Ground Report

I saw Osagyefo read twice at the poetry assembly of Occupy Wall Street. He may be the greatest poetry performer I’ve ever seen: commanding, musical, with a precise dignity. Born in Jamaica, Osagyefo preaches a God-devout revolution, and as far as one can tell, he lives his writings. Certainly, when I offered him money for his book, he refused, and wrote:

to
Sparrow
One
Love

on the title page, without signing his name.

These are incantations, rather than exactly poems. Like Shakespeare’s plays, they are intended to be performed; their transcriptions are imprecise, with errors of spelling and sometimes grammar. They hew to a songlike structure, and a three-page length.

The word that comes to mind is “health.” This is what human health sounds like:

So it’s about time we stop de begging
Dry we eyes and stop de crying
Go beyond demanding and start taking
What’s rightfully ours from the beginning
The free will of the creators blessing
To pursue life in all it’s happiness
Without the foot of Babylon
Planted in a we chest

[from “Satisfaction.”]