By Assata Shakur

i have shabby dreams for you
of some vage freedom
i have never known.

Baby,
i don’t want you hungry or thirsty
or out in the cold.
And i don’t want the frost
to kill your fruit
before it ripens.

i can see a sunny place—
Life exploding green.
i can see your bright, bronze skin
at ease with all the flowers
and the centipedes.

i can hear laughter,
not grown from ridicule.
And words, not prompted
by ego or greed or jealousy.

i see a world where hatred
has been replaced by love.
and ME replaced by WE.

And i can see a world
where you,
building and exploring,
strong and fulfilled,
will understand.
And go beyond
my little shabby dreams.

 

Assata Shakur is an American political and civil rights activist who was a member of the Black Liberation Army (BLA).