Ras Nasibu of the Ogaden – Marcus Garvey

A king has fallen on the field-The field of war, but not by shot,Nor even through a broken shield:He died in exile-awful lot!Ras Nasibu of OgadenIs he-the greatest of his tribe-The man who led his valiant menWith Wehib Pasha at his side. He died in Switzerland-afar,Of broken heart in his exile:He saw the end of …

Lachmi(Lakshmi) Bai – Michael White

Within no peerless Taj Mahal her body lies,No gilded dome, nor fairy minarets against the azure skies,Proclaim the place, where she, called by her foes, the " bravest and the best,"Was laid by reverential hands to her victorious rest :But in the eternal sanctuary of her race,The holy river, holy Mother Ganges, that coveted embrace,Doth …

Koofil (Corfield) – Muhammad Abdallah bin Hasan

Said to be written by Abdallah bin Hasan whom the British termed Mad Mullah for successfully holding a banner of revolt against them for more than two decades. Though violent, can there be anything such telling regarding the horrors of the war? You have died, Corfield, and are no longer in this world,A merciless journey …

A Happy Man – Edwin Arlington Robinson

When these graven lines you see, Traveller, do not pity me; Though I be among the dead, Let no mournful word be said. Children that I leave behind, And their children, all were kind; Near to them and to my wife, I was happy all my life. My three sons I married right, And their …

Where is the Morning – Mir Gul Khan Nasir

This poem is written in Hyderabad Central Jail by Mir Gul Khan Nasir, the premiere Baloch poet on the death of Sheik Mujib-ur-Rahman. Cries and shouts and hurried calls A colourblind crowd is celebrating They say, “It’s dawn” but when I look at life The dark, black night is in full swing Lighting strikes and …

Bahadur Shah Zafar’s Epitaph Written by Himself

My heart has no repose in this despoiled land Who has ever felt fulfilled in this futile world? The nightingale complains about neither the sentinel nor the hunter Fate had decreed imprisonment during the harvest of spring Tell these longings to go dwell elsewhere What space is there for them in this besmirched heart? Sitting …

Strange Fruit – Lewis Allan (Abel Meeropol)

A haunting couplet converted into a song. This talks about the lynching of Blacks in Southern USA. Southern trees bear strange fruit Blood on the leaves and blood at the root Black body swinging in the southern breeze Strange fruit hanging from the poplar trees. Pastoral scene of the gallant south The bulging eyes and …

The Tay Bridge Disaster – William Topaz McGonagall

Now ponder why he is called the wirst British Poet(actually he is a Scot) Beautiful Railway Bridge of the Silv’ry Tay! Alas! I am very sorry to say That ninety lives have been taken away On the last Sabbath day of 1879, Which will be remember’d for a very long time. ‘Twas about seven o’clock …

Lines on the Death of Chairman Mao – EJ Thribb

Written by E. J. Thribb (Age 17½), the fictional poet-in-residence for Private Eye. Actually written by Barry Fantoni. Actually, the style is unique. So. Farewell then Chairman Mao.   You are the Last of the Great revolutionary   Figures. You And I Had little in Common   Except that Like me You were a poet. …