Parable of the blind man
Blind man rather be dead than blind
Say he cursed Special Forces Vet
Crawling around jungle
Killing Viet Kong
usa running dog
said anybody who goes into military and kills
comes home crazy.
Don't care about money in bank
Just want to die
Was biochemist
Made healing herb potions
Now gotta heal thyself
Community Angel
Used to sit at my table
Academy of Da Corner
Downtown Oakland
Pay for books if woman know she Queen of universe
She had to know who she was
Didn't pay for man books
He wasn't blind then
He was grumpy bitter
Grew up in Brooklyn
Didn't know blackness
Til he met Hurriyah and Marvin X
We love blind man
He lost love of self
Want to kill self
They took him to hospital
Rest home
Let apartment go
Archives books tapes computer
Trashed
Say he on another level now
Don't need that shit
I tell him come sit with me
Academy of Da Corner Lakeshore
He sits
Talks with young man with detail car service
Blind man ask if he knew my poem
Black History is world history
He say no
Blind man jam me
Why he don't have your poem
Out of print
You better get him your poem
I say Google it
He Google my reading
Blind man happy
Ethiopian come by
Blind man ask why
Ethiopian kill Ethiopian
Tribes
Ethiopian say they ignut
Gotta come up from ignut
White Native American come by
Blind man say you white man
White Man say his mama black native American
Grew up on reservation
Cardboard shoes
With his mama had to sit
Back of bus
Drink at Black water fountain
By himself he drink at White fountain
Confused child
Blind man stopped hating
White Native American
I take him home
His care provider help him from car
He tells her
I hate to say it but
I enjoyed myself today.
Ache'
Can't make the blind man see
Can make him live!
--MARVIN X
1/22/21