In tribute to Martin Carter and Walter Rodney

Martin Carter

For Walter Rodney                                 

Assassins of conversation

they bury the voice

they assassinate, in the beloved

grave of the voice, never to be silent.

I sit in the presence of rain

in the sky’s wild noise

of the feet of some who

not only, but also, kill

the origin of rain, the ankle

of the whore, as fastidious

as the great fight, the wife

of water. Risker, risk.

I intend to turn a sky

of tears, for you

      –    Martin Carter

Martin Carter’s Diaries

28/10/63

“The alchemists sought to find the philosopher’s stone which would transmute base metals into gold. Guyanese society contains that which transmutes anything of value into base matter.