Ok I didn’t want to keep talking
about Michael
But you have to see it out there
I just left broad st
and it was filled with Michael Jackson
The bootleggers
And that’s what Newark is all about
Bootleg Cd, movies
and now Michael Jackson posters
All over the place
His music is blasting
every where you turn
And yes
Black folks
Who always buy
into the press
Are living
Loving
And singing Michael
I just left Newark fried chicken
Yes I am a coon
some times
I brought me
a chicken wing and some corn bread
And sat and watched the crazy masses
Yes black folks love chicken wings
And you can tell whose black
Or partly
By how they eat a chicken wing
If they strip it bare
And suck the bones
Then they got that one drop
Of black blood
In them
Sorry but its real proof
anyway
And in this place
Did I tell you
that all of the chicken shacks
are run
By Muslims
anyway
the food is fresh and great
I mean
That this chicken blows the others away
Where was I
so I was listening to this Egyptian guy
Sing Arabic songs out loud
Loud and enjoying himself
Serenading the patrons
Some of whose were homeless
Some of whom
Were crazy
Some of whom just were working class slobs
Who enjoy the cheap food
Anyway here he is singing away in Arabic
Loving it
No one knows what he is singing
But it sounds like a love song
It could have been a call to prayer
Or a call a farm animal
I didn’t know
But I liked it
Then he
Changed the middle eastern
channel to
Michael Jackson
Who just happened to be
Playing on the radio
And he started singing
This handsome man
that song
The song
She’s is out of my life
He Sang this song in both Arabic
And in English
And he had a beautiful voice
To boot
so
I munched on my chicken
And listened
Loving it
I Learned and watched
Speaking of Muslims
I am hooked on rock incense
Did I tell you
It takes away the smell of the Brazilian barb q
which is cooking
On the grill downstairs
Thank you
It takes away the smell
Of all of my grown Male kids
still in the house
the smell of my cheap perfume
and of city life
it purifies my house and my soul
see we all turn into black woman as we age
I am eating better
Telling more people off
And basically acting like my sister donna now
Love and light and incense
Where was I
So I go to this spot
in the Muslim section of Newark
to get this stuff
frankness and mire
In the mean time I am in this Muslim store
This is before the chicken shack
With black woman whose faces are covered
And whose voices are still black tinged
With what they perceive as a Arab accent
I think
Where was I
So
The middle eastern
music is blasting
And I got caught
up
in its sway
Just Then
walks these two beautiful
I mean beautiful woman
Middle eastern woman
And every thing stopped for a second
I know my heart did
Turns out
they were from Afghanistan
And I couldn’t help it
I asked them
What’s really going on there
Tell me
Tell me
Inquiring minds what to know
They were not only beautiful
but smart
They said
we get killed by every one
The Americans bomb us
The Taliban kill us
And harm woman
We are caught between a rock and a hard place
In the mean time
The music
The incense and all of it
Kept me in its thrall
I almost began swaying to the sounds and conversation
I almost began weeping at the sheer beauty of it all
The woman behind the counter
Looked at me with tears in her eyes
And said
feel that
feel that
Its Allah calling you
I can see it
I can see it
Just then everyone stopped
And looked at me
I looked like a deer caught in the head lights
With my hat jeans and Obama tee shirt
I laughed and said
Look sorry
But I am a Baptist
And this is getting to me
Allah is Allah
And yes I heard him call
Yes I did
Sorry
They all began laughing with me
Not at me
And I made my excuses and ran out the door
laughing
as every one did
And I realized
That god can find you any where
That he can
and will speak to you
In the voice that is open
It don’t matter if its
Christian
Jew
or Muslim
He will find you
Where the moment presents itself
And you know what
I got the middle East
Maybe
for the first time
he taught me as he always does
through my senses
and through my art
anyway
I left with a glow
With a people glow
Just s bit but
I left and walked down the street
To the sounds of Michael Jackson
And realized
That I am blessed
That America is blessed
And that Michael
Really has been
taken back into the fold of his blackness
which he some times denied
for posterity
he is ours and we want him
we own him
and he owes us
he needs us for protection
and for history
So I close with
What a world
What a world
What a better place than amongst Muslims
To enjoy the beautify
And diversity of America
Happy fourth of July
My flag is flying so high in my window
That
You just cant beat it
Or that
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