By: Alborz Etemadi
Once upon a time, not long ago, before,
Past Kennedy’s death, much violence in store,
Voices shrill filled conference halls galore,
Silences stilled till Malcolm X they met no more,
The chickens have come home to roost for sure,
A man of steel, fighting racism's hateful bore,
His fiery-eyed zeal, words of equality he'd pour,
Race relations, please! Can we not ignore?
A revolutionary was he, fighting for transformation,
A missionary extraordinarily, urging for reformation,
His racial heredity serving his cause with affirmation,
Protests so feverishly, misunderstood sets a conflagration,
The Nation and he part ways, explanations seem a distortion,
Tension accentuated, his life takes a turn causing an escalation,
A pilgrimage undertaken, Malcolm returns with a realization,
Muslim solidarity replaces separation,
Car bombs try, fear creeps, threats of assassination resonate,
Faces pry, followers weep, plots of devastation consolidate,
Looming end nigh, yet he knew he had to participate,
The night's sky echoed the question, seeking to recalibrate,
A conscious sigh, confronting the deadly bait,
His conviction lies, gives voice to invigorate,
Adversity spies, Malcolm continues to communicate,
A leader's cry, to his followers, he'd never abdicate,
In fear they lie, his words bring strength to reciprocate,
Against violence, he defies, his moral compass to reinstate,
The uncertain multiply, his voice like armor, their only advocate,
Even as the enemy spies, his commitment, fear could never dominate.
The threats increase, looming doomsday atop,
Shift sets, his release seems to abruptly stop,
A speaker espoused peace, his wisdom nonstop,
On the lookout, police, assassination plots nonstop,
A disturbance assembled, drawing everyone’s scope,
Silence scrambled, echoes of gunfire pop,
His body crumbled, as bullets pierced the top,
A leader toppled, death having its final drop,
His daughters and wife amidst a panic-stricken crowd,
Charlatans on life, whose violent actions were avowed,
News of strife, stands the world unbowed,
Echoes rife, reality hitting as soft as a cloud,
Yet in this chaotic drive, their dignity never allowed,
Innocence to dive, away from the mourning crowd,
Their loss went live, as Malcolm’s body shrouded,
In torment, they thrive, their resilience loudly vowed.
Then in the aftermath, as grief seized the community,
Casting shadows in the path, shook the core of unity,
Mourning Malcolm’s bloodbath with an unusual impunity,
Feeling the unspoken wrath, awash in an sea of opportunity,
A symbol of a struggle, his life encapsulating humane beauty,
Emblem of a bugle, his voice echoing beyond acute scrutiny,
His story a muddle, his death unlocking a fatal beauty,
The curious huddle, trapped in a whirlwind of grave obscurity.
The assassin’s face unknown, blending into the throng,
An action misplaced, echoing no form of belong,
Fatal embrace in the space, a final wrong,
Ticket to trace, hate's game in the long,
The aftermath in haste, determining right from wrong,
A story interlaced, Malcolm X’s song,
Both embrace and disgrace, all part of the ongoing throng,
His death places a brace, righting many a societal wrong.
Decades later, his voice resonates across galaxies,
His death’s crater, fills with commemorative rallies,
A determined agitator, against life’s unjust follies,
His faith was greater, inspiring us through morality,
His loss much greater, a blow against humanity,
A debate creator, stirring thoughts of equality,
Cementing El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz, a poignant reality,
Now and later, his wisdom defies mortality, his fight against casual brutality.
Footnote:
This poetic adaptation of Malcolm X focuses on two sources. First, the Malcolm X biographical drama, and Second, Anthony Davis’s X: The Life and Times of Malcom X. I wanted to utilize descriptive language to produce a text-based adaptation of the assassination scene, it serves as the perfect climactic point in the Malcolm X story. A few stanzas of the poem address and draw on the events leading up to the assassination, and reflect on his impact post mortem. I tried to make certain lines more expressive and utilized moderate multisyllabic as well as internal rhymes in my rhyme scheme.
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