poet of da soil – we turn estate blocks into gardens of eden.

Uploaded with the permision of our comrade and friend, this text is also avalible as a zine via seditionist

Taken from: https://substack.com/home/post/p-146070200

yooooo

eye know that first posts on substacks and blogs and stuff are normally introductory small bites but imma just get straight into it. quick intro name’s poet of da soil. i’m a poet who explores the written word, sound and ~~performance~~ ritual in an attempt 2 load the gun (as ismatu gwendolyn writes about). using substack for my rambles, poems and lamentations about life.

so, autonomy?

in my own personal journey, i’ve come 2 a place where i’ve realised there is no separation between the political and the personal. that every way eye relate 2 others, every way others relate 2 me is built on the systems of domination that the world is also built on. anti-blackness, ableism, classism, (trans)misogynoir among others directly influence and dictate how we interact with one another, which is why eye now believe that autonomy – which the dictionary defines as “the right or condition of self-government,” or as my friend Elizabeth puts it “a refusal to be governed,” is the best way forward to lives that don’t feel like death.

what happens when we refuse to be governed, by a labour or tory party every 5 years, by the state itself, by an international system of capitalism built on the backs of black people for over 400 years(?)

now this can be hard 2 imagine, we’ve been taught that we need the state, with its monopoly over force and violence 2 rule over us or there will be anarchy. chaos.

but what’s chaos if not 1 in 5 people living in absolute poverty in this country, what’s chaos if not 2 million people using food banks in 2023 compared to 60,000 in 2010. what’s chaos if not the constant violence inflicted on black and brown peoples, be it from the police or immigration. the state relegates us (niggas) to economically neglected yet over-policed neighbourhoods, menial jobs and a constant state of barely treading water day by day, pay check to pay check. the time 4 change is now, the time 2 imagine more, of rejecting what they give us and creating our own ways of living.

Subcomandante Marcos, credit: Rage Against The Machine YouTube channel.

tha zapatistas(!)

now a whole lot of this seems lofty and abstract but there are countless examples of societies and communities that live and have lived outside the idea of the nation-state, that instead govern themselves and figure out how to exist collectively.

from pre-colonial societies of the Igbo 2 the autonomous region in Syria known as Rojava, people again and again have learned and struggled against oppression 2 live in non-state frameworks.

one of the most successful communities is that of the Zapatistas. indigenous peoples in Chiapas, Mexico rose up in 1994 in what is known as the Zapatistas revolution against the neoliberal policies of the Mexican government that sought to further marginalise indigenous communities and their ownership of the land they lived on.

30 years later, the Zapatistas have collectively organised 27 autonomous municipalities, collectively own and look after the land, built their own healthcare systems, primary and secondary schools and education programmes firmly rooted in their commitment to a struggle for a world where many worlds exist. the Zapatistas are a living, breathing example of autonomy, which they describe as creating new life.

nu life in babylon(?)

so now, what is there 2 be done(?) we are living in a world where multiple genocides are being perpetrated while we live in the belly of the beast that plays a pivotal part in orchestrating em (the West/imperial core).

black and brown communities here in Babylon are bearing the brunt of the violence that the ruling classes of Babylon inflict on its inhabitants, forming internal colonies that are super-exploited by the state.

this can be seen in the disparities faced by these internal colonies in terms of maternal mortality rates, police brutality, underemployment, displacement via gentrification among other things. life aint been good, and it aint gonna get better, unless we say enough is enough and struggle for something more than this. unless we struggle for autonomy.

if autonomy means 2 create nu life, what does that look like(?)

what does it mean 2 create nu life in a world predicated on death? how do we look despair, neglect and violence in tha face and constantly war against that(?)

by pooling our resources togetha, moving togetha, trusting each other and creating programmes and spaces where life can flow in ways tha world doesn’t want. we look 2 tha past and learn how 2 create –

housing co-ops that protect tha most marginalised among us, we reclaim spaces and zones that have been captured and simply left 2 rot by tha exploitative housing system.

we turn estate blocks into gardens of eden, with community gardens and food co-ops

liberation schools where neglected black kids come and learn english, maths, history, afrikan languages, and whatever they desire all rooted in the knowledge that we all learn from each other , in non-hierarchical modes of educating.
we engage in political education – turn back and remember our ancestors and their lessons, commune with those who fought for nu life be it in South Carolina or Azania (known as the settler state of South Africa)
we don’t forget our ppl stuck inside the prisons, instead we fight for them because 2 fight for them is 2 fight for us – we remember that the line between citizen and criminal is a blurred one when we all seen as nigg(a)er
we provide self-defence classes centred in knowing we live in societies that disable us daily and learn to move with our bodies not against them
we provide food and clothes and care and affection for and by everyone.
we take over wherever we want and we dance and dance and dance, we hold ourselves and our bodies in poetry and music and plays and art that reminds us black flesh is only as dead as we allow it 2 be.

if autonomy is 2 create nu life it is not resurrection, we don’t hope and long for better days where tha NHS works and tony blair is giving us new pathways while sending us 2 pen and warring 4 oil, we understand that voting doesn’t offer salvation only validation for a system that kills us

if autonomy is 2 create nu life it is not praying 4 rapture and looking 2 paradise or space for an escape out of the dunya

it is not wishing for blackface 2 be our butcher be it prime minister, president or king

it is not seeking internship or degree 2 be free because black excellence isn’t black liberation

it is dapping up a loved one and asking “how far”

not letting go when their head drops a lil as they sigh and say we’re trying

and telling them togetha life can be more than what we are given.

and with that, eye leave you with a poem. peace and one love.

we turn estate blocks into gardens of eden
there are gods who don’t want us 2 bite into fruit and discover our own divinity 
yet we can’t rely on marathon prayers 2 fill our bellies

we sign ballot papers as liability waivers
so MPs get off scot free and drink free wine in their parliament bars
is this what we call democracy (?)
tell ourselves rainbow lies 
like green and yellow might be better than red or blue
like tha colour wheel ain’t mouldy

how long will we wait in supermarket-hospital-jobcentre-immigration office-food bank-hostel-chicken shop queues 
must be why so many black yutes look 2 internship for priority passes
they ain’t know rollercoaster runs on tha blood of their cousins

but its time 2 get off tha ride - don’t u hear em scream(?)
tha smog coats our lungs
netflix covers our eyes
and the latest diss track built on black womyn bruise blocks our ears

time 2 get off tha ride
rub your eyes
breathe in
breathe out 
there is no time but now 
cut apathy off and find a friend in your anger and despair
introduce yourself 2 hope

yeah the ends is being gentrified 
but if our ancestors resisted colonial hands so can we
grab your ppldem, bun a zoot and read some fanon
grab a mask, some gloves and a shovel
babylon ain’t got no claim 2 tha land they mistreat
we are living dead so we rebel w nu life
we turn estate blocks into gardens of eden