Oh lord, let us fast forward. promise to let my tape rock And it won't stop Chorus “no chords could strum the root of my pain/they set the journey aflame” Third v Sometimes i want war for these muthafuckas And im restrained, nigger, negro, colored, nigra, bitch, hoe Mammy, harlot, minstrel Aunt jemima kinfolk Nicki minaj instrumental Sista stomp hard!! but we forced to tip toe Three-fifths of a human, two-fifths cause you woman Abandoned oshun, praying for Christ second coming Jiving, shuckin corn, word is bond Used to sing work-songs about being free Now freedom comes (w)RAPped in porn Buying european wigs, Italian designers Manolo blahnik, gucci and prada Somebody baby mama Rhyme about the dollar Identity draped in male desire The illusion of free, but we for hire, lost in buying power Who got it made? last week we was the maid Breast-feeding white babies They grow, sell our children as slaves Billie holiday, hang from maple trees A game of make-believe Log on to facebook, forget the rape of centuries Grammar stays in present perfect But us, we simple past on it Degraded by our brothers, they say shake your ass on it Constructed before the white face Now its music on my space Body parts separated from soul Bought and sold Nothing new though My question crucial Whats the worth of a black woman, who go Cross the atlantic, stranded On plantations Projects College loan payments Exploited, captured and framed in White imagination Black male sex arrangements Christian names Master’s house the first stage That made my body famous Beauty caged in Tainted Behind the lust for blue eyes and blond manes and im saying It started with that slave ship that set the journey flaming Chorus “no chords could strum the root of my pain/they set the journey aflame