while comedians who look like us
perform like house-negro clowns
in stand-up routines
puttin' our sistahs down
makin' jokes out of slavery
mockin' our struggles of the here and now
….
do you think Omowale would have nothin' to say
about these slaves in their master's house
and these singers and rappers sellin' out
for jewelry, limos, and fame
collectin' the money
while dodgin' their share of the blame
for the chaos and earth
their lyrics have helped maintain"
'Prowess' is a beautiful poetic tribute to tennis champions Venus and Serena Williams, perhaps the best writing in the collection. However, Mondo's purity of African consciousness adds a critical footnote. "Written before these sisters lost an appreciation of the wooly hair that Mother Africa endowed them with, before they began mutilating (straightening) their hair and Europeanizing themselves in other ways."
