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.