I met Benjamin Zephaniah some 20 years ago when I was at Caribbean Times and have not seen him since. I did take some shots of him but those are with Caribbean Times.
Christmas has been shot away this year,
There are too many choppers chopping up the sky
Too many bullets in the air for good tidings,
There will be no Christ and no mass
And darkness has fallen upon the land.
No one shall make a joyful noise unto the Lord
Or serve the Lord with gladness,
No one shall come before his presence with singing,
And Palestinian Christians who want to declare
The name of the Lord in Jerusalem
Or glorify the boy in Bethlehem
Have been told to piss off to Jordan,
Syria or Iraq.
All the saints have been told
To wait for the resumption of peace talks
And the angels of the Lord have been told
To wait until the Americans are ready
Because Zion means something else now,
And yes it was written that the truth shall flow
From the mouths of babe and suckling,
But babes and sucklings beware
The soldiers have orders to kill,
And the spirit of King Herod is alive.
They're not doing Christmas this year,
It has been shot away'And anyway
Christ is no messiah,' said the soldier
'This is our Promised Land. '
What we see over Bethlehem this year
Is a spineless, skeleton of a Christmas,
A Christmas that has been occupied, strangled
And driven to tears, crying tear gas and burning,
It's a Christmas that has no songs or sermons
Except the song of the bomber;
As loud as dying
As quiet as death.
Welcome to the birthplace of his holiness
Welcome to the humiliation of the natives,
Here even flowers are shot down
If they fly the local flag,
You will not hear the bells of Christmas
And you will not hear the women sing.
'And let me tell you something else,'
said the soldier
'No virgin gave birth here - we wouldn't allow it.'
Sorry gentiles
It looks like it's gonna be a cold Christmas,
Ain't no spirit of the Lord moving over the manger
Just a nuclear power
Flying in from Tel Aviv via Washington DC.
The power of the almighty has come for sure
To suck Christmas dry
And to blow Christmas away.
There will be no mercy
And no rejoicing
And no worshipping any little Black Palestinian boy,
And no crosses
And no three wise women or men
And no Arab shepherds,
Because Christmas has been done in
Christmas is coughing and choking
Christmas has been hit by bullets from the west,
So if you want to do Christmas this year
Take a bible,
Sit indoors,
And do your own thing,
Just don't do it in Bethlehem.
__________________________++
Millions of people know Benjamin Zephania's voice. The popular Rasta poet has given readings around the world, from Palestine to Argentina, as well as throughout the UK. Benjamin Obadiah Iqbal Zephaniah was born in Birmingham and grew up in Jamaica and in Handsworth. In 1989 he was nominated for Oxford Professor of Poetry. After a journey to Palestine, Zephaniah wrote a pamphlet entitled Rasta Time in Palestine (1990).
We present to you this evening Zephaniah's poem, "Christmas has been shot" which is included in his poetry collection, entitled "Too Black, Too Strong." (Too Black, Too Strong. Newcastle, Bloodaxe, 2001.) Zephaniah writes in his foreword to the collection: "the world is staying silent as the Palestinians are being annihilated" later he says: "I feel a sense of urgency here is a poet who won't stay silent." He explains the collection's title thus:
"When I say 'black' it means more than skin colour, I include Romany, Iraqi, Indians, Kurds, Palestinians, all those that are treated Black by the united white states. My 'strong' is the strength that we get when we stand up and get counted...When I say 'Too Black, Too Strong', I mean unity is strength, I mean 'true' free speech, I mean no justice, no peace."
When I was about 18 I sent Bob Marley a bunch of my poems. He wrote me a letter back - which I never kept - saying: 'Nice work, keep it up, you're saying something positive.' I met him later. I almost wanted him to write it again. ~ Benjamin Zephaniah
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