A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z #

SAGE FRANCIS lyrics : "How To Write A Political Poem"

However it begins, it's gotta be loud
and then it's gotta get a little bit louder.
Because this is how you write a political poem

and how you deliver it with power.

Mix current events with platitudes of empowerment.

Wrap up in rhyme or rhyme it up in rap until it sounds
true.


Glare until it sinks in.

Because somewhere in Florida, votes are still being

counted.
I said somewhere in Florida, votes are still being
counted!


See, that's the Hook, and you gotta' have a Hook.
More than the look, it's the hook that is the most

important part.
The hook has to hit and the hook's gotta fit.
Hook's gotta hit hard in the heart.


Because somewhere in Florida, votes are still being
counted.


And Dick Cheney is peeing all over himself in spasmodic
delight.

Make fun of politicians, it's easy, especially with
Republicans
like Rudy Giuliani, Colin Powell, and . . . Al Gore.

Create fatuous juxtapositions of personalities and
political philosophies
as if communism were the opposite of democracy,

as if we needed Darth Vader, not Ralph Nader.

Peep this: When I say "Call,"

you all say, "Response."

Call! Response! Call! Response! Call!


Amazing Grace, how sweet the -


Stop in the middle of a song that everyone kows and
loves.
This will give your poem a sense of urgency.

Because there is always a sense of urgency in a
political poem.
There is no time to waste!

Corruption doesn't have a curfew,
greed doesn't care what color you are
and the New York City Police Department

is filled with people who wear guns on their hips
and carry metal badges pinned over their hearts.
Injustice isn't injustice it's just in us as we are

just in ice.
That's the only alienation of this alien nation
in which you either fight for freedom

or else you are free and dumb!

And even as I say this somewhere in Florida, votes are

still being counted.

And it makes me wanna beat box!


Because I have seen the disintegration of
gentrification

and can speak with great articulation
about cosmic constellations, and atomic radiation.
I've seen D. W. Griffith's Birth of a Nation

but preferred 101 Dalmations.
Like a cross examination, I will give you the
explanation

of why SlamNation is the ultimate manifestation
of poetic masturbation and egotistical ejaculation.


And maybe they are still counting votes somewhere in
Florida,
but by the time you get to the end of the poem it won't
matter anymore.


Because all you have to do is close your eyes,
lower your voice, and end by saying:

the same line three times,
the same line three times,

the same line three times.

Submit Corrections