Still inside the station waiting on the freedom train
Its inspector came to check on our tickets if we had paid
Finally my people shall be home amongst their relatives and peers
They could hardly wait to see the city’s horizon slowly disappear into the distance
It was one train with many classes the luxurious was the first,
Then came the middle class citizens and then the economy- that is the worst
Not because of its occupants but mainly their conditions
Where they were packed like animals, sweating like the steam engines!
“All aboard!” that was freedoms last call
The destination was democracy, equality for all, but a few
The few being the masses in the last
That were disposable to benefit the upper class
“Tickets! Tickets please! Amai you did not pay!
Do you think you are going to get a free ride on the freedom train?”
He can clearly see she is sick and in need of urgent assistance
“Amai, I am not a doctor, all I want from you is your ticket!’
So another passenger dies for she could not afford
The medication for her ailments, so she succumbed to her sores
Across the masses gathered was a hovering of pain
Another one of us departed from the freedom train
Mountains rolled and valleys passed the few that had the view
Aboard this runaway train of passengers without a crew, but the inspector
They huddled praying justice would prevail
But lived within the laws of physics, so they were destined to derail
A pregnant mother squirmed as her water broke in panick
Hope was her unborn daughter but her birth was none but tragic
She only saw the light of day minutes before the crash
Sucked back into a darkness with radiance everlasting
Everyday the death toll rises from the freedom trains wreckage
That never saw democracy but destined us to heaven
Through a passage of pain and tribulation attached
That only seems to affect those of us stuck in economy class
If only the inspector started checking on the drivers
There wouldn’t be this ugly scene of checking on survivors
18 April 1980 was the day we left the station
Aboard the freedom train, but still haven’t reached our destination
… Freedom!
Old poems at OGOV don't die, but live on in our archives! Every once in a while we will dust one off for our newer readers to enjoy. "Freedom Train" was orginally published on OGOV on November 28th, 2009.
Biography:
Outspoken is an underground emcee and spoken-word artist from Zimbabwe. He is one half of the hip-hop duo Dialectric Blue with rhyme partner Upmost a.k.a my bruthaz keepa. Known as Outspoken Alpha Intellect (pronounced Eye-ntellect) he is an activist in social movements advocating for the empowerment of the masses. He is also the front runner to the band Outspoken and the Essence.
He has shared stages with greats such as Pops Mohammed, Kwani Experiance, Likwid Flo, Tamika Harper (Georgia me), Imani Woomera, Comrade Fatso and Chabvondoka, Cajus, Bianca Williams, Kabomo, and Soul Dada, just to name a few! Outspoken has toured South Africa and the east coast of the United States. 2009 saw him and his band traveling to Swaziland to perform at The Bush Fire Festival and most recently to Durban as the closing act of the Poetry Africa festival finale.
Five Questions with Outspoken:
1. How long have you been writing poetry?
I can say that I started writing when I was still in junior school, but actually started performing poetry professionally in 2003/4.
2. Who are your favorite poets? Which poets have most informed and inspired your work?
To be honest with you, I started writing as a form of protesting the education system that force fed us information that we didn't want to know and even graded and segregated us through that system. My inspiration then spawned from the downtrodden and oppressed, it was and is influenced by the everyday struggle that we have to face, not by beautiful words or good English. If anything, it is a protest against "the norm" and the trendy. I chose not to read and retrace the footsteps of other poets and rather walk my own. If these paths meet, then I have reason to believe that the many different journeys were inspired to one destination. I do however spend time with great poets by the names of Chirikure Chirikure and Julius Chingono, and most of my friends are into creative writing!
3. What do you hope to accomplish with your poetry?
When I started writing I had no agenda, and to date hold no agenda except to ignite discussion or debate upon relevant issues, showing how another point of view exists! I seek for the future and the present to realise that life is not to be dictated by Hollywood blockbusters, magazine pictures and tel-lie-vision programming! If anything it should serve as brain-cleansing to our current state of brainwashing.
4. Do you see hope of the Freedom Train arriving at the station any time soon?
I don't know why we went on board the Freedom Train to begin with, given how it was known to operate in other countries! Looking at how it is running in South Africa at the moment, one sees the truth of the illusion which is their current state of democracy. The problem with train rides is that they are not to flexible when it comes to direction! Either you are coming or going, but you are stuck on the same tracks, forced to submit to the classes that you can afford, economy class being the most over populated and over burdened while also being the constant that keeps the train running since its always guaranteed to be packed. Another very sad reality is that the station hasn't even been built! Looking at our templates for democracy and freedom anywhere and everywhere on this earth. America to Zimbabwe, it is a situation of politicians taking the peoples power and profiteering from it. We are all gagged, it is only a scenario of who is more gagged than the other, our situation is better than most countries because our oppression is so apparent that you are aware of it. Those that live in the McDonald's illusion and coca-killer reality have a lot to learn about what oppression really is.
5. Do you think that poetry and spoken word can help speed the arrival of the Freedom Train? If so, how?
Yes, awareness. Once you are aware you are able to act, in fact you have the choice to act or not, given you situation. It is through your brain registering a sharp pain from your thigh that you can act on the ant that has taken your flesh as its breakfast. First there was the word, now it is on those that choose to act upon it to shape and reshape their existence, not to have a freedom that imposes or infringes upon another, but one that works in a beautiful symbiosis with all attached to it. We all want freedom, but at this point in life we also have to ask this very vital question. "what makes me deserve my freedom?". Let's look outside of the freedom train because lest we forget, it is just a mobile prison until you reach your destination... if you reach your destination.
Contact Outspoken:
alphaintellect(at)gmail.com
Still inside the station waiting on the freedom train
Its inspector came to check on our tickets if we had paid
Finally my people shall be home amongst their relatives and peers
They could hardly wait to see the city’s horizon slowly disappear into the distance
It was one train with many classes the luxurious was the first,
Then came the middle class citizens and then the economy- that is the worst
Not because of its occupants but mainly their conditions
Where they were packed like animals, sweating like the steam engines!
“All aboard!” that was freedoms last call
The destination was democracy, equality for all, but a few
The few being the masses in the last
That were disposable to benefit the upper class
“Tickets! Tickets please! Amai you did not pay!
Do you think you are going to get a free ride on the freedom train?”
He can clearly see she is sick and in need of urgent assistance
“Amai, I am not a doctor, all I want from you is your ticket!’
So another passenger dies for she could not afford
The medication for her ailments, so she succumbed to her sores
Across the masses gathered was a hovering of pain
Another one of us departed from the freedom train
Mountains rolled and valleys passed the few that had the view
Aboard this runaway train of passengers without a crew, but the inspector
They huddled praying justice would prevail
But lived within the laws of physics, so they were destined to derail
A pregnant mother squirmed as her water broke in panick
Hope was her unborn daughter but her birth was none but tragic
She only saw the light of day minutes before the crash
Sucked back into a darkness with radiance everlasting
Everyday the death toll rises from the freedom trains wreckage
That never saw democracy but destined us to heaven
Through a passage of pain and tribulation attached
That only seems to affect those of us stuck in economy class
If only the inspector started checking on the drivers
There wouldn’t be this ugly scene of checking on survivors
18 April 1980 was the day we left the station
Aboard the freedom train, but still haven’t reached our destination
… Freedom!
"Freedom Train" is part five of our five-part series of poems by Ghanaians on Zimbabwe (though this one is by a Zimbabwean!). To read previous contributions, click here.
Biography:Outspoken is an underground emcee and spoken-word artist from Zimbabwe. He is one half of the hip-hop duo Dialectric Blue with rhyme partner Upmost a.k.a my bruthaz keepa. Known as Outspoken Alpha Intellect (pronounced Eye-ntellect) he is an activist in social movements advocating for the empowerment of the masses. He is also the front runner to the band Outspoken and the Essence.
He has shared stages with greats such as Pops Mohammed, Kwani Experiance, Likwid Flo, Tamika Harper (Georgia me), Imani Woomera, Comrade Fatso and Chabvondoka, Cajus, Bianca Williams, Kabomo, and Soul Dada, just to name a few! Outspoken has toured South Africa and the east coast of the United States. 2009 saw him and his band traveling to Swaziland to perform at The Bush Fire Festival and most recently to Durban as the closing act of the Poetry Africa festival finale.
Five Questions with Outspoken:1. How long have you been writing poetry?
I can say that I started writing when I was still in junior school, but actually started performing poetry professionally in 2003/4.
2. Who are your favorite poets? Which poets have most informed and inspired your work?
To be honest with you, I started writing as a form of protesting the education system that force fed us information that we didn't want to know and even graded and segregated us through that system. My inspiration then spawned from the downtrodden and oppressed, it was and is influenced by the everyday struggle that we have to face, not by beautiful words or good English. If anything, it is a protest against "the norm" and the trendy. I chose not to read and retrace the footsteps of other poets and rather walk my own. If these paths meet, then I have reason to believe that the many different journeys were inspired to one destination. I do however spend time with great poets by the names of Chirikure Chirikure and Julius Chingono, and most of my friends are into creative writing!
3. What do you hope to accomplish with your poetry?
When I started writing I had no agenda, and to date hold no agenda except to ignite discussion or debate upon relevant issues, showing how another point of view exists! I seek for the future and the present to realise that life is not to be dictated by Hollywood blockbusters, magazine pictures and tel-lie-vision programming! If anything it should serve as brain-cleansing to our current state of brainwashing.
4. Do you see hope of the Freedom Train arriving at the station any time soon?
I don't know why we went on board the Freedom Train to begin with, given how it was known to operate in other countries! Looking at how it is running in South Africa at the moment, one sees the truth of the illusion which is their current state of democracy. The problem with train rides is that they are not to flexible when it comes to direction! Either you are coming or going, but you are stuck on the same tracks, forced to submit to the classes that you can afford, economy class being the most over populated and over burdened while also being the constant that keeps the train running since its always guaranteed to be packed. Another very sad reality is that the station hasn't even been built! Looking at our templates for democracy and freedom anywhere and everywhere on this earth. America to Zimbabwe, it is a situation of politicians taking the peoples power and profiteering from it. We are all gagged, it is only a scenario of who is more gagged than the other, our situation is better than most countries because our oppression is so apparent that you are aware of it. Those that live in the McDonald's illusion and coca-killer reality have a lot to learn about what oppression really is.
5. Do you think that poetry and spoken word can help speed the arrival of the Freedom Train? If so, how?
Yes, awareness. Once you are aware you are able to act, in fact you have the choice to act or not, given you situation. It is through your brain registering a sharp pain from your thigh that you can act on the ant that has taken your flesh as its breakfast. First there was the word, now it is on those that choose to act upon it to shape and reshape their existence, not to have a freedom that imposes or infringes upon another, but one that works in a beautiful symbiosis with all attached to it. We all want freedom, but at this point in life we also have to ask this very vital question. "what makes me deserve my freedom?". Let's look outside of the freedom train because lest we forget, it is just a mobile prison until you reach your destination... if you reach your destination.
Contact Outspoken:alphaintellect(at)gmail.com
