The Headbutt on the Chest

The Headbutt on the Chest
Written by Mesfin Arega (Dedicated to the French soccer players)

Young black - athlete
King of kings of sport,
Superman - the ultimate,
Pay attention for a minute
For this advice so short.

That I give you in earnest
Risking mistreatment
From the white establishment
Set up to protect
The oligarchy’s interest
Under the false pretext
Of defending human right.

So please be silent
Read with intent
Here is my point.

If you really want

ምርጡ ዚዳን ና ምርጥ የኳስ ጥበቡ

To command full respect
Deserve it - don’t expect.

Don’t you ever accept
Ignore or forget
Foul language or dirt
Indiginity or hurt
From a German or any white
An Italian the least.

Don’t try to be saint
For a stupid - idiot
Who understands only might
But has no clue or hint
What it shows - indicate
To be humble and polite.

When provoked to start
Never ever hesitate
For a single instant
To hit back and act
To talk back and shout.

When insulted insult
Talk to him - communicate
In his own dialect.

Do not give any thought
To the false document
Story or plot

The white news outlet
Controlled very tight
By the media magnate

Will surely fabricate
To intentionally deflect
The blame from the culprit
Toward the innocent,

By applying straight
The stereotype default
Which it did create.

For a violent be violent
Give him a hard-hit
Use your head - and butt
Where it hurts most
Right under the chest.

Keep hitting - repeat
Be quick and fast
Do not give respite
Until he lies flat
And then in his pant
Begins to excrete
His bestial white shit.

_____________________

1 I wrote this poem for people who cannot understand the Amharic version. I have neither the ability nor the desire to write a poem in English. I would rather leave that to the Englishmen. After all, it is called “the English language” and they should be the ones solely responsible for developing it - although that is not the case right now. The rest of us have done them a great favor by choosing to use the language. Hopefully, one day, African’s will be conscious and proud enough to replace the colonial languages English, French and Portuguese and the settler language Arabic by one common native language, it doesn’t matter which. At least on the economical side, leaving the other invaluable advantages aside, using one native language instead of four is cost effective.