REVENGE- BY MARCUS GARVEY

Revenge

Not yesterday, but centuries long,
The Romans hated all of Negro blood,
For Hannibal did slay the crew,
As Carthage marched to martial song.
Again Adowa made them halt,
When Menelik did crush them low:
He proved the Blacks were timely men-
The heroes still without a fault.

But Italy kept crying out,
And longed for day of victory:
With Mussolini, courage came,
To fight to win without a doubt:
They used the weapons not allowed,
And took advantage as they went:
They crushed Selassie’s mighty host
With Blacks Badoglio followed.

The Blacks shall come together now,
And they shall blast the way again:
Revenge is sweet! the Romans say;
Revenge! is on the Black Man’s brow.
0 sing the song of Carthage, great,
0 sing the song of Afric’, free:
The day will come to win again,
And pass to Italy her fate.

No man shall stop the moving throng
That goes to snatch the victory:
The world has bled the Black Man’s heart,
And downed him, too, with all the wrong.
Come now and go in vision clear,
Right up to good Adowa’s mount,
And let Italians ever feel
The dash of weapons in their rear.

If not on Ethiopian land,
Go, follow them where’er they go:
Join English, French or Russian, too,
And all together strike the band-
That band of Roman renegades-
Blood-thirsty men of Fascist’s creed;
With Mussolini as their head
They’ll die by gas and hot grenades.

Revenge is all! it’s written there,
And Blacks will ne’er forget the call:
Like gods of old, let’s live on high,
And each one dream of glory, fair.
The Rome of sin shall fall again,
As Addis rise toward the sun;
So pledge your word to sacred trust
And hurl Italians to the plain.

(by marcus garvey -1937)