Lyric of the day

For every Redemption Song, there is War.

Until the philosophy which hold one race superior
And another
Inferior
Is finally
And permanently
Discredited
And abandoned –
Everywhere is war –
Me say war.That until there no longer
First class and second class citizens of any nation
Until the colour of a man’s skin
Is of no more significance than the colour of his eyes –
Me say war.That until the basic human rights
Are equally guaranteed to all,
Without regard to race –
Dis a war.

That until that day
The dream of lasting peace,
World citizenship
Rule of international morality
Will remain in but a fleeting illusion to be pursued,
But never attained –
Now everywhere is war – war.

And until the ignoble and unhappy regimes
that hold our brothers in Angola,
In Mozambique,
South Africa
Sub-human bondage
Have been toppled,
Utterly destroyed –
Well, everywhere is war –
Me say war.

War in the east,
War in the west,
War up north,
War down south –
War – war –
Rumours of war.
And until that day,
The African continent
Will not know peace,
We Africans will fight – we find it necessary –
And we know we shall win
As we are confident
In the victory

Of good over evil –
Good over evil, yeah!
Good over evil –
Good over evil, yeah!
Good over evil –
Good over evil, yeah!

Originally a speech given by Haile Selassie in 1969, it is the other side of Bob, and as applicable today as when it was written.
Love, Naptimethoughts

 

Rhythm of the Saints

My Momus asked me… Oh so long ago now… to post on her site while she was busy writing her book. That is a tremendous honor. Maybe too big for me, because I have been negligent.

Originally I thought to post some haiku under the Scottishmomus heading, but my haiku are so silly.  I think it came down to the simple fact that the blank page is more nimble than my fingers to fill it, during Momus’ absence.

But this morning I’m feeling pensive, and pensive has no place on Naptimethoughts.

These words aren’t mine; they belong to Paul Simon, but I could never write such a poem, so I suppose it fits here. Most of the time, the woman behind Naptimethoughts stays hidden behind a wall of words. Not today,  today I come naked for everyone to see.

The Rhythm of the Saints

If I have weaknesses
Don’t let them blind me
Or camouflage all I am wary of
I could be sailing on seizures of laughter
Or crawling out from under the heel of love
Do my prayers remain unanswered
Like a beggar at your sleeve?
Olodumare is smiling in heaven
Smiling in heaven, I do believe

Reach in the darkness
A reach in the dark
Reach in the darkness
A reach in the dark
To overcome an obstacle or an enemy
To glide away from the razor or a knife
To overcome an obstacle or an enemy
To dominate the impossible in your life

Always a stranger when strange isn’t fashionable
And fashion is rich people waving at the door
Or it’s a dealer in drugs or in passion
Lies of a nature we’ve heard before
Do my prayers remain unanswered
Like a beggar at your sleeve?
Babalu-aye spins on his crutches
Says, “Leave if you want
If you want to leave”

Reach in the darkness
A reach in the dark
Reach in the darkness
A reach in the dark
To overcome an obstacle or an enemy
To glide away from the razor or a knife
To overcome an obstacle or an enemy
To dominate the impossible in your life
Reach in the darkness
A reach in the dark
Reach in the darkness
A reach in the dark
To overcome an obstacle or an enemy
To dominate the impossible in your life
Reach in the darkness
A reach in the dark
Reach in the darkness
A reach in the dark