Sonny's Lettah
This poem is written in the form of a letter from the speaker, Sonny, to his mother. It begins with Sonny's address to his mother, and a greeting. Sonny hopes that the letter finds his mother well. He begins the real content of the letter by stating that he is not sure how to reveal this information to his mother, because she had promised her that he would take care of Jim and keep an eye on him. He says he did try his best, but that Jim got arrested and he is sorry that happened. Sonny then recounts the events of little Jim's arrest. It happened in the middle of the day, during the rush hour when everyone was busy trying to get home before the evening rain. Sonny and Jim were standing at the bus stop, waiting for it. Sonny claims they were not making any trouble or misbehaving, but suddenly a police van arrived on scene. Three policemen exit the van, each with a baton, and come straight up to them.
One policemen takes hold of Jim and tells him that they are taking him to the station. Jim denies being a thief and claims he has done nothing wrong, asking the policeman to let him go. He begins trying to free himself from the grasp of the policemen, but they simply laugh at him. Sonny then tells his mother that he will tell her what they did to Jim, and he repeats this twice.
Sonny's account o the policemen's actions goes like this: they hit him in the stomach, on the back and in the ribs. They hurt his head and his seed and he starts to bleed. Sonny claims he couldn't just stand there without doing anything, so he hits one policemen in the eye, which causes them to start crying, he hits one in the mouth and they shout out, he kicks one policeman in the chin and the shin. He falls to the ground and dies.
More policemen come along and beat Sonny to the ground. They charge Jim as a suspect, but charge Sonny with murder. Sonny ends his letter with a plea to his mother not to be sad or worried but to take courage. He expects to hear from her. He ends the letter by stating that he is still her son, Sonny.
If I Woz a Tap-Natch Poet
Johnson begins this poem by repeating the title, creating a hypothetical situation where he is a leading poet. He then lists three poets he considers to be 'tap-natch:' Chris Okigbo, Derek Walcott and T.S. Eliot. He writes, that if this situation were true, and he was like these poets, he would write a really deep poem that resembles a memory, that makes people cry when they read it and leaves a gap in you so you no longer feel complete. He describes this incomplete feeling as when your lover leaves you and you are defeated, yet you plead with them and the music has stopped, even if you get them to come back.
Johnson says that in the meantime, while this hypothetical situation isn't true, he will write with his own rhythm, rhyme scheme, bass line foundation and timing. He says poets must step into line, and that Bootahlazy has a couple thousand, but Mandella has thousands more suporters.
Johnson then continues the hypothetical situation, where he is a leading poet, but he gives different examples of who he considers to be such poets: Kamau Brathwaite, Martin Carter, Jayne Cortez and Amiri Baraka. In this sense he would write a rude poem, which makes the other poets jealous. It would resemble a chanting slave song from older times, but everyone could recite it, including his grandmother. He repeats his statement then, that in the meantime he will use his own skills to write poems, remarking the thousands Mandela has compared to Bootahlazy yet again.
Finally, Johnson continues the hypothetical situation once again, naming Tchikaya U'tamsi, Nicholas Guillen and Lorna Goodison as 'tap-natch poet[s]' this time. If this situation were true in his mind, Johnson would write a beautifully simple poem, much like a smart girl who is simple and nice, with a sexy disposition a nice smile and subtlety in her style. Johnson bursts out of this ideal by regarding himself as similar to an ape, writing as a black writer, but receiving no recognition because he holds no authenticity in the world of writing. He says that no one at all regards his writing style, his rhythm, rhyme, base line or timing, and again he mentions the thousands of supporters Mandela has compared to Bootahlazy.
Di Great Insohreckshan
Johnson sets the scene, in April 1981, in the ghetto of Brixton. The talking and chatting there caused a lot of friction, and so an insurrection was sparked. It spread across the nation and was an historically significant event. It was, in fact, the biggest event of the year, and Johnson says he wishes he could have been there. He collectively refers to those involved as 'we,' including himself in the events. They run around Brixton causing havoc, destroying police vans, and Swap 81, but Johnson questions what result this really had. He then answers his own question saying it is to make the rulers understand that they will take no more oppression. When Johnson listens on the grape vine in the ghetto, he hears that every rebel is talking about taking back the power, the glory, the burning, the looting, the smashing and grabbing, the vanquish and, finally, the victory.
He notes that they say the babbling has went too far and so what (his reasoning runs) if they burnt a car, and two innocent people get hurt? It is part of the war. They say that they burned the George and they could have burned the land, but they never burned the land. Johnson remarks that in the ghetto they say that when they run riot in Brixton and destroy police cars etc. as mentioned before, that they commandeer care and get ammunition in response, causing them to send scouts out to ensure their safety and find out more about this retaliation. They take part in a raid then. The police plan a counter-action with water-guns.
