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a poem that migrates through tongues - femi nylander lyrics

i write from the safety of a nation built on slavery and this poem will migrate through tongues
the wrongs of our forefathers place us in a world our fathers will escape
and the movement of my father through the throngs of the seas
set me here with the children of the fathers who believed they were best but my father was allowed through their barriers because he was educated and did medicine and so came from the dark continent through to the west,,
and so a boy was born
many are not so so lucky, many cannot speak to you, they do not grownup surrounded by words you would understand
my tongue is like a weapon in my hand, i manipulate it and make noises and try to make you understand
the world extends beyond your borders, the mind extends beyond your words, your lives your sons your daughters are one in a billion it’s true but the remaining 999 million are just as beautiful i speak to you
ولكن ليس لك فقط
(but not only to you)
نعم، للأطفال من سوريا
( yes the children of syria)
أيضا واحد في المليون
(also one in a million)
منعت من أرضك، وسدت لغتك
(barred from your land, and blocked from your language)
أريد أن أتحدث إليكم من خلال لغتك, نعم لغتك
(i want to talk to you through your language, yes your language)

ربما كلامي تظهر على الشواطئ، وغرق
(maybe my words appear on the beaches, and drowned)
ربما تظهر على الشمس
(maybe they appear on the sun)
بعد كل ذلك
(after all)
the sun deals in words and in fear
تأشيرة سهلة بالنسبة لنا
(easy visa for us)
we do not انتظر (wait) to enter there
but you flee from war or the النكبة (crisis)we created and you cannot enter here
un lenguaje que se encuentra en la línea de falla de colonizador y colonizado
espanyol, hoy el lenguaje de los inmigrantes el jardinero, pero una vez el lenguaje del conquistador
(a language that is in the fault line of colonizer and colonized
spanish, today the language of immigrants the gardener, but once the language of the conqueror)
aparentemente toda américa del sur es mexicano
no hay inmigración interna al continente
conocimiento perdidos
cuando en ingles tu google, migration in south america, el premario resulto
es south american immigration in … esados unidos
(apparently all of south america is mexican
there is no internal immigration to the continent
knowledge lost
when in english your google, migration in south america, the first result
it’s south american immigration in … united states)
realmente
es casi una broma
guatemala? is that a type of cheese? bro man?
asimilar y aprender el idioma
pero el nombre de su pais?
too much too know man… you’re a mexican
(really
it’s almost a joke
guatemala? is that a type of cheese? bro man?
-ssimilate and learn the language
but the name of your country?
too much too know man … you’re a mexican)
and show us some respect again because we’re american!
we’ll build a wall to keep you out and then deport the rest of them
¿crees que nos importa que huyas de los cárteles y de la guerra?
o que es natural moverse a través de la tierra
no, no nos importa
we do not care
el mundo termina en texas and we are the best
e embora eu fui para o brasil para os jogos olímpicos, e não pensei em deslocados para que eu pudesse
(do you think we care if you run away from cartels and war?
or that it is natural to move across the earth
no, we do not care
we do not care
the world ends in texas and we are the best
and although i went to brazil for the olympics, and did not think of those displaced so i could,)

through all this the englishman is chilling, the amercan grinning
le parisien c’est ça, forte sont leurs p-sseports
et les faibles sont leurs consciences
des hommes qui diabolisent l’autre, qui donnent leur soutien à theresa may et marine le pen
messengers de la haine
nous sommes ici parce que tu étais là-basvous n’avez jamais de visa
l’arab le asiatique, le noir
qui représente le d-mned de la terre dans les paroles de fanon et le دمde la terre,د م en l’arabie il represent
le sangre de la terre le sangre sur la terre, and blood on the water

(“the parisian is that, strong are their p-ssports
and the weak are their consciences
men who demonize the other, who give their support to theresa may and marine le pen
messengers of hate
we are here because you were there
you never had a visa
the arab the asian the black
we who represent the d-mned of the earth in the words of fanon and the دم of the earth, iدم n arabic it represents
the blood of the earth the blood on the earth, and blood on the water)

and it was written that young men were detained in prison then shipped back to jamaica when you spent your whole life in britain
defaced by the state, allegations of s-xual -ssault, no media debate
campsfield is minutes away from the sheldonian, migrant detention. disgrace
the waves cannot be ruled
the waves they wash away and start anew
the graves remain one cannot wash a tomb
the ways we whitewash history cannot stop the waves from breaking
the waves of colour grew the floodgates of calais cannot remain
we pave another route to you
you paved railroad so you can take your loot and use them as excuses
this excuse we refuse, we watch you act unwise in little england setting ground for your demise
you doing an economic block then act as though you’re colonised
your fear betrays you
we cannot now allay your fears
you set the table of your fate and now the plate is almost here like the language in this song our news is skewed we only hear of the refugees we fear may break our borders soon
26% of the refugees? in africa sub sahara
nchini cameroon hawaonge ki swahili
kwasababo africa si nchi moja south sudan flee to uganda

[they don’t speak swahili in cameroon, africa is not a country]

awonaraeko-maan dojutee awon araoko

[those in lagos look down on the villager]

awonare ilu-oyinbo maan gbagbe ede won

[those in the land of the white man lose their language]

timba fe so yoruba mama a ma komi die die

[if i try to speak yoruba my mum teaches me small small]

shu bon english rolls of my tongue

[ but english rolls of my tongue]

le français roule à travers le sahara

[french rolls across the sahara]

uranium du niger puissance pour la tour eiffel

[uranium from niger power for the eiffel tower]

domin hausawa mutane, babu wutar lantarki, babu ruwa , c’est pas regel

[for the hausa people no water or electricity it’s not regal]

of african refugees 3% in europe maybe
amanjast tries to find awetu safety
europe is a cultural creation, separated by the other, peninsula of the asian continent we know
nothing geographical to separate, not large outside mercator, no plate like the subcontinent of india though
africa is a geographical ent-ty, meant to be huge, mostly water of each side with two thousand languages, more lingustic diversity than 30 europe’s, languages die or are they murdered
displaced words like bodies displaced migrate immigrant dirty, negro
native, go back to the colonies the princess says
move within the nation-states we drew for you in 1885 internally displaced
lubnan ila bejing kl layl t’amèn layle
[lebanon to bejing, all night they are tired]
while our humanity fails
is par us par, [this side, that side] part-tions, part-tion the stage
kiska raj kiskar rage, [who’s raj, who’s rage] hindu, muslim
move to today, ek alag duniya, aaj ka mudda hai, [a different time, today’s issues]
loot shabd, hindee se loot liya
[the word loot was stolen from hindi]
mahaan kelli sanskrit shabt, aaryn hei
braahman aur saphedee, [the word aaryan came from sanskrit, brahmin and white] foundation of fear and, donon jhooth ka nirmaan [both built on lies], kashmir tears and
bangladesh boundtry taut, ichchha par aag, phelaanee khaton kee maut, [line of fire, felani khatons death]

alain kurdi mowt

[alain kurdis death]

peter sabally’s death

others can live if the boundaries will fall, let’s start again”

- femi nylander lyrics

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