We are learners, life is our teacher
I am a student, then you, who is my teacher
I am, because you are
I know cause you have taught me
I have become, cause you were
You are the potter and I the clay
This Refined dust you molded into a fine ware
Has become the shiny thin line between the leader and the led
A pull on shoulders, a constant reminder that not even a sheep should go astray
The Rod retracing us back to humanity
I am because you are
I am an incense burning
purifying the air
Between the priest and the Congregation
Love binding like joint heirs
Reconciling us back to the warmth of hope
I am The Fair Labor Standard Act between the employer and the employee
To foster team spirit to achievements
The lurking eyes between the jailer and the prisoner
Behind the bars of apartheid, one a step ahead of the other, a quest for UHURU(oo-hoo-roo)
The burning flame between an adventurer and the desert
The Mystery behind “Me, My desert and I”
The tender care between a Gardener and his Garden
Beauty of flowers, trees and plants housed in this space to blossom, green we must go
I am the muse between an artist and his art
The raging storm, the banging wave on ship of freedom to remind the sailor that am still the sea
Struggling to vomit the freedom I swallowed
The struggle for freedom between the colonized and the colonizer.
I am, because you are
You are the leader cause I Am the led
A teacher cause I am the learner
The potter and I the clay
The priest, I the congregation
The employer, I the employee
The jailer and I the prisoner
The Gardener and I the Garden
The Garden and I the trees
The Sailor and I the sea
The Art, and I the muse
The hunger scampering for humanity
Voices whispering love
Arms stretched reaching to your heart
Pleading “Please be kind”
The spark of hope that makes fists to clench and cause lips to mutter “UBUNTU”(oo-boon-too)
This legacy Deeply rooted in love for humanity and Afrocentrism Lives on through you
I am cause you
I am, because you are.
© Melvis Ugo
*Spoken word performance presented at the #MANDELA10 — a commemorative event to celebrate he 10th anniversary Memorial Service for the former President of South Africa, Nelson Mandela on December 5, 2023, at Nelson Mandela Gardens and Resort, Asaba, Delta State.
