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