even death will not stop me from struggling
i will continue
as ashes & dust
my bronze flesh will join the soil
of free lands everywhere
& grow trees
be the mud within which rabbits burrow
be carpet of rain forest mountain walls
welcoming gorillas home
my bronze flesh
sacred ground
will become ancestor soil
and i will also be dry dust
refusing to cover despots
i'll clog the air filters
of tanks & invade the nostrils
of invaders
you hear that wind
that's my dying breath
laughing at those who thought
they'd seen the last of me
you see that baby eating soil
dirt smeared around her cheeks
that worker dusting himself off
that couple of love embracing on
picnic ground
that hopi sand painting
that amazonian stripped with the chalk
of white clay
you see me
i am sorry to disappoint you
but i do not die
i just move to another plane of existence
and become the fertilizer of the future
even when i'm gone
i will still be here
though death do us part
—kalamu ya salaam