we turn estate blocks into

gardens of eden.

y

selected poems & writings by

poet of da soil
texts herein taken from

substack.com/@poetway & twitter

permission neither sought nor given
(4 sonya massey)

everyday is ashura
every city is karbala

‘mourning is easier 2 do than breathing
voting easier 2 do than fighting

scrolling casier 2 do than screaming

and eye recite sonya massey’s name as dhikr
because she is holy and eye refuse 2 forget that

another death that plays like por 4 voyeuristic eyes
meanwhile a roma child dies while being forced into care (ain't that ronie)
and today is chris kaba’s birthday
and my cousin was stabbed yday (or-was-it6-years age)

and cynthia jarrett died next week (or-maybe-1985)
‘and at least 4 kids were killed in goma last week

and they raised millions for kamala but ignore sudanese gofundmes
and they told me that anything is better than tha tories
but rather than dealing w landlord bullies
labour wages war on car washes and nail salons
sonow it all makes sense

everyday is ashura
and every city is karbala

and it’s all we'll ever know if its all we want 2 know
but eye told my sister eye love her this morning

50 eye light this cloth and grip this botle in one hand
abrick in the other

‘while eye recite sonya massey’s name as dhikr
because her smile is holy

‘and she deserves a 1000 jihads in her memory

solook me in my eyes and tell me you'll fight with me
orat least

sing me frecdom songs 2 make tha fear go down easy

2
we turn estate blocks into

gardens of eden.

so, autonomy?

n my own pe

sonal jou
realised there is no separation between the political and the

ney.

Ve come 2 a place where i've

personal. that eve eye relate 2 other

others relate 2 me is built on the systems of domination that

wa

. every way

the world is also built on. anti blackness, ableism, classism,

(trans)misogynoir among others dircetly influence and
dictate how we interact with one anothe

which is why eye
now believe that autonomy - which the dietionary defines as
ht or condition of self governme:
izabeth puts it “a refusal to be gov

“the nd

El
for

or as my fr

ned” is the best way
ward to lives that don't feel like death.

what happens when we refuse to be governed, by a labour
or tory pa

ry 5 years. by the state itself, by an
international system of capitalism built on the backs of
black people for over 400 years(?)

1
need the state, with its

now this can be h

imagine, we've been taught that we

ce and violence 2

monopoly over for
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

tion. the

and brown peoples, be it from the police or immigr:
state relegates us (niggas) to cconomically 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
liv

()

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

¢ out how 1o exist

stead gove
colleetively.

m themselves and figu

from pre colonial socicties of the Igho 2 the autonomous
yria 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 Mesican government that

sought to further marginalise indigenous communitics and

ownership of the land they lived on.

apatistas have collectively organised 2

own and look after

autonomous municipalities, collective

the land. built their own healthea

e systems. primary and

secondary schools and education programmes firmly rooted

n their commitm

nt o a struggle for a world where many
worlds exist. the Zapatistas are a living, breathing example of
autonomy, whi e as creating new life

h they descril

nu life in babylon(?)

s0 now. what is there 2 be done(?) we a
where multiple genocides are being perpe
live in the belly of the beast that plays a pivotal part in

e living in a world
ated while we

orchestrating em (the West/imperial corc).

black and brown communities here ng

the brunt of the violence that the ruling classes of Babylon

1 Babylon are bes

nhabitants, forming internal colonies that are

super exploited by the state.

this can be seen in the dispa

ms of maternal mortality rates

es faced by these i

colonies in te

police
1. displacement via gentrification

brutality, underemploymes
among other things. life aint been good, and it aint gonna
unless we say enough is enough and struggle for

less we struggle for autonomy,

get bettes
something more than this. u

3
if autonom
like(2)

means 2 create nu life, what does that look

what does it mean 2 create nu life in a world predicated on

death? how do we look despai ce in tha

. neglect and violes

face and constantly war against thai(?)

by pooling our resources togetha, moving togetha, trusting
cach other and creating programmes and spaces where life
can flow in ways tha world doesn’t want. we look 2 tha past
nhow 2 ¢

and leas cate

o housing co ops that protect tha most marginalised

celaim spaces and zones that have

among us, we

been captured and simply left 2 rot by tha

exploi

ative housing system.

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

o liberation schools where neglected black kids come
and learn english, maths, history. afrikan languages.
call

that we all learn from cach other, in

and whateves ooted i

they desi

the knowledge

non hicrarchical 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,

stead we fight for them because 2 fight for them is
fight for us - we

citizen and eri

member that the line betweer

nal is a blurred one when we all

seen as nigg(a)
e we provide self defence cl

asses centred in know

we live in societies that dis

able us daily and leas

move with ou st them

bodics not ags
« we provide food and elothes and carc and affection

fo
o wetake over wherever we want and we dance and

and by everyone.

dance and dance, we hold ourselves and o

i that reminds

poet
us black flesh is only as dead as we allow it 2 be.

and music and plays and &

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 wa ta

ing 1 oil. we understand that voting docsn'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

tis not secking internship or degree 2 be free because

black excellence isn't black liberation

itis dapping up a loved one and asking “how far”

not letting go when their head drops a il as they sigh and

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

given.

and with th

¢ you with a poem. peace and one
love.

9
we turn estate blocks into gardens of eden
thy

tand

e are gods who don’t want us 2 bite into fi

discove

ty

our own d

yet we can't rely on marathon prayers 2 fill our bellics

we sign ballot papes
s0 MPs get off scot free and d ¢ in thei

parliame

b

s this what we call democracy (?)

tell ourselves rainbow lies

like green and yellow might be better than red or blu

like th

colour wheel ain't mouldy

how long will we wait in

on office food

itre

supe

market hospital jobces
bank hostel chicken shop queucs

mmigr

must be why so many black yutes look 2 internship for
priority passes

they ain't know runs on tha blood of their

ollercoaste

cousins

10
butits 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 bruisc blocks
ou

cars

[ ride

me 2 get off tha

rub your eyes

breathe i

breathe out
thy

no time but now

cut apathy off and find a fr
roduce yourself 2 hope

yeah the ends is be

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 &
babylon ain't got no clai

nd a shovel

m 2 tha land they mist

we

e living dead so we rebel wnu life

we turn estate blocks into gardens of eden

election time, blessing time

()

on sunday. my father asked that we pray 4 god's will 2 be

y's elections. he asked that we

this count
gs. dir

done in

gards
pray for god's bles;

on and providence

and this makes me think

it seript

says let justice roll on like wata and

am then what

righteousness |
not tha end of babylon(?)

¢ an ever flowing sir jab's

by the time this post drops a lot of us will be going 2 that
ballot hox, hoping for redemption resurreetion or just
something better than the conditions we live in now. tha job

market’s heart barely beats (as a nigga counting pennics cye

know this 2 well), the nhs continues 2 decline, most ppl my

s and the government asks for

age won't be house owne

ceasefire with one mouth and vomits up

nds and weapons

for genocide with another,

afriend asked me who im voting for and eye told em no one

we offer up our vote as petition and pleas hoping that d
above will hear us
but voting can't give us the breath in our lungs that we so

desire

the head of the international slavery
respecting all

many complained whe

museum accepted an OBE,

was seen as di

those who were captured by this empire, all the families
violently separated, all the men, womyn, pil

oons who suffered in ways we cannot imagine

ins and gende

but if that's a slap in the face of our ancestors than our

Vot is us spitting on their graves.

labour day

we've often seen the labour party as the “black party”, the

party of the working class and the hero 2 tha tories’

villainous behavious

the conservatives are tha

2 put it simply i
rvillai

moustache twirling, cat stroking supe with a history

of evil plans (which unlike in tha comics have not been

thwarted), tha labou
suit slicked back hair philanthropist, fighting for “justice”,

party has consistently been tha shiny

ies while se

smiling at minority commi etly

slow dripping poison into the meals the:

give us.

it must be stated loud and elearly that the benefits the
y proclaim 2 have gifted onto the working class

13
such as universal healthcare are covered in the blood of the,

third/fourth worlds.

the wealth tha united kkkingdom has accumulated is

rom tha enslavement of afrikans and the

di

cetly
ation of resources of tha third world over 100+ years.

exploi
this wealth has been used, pa

icularly by the Labour Party
2 get tha british working class 2 a level of comfort that

means it collaborates w the ruling class of babylon,
rather than moving against it. people here are stuck in a
haze of material safety and comfort that means they would

vote and work within this system of death and

rather
s on tha line for more.

exploitation than put their bodi

this doesn’t even take into account how labour has

consistently been anti black and anti muslim be it in its
on policics and tony bla

s law

colonial policics, immigral

and order policies 2 Keir Starmer’s current wave of

excommu

ating black &

ad brown MPs, particularly

i

womyn and
black mp candidate was gai

ving up scats 2 other f
ng mor

ts because a young:
e popularity.

what makes this election unique is that there is a level of
ennui and disillusionment that many of my elders say they

haven't seen eva.

the genocide tha zionist state is enacting on palestinians

over the last 9 months has unveiled many peoples eyes as to

how the two major partics are complicit and tha bloodshed

11
that makes the world go by. in addition 2 this, the Labour
Party has transformed from one that has always claimed 2
fight for the poor 2 one that has been called the tories in red
clothing.

what must be

nderstood is that no political party will save
us, even the small

ones.

when we look at tha genocide of palestinians there

no
mainstream political party that calls 4 tha complete
liberation of palestine (greens 4 example call 4 a 2 state

solution ~ nvm that their

green” policies rely on the
continued exploitation of afrika). this docsn't even take
into account how the mainstream political parties igno
o tha DRC, Tigray, S
suffering of those we call tha wretched of tha earth.

the

nocides dan and Kashmir and the

this is because all these partics are not secking fundamental
changes 2 tha state of tha world, but rather secking power 2

gain from tha state of this world.

voling in this system cannot bring any material
improvement 2 tha conditions of the oppressed around tha

world because

ALL political parties clamouring for your vote arc
deeply committed 2 tha continuation of racial
capitalism and its anchoring by patriarchal

relations (as seen by the rising transphobia and
volling back of queer/LGBTQ rights in the so

called “western

progressive countries).

every vote in this election be it 4 labour, tor

. green or lib
a vote that drives us further into: a climate eris
that our ppl in afy
from, the con

dems i

ka, asia and tha caribbean will suffer most

state,

inued strengthening of a fasei
alife that is simply death.

1 poli

o what do we do(?)

we a

e scemingly heading 2 world where tha Labour Party
cithe

on

s in powe s own 2 feet o

1 coalition with othes
parties (but u neva know w tha raeist white vote). while

1y may proclaim

ything but tha tories is good enough,
id like 2 let niggas know that keir starmer is

o planning 2 recruit thousands of more police officers
1 more viole

ce on neglected neighbourhoods

o “tougher consequences on knife crime”rather than
any sort of transformative /reparative justice
measures that actually looks at the needs of yutes

whao feel they need 2 protect themselves w a shank

and the needs of their communities
o “stronger border control” which is essentially

panderi ation crowd who fail

g 2 tha racist anti migy

2 understa

1d ppl leave their home countries hecause
they are exploited by tha west, disabling these

16
its citizens. the

countries from effectively caring fo
labour party will continue 2 inflict pa

n and suffering
on those risking their lives 2 come here because tha

system it seeks 2 partake in can neva allow for a

world where this exploitation stops.

g that's enough in ou

istead of voting. and believi
ourselves and others

simply giving up and doing nothing

1 this one

we must look 2 building new worlds i

we must look 2 connecting with those around us (bruy shout
me nd let's chop it up(1))

2 building bonds with and cent

ically black and brown kwees

& the most marginalised
(dis)abled.
rant at

among us speci

houscless peoples and put tha struggles of the mi

the forefront of our struggle for a better world.

and when we organise ourselves 2 move towards life we
festations of

combat 1w ng we've gol man

jia and

patria
abuse eulture as they will be the downfall of any thing o

chy /ableism ‘saneism /anti blackness, fatphol

movement we try create with our hands

cverything we do must be a move towards autonomy (uno

eye got da practical steps 1 ya)
we build bonds grounded in tha fact that our black bodies

are borders everywhere we go and tha state uses borders 2
inflict hell on individuals and communitics

e free until all of us are f1

none of us

come from ballot box.

peace and one love,
jeremy corbyn ain't your saviour
tru say he neva was

we

ry contort messiahs out of mps

prophets out of celebr

ies

anything 2 find leader that'll take us 2 promised land

of milk and honey

but tha milk got contaminants
g
we're choking on tha fume

and the bees are dy

of burning world

ou ns and needles

ancestors poke us with |
begg
begg
turn ballot paper
parliame
we turn nation states in2 dead gods

g us 2 move
ng us 2 fight

tin2 was

blk flesh be tha nu div

SEDITIONIST