I Ain't

Inspired by Dr. Chinua Achebe

I ain’t got limbs,

But I’m a successful writer;

I ain’t got feet,

And I’m the world’s fastest runner;

I ain’t got skills, ya’ll

But I am an inventor of dimensions;

I ain’t got brains,

But I am Albert Einstein;

I ain’t got ears,

But I’m Ludwig Van Beethoven;

I ain’t got a dime,

But I’m the richest dude who ever lived.

I’m keeping my head up;

I ain’t ever giving up.

I’m tied to Destiny’s apron

This is coming straight outta the cauldron.

Ain’t got no monument erected in my name,

But I’m sure as heck making history.

I ain’t got noble blood seeping thro’ my veins

But I am royalty.

Measuring my actions

With a surgeon’s precision,

As mysterious as the eclipse,

Total like the finality of the apocalypse.

I ain’t got a face to save,

But I am a respectable personality;

I ain’t free,

But I’m a Pilgrim making stunning Progress;

I ain’t got no inspiration,

But I’m spitting poetry like Shakespeare;

I ain’t got no vision,

But my every breath fulfils a dream.

I got stranger convictions

Than the condemned with his head thro the noose,

Of better things in store:

Ignoring challenges conditions

And practically striving to even the score.

I ain’t got balls,

But I’m battling lions three times my size;

I ain’t got no locus,

But I’m situated and ready to roll;

Taking up challenges

One step at a time,

This fella gonna hit it big in his prime.

Emancipate myself from aggression,

Set my sights on redemption,

It’s time to make some changes around here.

Step out on his flyness, that’s me

As I charge the atmosphere.

I got no nuclear war heads

But I rule the world, nevertheless;

I ain’t got no strategy,

But I’m confounding adversaries from all angles;

I ain’t got strong biceps

But the worlds strapped over my shoulder;

I ain’t got no incentive,

Still I rise steady above status quo;

I’m trapped. I ain’t got a way of escape

But lookit here, I found Aladdin’s lamp.

Destiny’s child is who I be-

Descendant of a royal pedigree.

I ain’t got no sight of eyes,

But I’m putting finishing touches to my Paradise Lost.

I am the African antelope,

And this is my jungle.

My antlers positioned like periscopes

Always on alert for any rumble.

Danger is my beat,

Ducking hunter’s bullets and I’m dancing.

I’ve learned that when I believe in who I am

I’d never have to underestimate who I ain’t,

Or stand in the way of what I can

…or can’t.

Akpan

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I Am

I am the prince of Egypt

And this is the slaying of the Egyptian.

I am Mahatma Ghandi

And this is the revolution of the Indians.

I am Oliver Twist

I dare ask for more.

I am Mount Everest

Standing tall with the clouds in my hair.

I am Sizwe Bansi

This is King Williams Towm.

I am Steven Barnes

And this The Great Sky Woman;

I am John Bunyan

Visualize this Pilgrim’ Progress.

I am Ludwig Van Beethoven

And this here’s my 5th Symphony.

I am Will Smith

I am Legend.

I am Nostradamus

And this is tomorrow.

I am MLK

With big dreams to never stop being free.

I am Homer

And this is the Iliad;

I am Nelson Mandela

This is the unconditionally free South Africa!

I am MJ

I am off the wall.

I am Jane Taylor

Twinkle, twinkle I’m a star!

I am John Milton

No sweat. This is Paradise Regained.

I am Christopher Columbus

This is the New World.

I am Maya Angelo

And Still I Rise

I am a firefly

And this is the darkest of night.

I am Miriam Makeba

And this is Aluta Continua.

I am 2pac,

I was born not to make it but I did!

I am William Wordsworth

And this child is father of the man.

I am Gulliver

And this is Lilliput.

I am Charles Dickens

And this is the story of Copperfield.

I am Achebe;

I thrive as Things Fall Apart.

I am Luther Vandross

Stealing one final dance with my father.

I am the Trojan horse

Within is an arsenal to capture a fortified city.

I am Abe Lincoln

And this is the Proclamation of Emancipation.

I am Mungo Park

This is the stretch of the Niger.

I am the Magi

And this is the cradle in a manger.

I am Hamlet:

To be or not to be?

I am the Shepherd boy;

Give me five smooth rocks and I’ll slay a giant.

I am Arthur

And this is Excalibur.

I am Wole Soyinka

I am the pride of the Jewel.

I am Tananarive Due

And this is My Soul to Keep.

I am Negro;

The whole world is African soil.

I am Napoleon Bonaparte

I came, I saw, I conquered.

I am Tupac Amaru Shakur;

Sheez, it’s just Me Against the World.

I am Terry McMillan

This is how I got my groove back.

I am Stephen King:

And this is The Stand.

Akpan