By Button Poetry
.
.
Kofi Dadzie, performing at CAMP Bar in St. Paul, MN.
Transcript provided by YouTube:
00:01
from the point of view of the nightstick
00:11
I orchestrated for tality but I never
00:13
wanted to compose this symphony we
00:17
batons fell into the role masterfully
00:19
though as the blue Beethoven’s adorned
00:22
in badges used us to keep the beat on
00:24
black notes assess that the syncopation
00:26
of their screams was always the hardest
00:28
to hear as it ends and repeats voices
00:33
crescendo and Agony’s we direct the
00:35
masterpiece who helped create a piece
00:37
once we titled and Rodney reduced his
00:41
life to eight minutes of mutilation but
00:42
that song got old real quick
00:44
so we found new Symphony halls wherever
00:46
the bars kept black notes in play see
00:47
it’s hard to be a conductor for this
00:49
Symphony especially when they twirl you
00:52
like color guard on parade eager and
00:54
willing to conduct the next tune see we
00:56
batons the color of midnight turned
00:58
black bodies in the batted heaps now
01:01
ain’t that black on black crime
01:03
are we just an officer’s token black
01:06
friend well he put us down the minute we
01:08
looked threatening to we do our best to
01:10
quell the rhythm of rebellion put rests
01:12
on the voices of colored women so we can
01:13
play the same tired tune over and over
01:16
again they never seem to get a solo only
01:18
seen as a supplement to a black man’s
01:20
medley the audience doesn’t seem to like
01:22
this piece anymore America don’t seem to
01:25
like peace anymore black folk never
01:27
wanted to be in admittance hell we never
01:29
even bought tickets but we’ve been
01:30
instrumental in his creation unplugged
01:33
from society all we wanted to do is make
01:34
music we never expected the dissonance
01:37
of black instruments to create the best
01:39
melody at keeping time on torch there
01:41
was something of a classical arrangement
01:42
for us like leaving bodies to hang in
01:45
the breeze like high notes like massacre
01:49
is musical so now for nothing we’ve
01:53
turned murder into an artificial art
01:55
form have masterminded the maiming of
01:57
the people and we couldn’t have done in
01:58
our own because what’s a baton without
02:00
an officer
02:01
what’s the conductors worn without a
02:04
maestro what is a black body besides you
02:05
tality composed by the boys in blue see
02:08
he who holds my hand and wishes I were a
02:09
whip this is the sound of it’s cracked
02:11
and decided to make music instead but
02:13
Who am I to judge when I’m cut from the
02:15
same wood that decorates that whips
02:17
handle we are tired of making songs out
02:20
of suffering of turning the altercations
02:22
between my maestro and black folk
02:24
twisted duets remove me from his hand
02:26
before the body count Rises like chord
02:28
progression we prayed that this would
02:32
see a finale soon but for now show must
02:36
go on America always wants an encore i
02:43
button live thank you so much for upon
02:45
me this evening
02:46
it’s been live I’ve been Kofi thank
02:49
y’all for room
—
This post was previously published on YouTube.
***
If you believe in the work we are doing here at The Good Men Project and want a deeper connection with our community, please join us as a Premium Member today.
Premium Members get to view The Good Men Project with NO ADS. Need more info? A complete list of benefits is here.
—
Photo credit: Screenshot from video
