2 Poems by Juleus Ghunta

Our Own Revolution 

“If they don’t allow us to dream, we will not allow them to sleep.”
Popular slogan of the Egyptian Revolution

We dare not devolve our duties
to the dissidents in Tahrir Square.

We note the broken ribs, teargas,
blood curdling in cracks
beneath dark roofs of ashen cities;
hymns that keep dead limbs moving.

We honour Egypt with our own revolution.

Our screams excoriate hands of greed;
skeletons release our sacred dreams.


The Blue Chair 

The truth is, there’s no monopoly
on freedom, nor the making of heroes,
nor dreams.

SASO sang songs of liberation
deep into ’76 nights,
causing Apartheid’s wings
to flutter in Soweto streets,
crippled by young dissidents.

I know
that the blue chair
in the final passage
at the western end of the library
where adjacent shelves glow
with the Mandelas, Bikos and Sisulus
shall be your seat of salvation
if you so desire.

Bionote

Juleus Ghunta, who calls himself a Dreamrighter, is the creator of the D.R.E.A.M.R.I.G.H.T acrostic. He was born in Hanover, Jamaica and was educated at the University of the West Indies, Mona, graduating in 2010 with a degree in Media and Communications and History.

In 2013, Juleus received the Prime Minister’s National Youth Award for Excellence for his work as a youth advocate. Juleus’s poems have appeared in Bim (Barbados), and Bookends, the literary supplement of Jamaica’s Sunday Observer. His first collection (The Blue Chair) will be published in 2014 by Hansib Publications.