Haki R. Madhubuti on knowledge

to know is to be

to be and not know is not to be

to know and not know that you know is not to know

to know and not be is not to know

to know is to be

Life Poems (no.6)

 

many people fear knowledge

knowledge stimulates change and most people fear change

to acquire knowledge is to grow

to grow is to change

growth without knowledge is not growth

growth with knowledge leads towards wisdom

there are few wise people in our time

Life Poems (no.21)

 

to know nothing is a statement of negative being

to know nothing speaks to a condition of uselessness

to know nothing puts one at the mercy

of those who know

Life Poems (no.27)

 

Madhubuti , R. Haki . “Life Poems”.  Liberation Narratives: New and collected Poems 1966-2009. Chicago: Third World Press, 2009. 167-198. Print