Controversial Poem About Obama Called "Of Our Negro Saviour" Read At San Francisco State University

Peter Reynosa’s poem “Of Our Negro Saviour” was recently read and discussed by him for the Political Science Student Assocaition at San Francisco State university. The poem, which is about President Obama, both is praising of Obama and quite critical of him. “I tried to write a poem explaining why people both love and hate him and do it in a fair way,” Reynosa said. “And I especially tried at the beginning of the poem to convey how his coming was such a thing of hope for people traditionally not in power.” He does this with such sentences as: “Ancient Grecian slaves and exotic-faraway Slav-serfs and / Columbus-shackled ebony-skinned souls rejoice! / For the untouchable, time immemorial exploited-oppressed / Man of no choice now be a redeeming-triumphant voice!”

Asked if he thought the title might seem racially charged, he said: “I chose the word negro because I thought it a beautiful word. Martin Luther King, Jr. used it many times in his famous speech and the poets Langhston Hughes and Gwendolyn Brooks also used it in their poetry. And I used the word saviour because to many he is almost like a saviour.” And then Reynosa stressed: “There will be no Gwen Stefani mea culpas for not being politically correct. I knew exactly what I was doing.”

Stanza two praises Obama for his caring for those who are unemployed, without medical care, without power, but it also praises him for seeking peace with the Muslims. And yet, when he says: “—-Yet, still willing to be Satanic blasphemous butcher without / Moral qualms when Visigoth-barbarian unholy priests / Evoke civilisation’s most ignoble of wrongs” he says he is giving Obama praise for being willing to use military force to fight terrorism.

Reynosa says people who do not believe in big government or socialism will love stanza three. “Stanza three is where I am very critical of Obama for his reckless deficit spending, expansion of government control over our economic lives, and for his severely limiting our capitalistic ways by constant governmental intrusion.”

And in stanza four Reynosa  also warns against those “who cowardly pine for secular Mahdis and earthly Messiahs” who would save us. And he also warns against those who give their leaders too much power, “Never realising how Beast-Daemons become godlings of horrible / Reign when all forget that mortals be inevitable folly of / Cain and verily sinners Nature ordained.”

He put up fifty posters on the campus announcing the event. And he described the reading of the poem and a discussion of it as a very positive thing. “I had a good reception. And it was a great experience.”

And here is the poem in its entirety

.

OF  OUR  NEGRO  SAVIOUR

When Gaia-world be writhing in chaos-tragedy of Thirty Years’

   War strife and teetering on moneyed holocaust that

      Threatens all vulgar-material life:

It be at such frail eras and eons that men childishly long and women

   Fawningly desire for heroism to awaken and be personified in

      Chosen King-squire who shalt save sacred bleeding Empire.

Hail our brother-son who comes from savage-enlightened Mother

   Africa’s womb, forged like a god from Heaven’s Ethiope,

      Bringing us priceless-precious longed for jewel-hope,

         That be as treasured as Catholicism’s faith-rope

            That emanates from most virginal Pope.

Ancient Grecian slaves and exotic-faraway Slav-serfs and

   Columbus-shackled ebony-skinned souls rejoice!

For the untouchable, time immemorial exploited-oppressed

   Man of no choice now be a redeeming-triumphant voice!

O wise Odin be exalted and praised for being torchbearer

   In these most godlessly darkest of climes,

And for championing valorous social justice and gallant ideals of

   Egalitarianism that go beyond Philistine reason or rhyme.

Our Father’s compassion and care for those without power and might,

   And for the voiceless without honourable labour or Hippocrates’s

      Words of recite, prove those not born of divine height be oft

         Better princes than monarchs of Destiny’s plight.

Vigilantly defending-protecting frontiers with Hannibal bravery whilst

   Seeking Christian-hearted peace with the sons of Mahomet as he

      Tries to be Solomon betwixt Palestine-Judah’s ill-fated comet.

──Yet, still willing to be Satanic blasphemous butcher without

   Moral qualms when Visigoth-barbarian unholy priests

      Evoke civilisation’s most ignoble of wrongs.

So make pillars and pyramids and temples and pylons galore, for

   Our panther-hearted warrior truly be Pantheon-laudable

      And throng-worthy of tumultuous roar.

Yet, Jupiter-hero be reckless wastrel and squanderer of society’s finite

   Gold, and his wilful ignorance of Puritan thrift coupled with his

      Self-blindness of borrowing bold may one day foretold the

         Catastrophic return yet of Hapsburg Spain’s

            Collapsing bankruptcy debt.

To fight the Scylla-monster of poverty and always-expanding public

   Want and need, our potentate conjures up Hydra-creature of

      Coercion with tentacles that hungrily feed──and

         Voraciously-prolifically everywhere breed.

For the kindness-benevolence of Caesar’s most charitable of deeds,

   Always comes by cruelest sabre with repressing-trampling

      Steed even as Rajah soothingly entices and seduces

         By commonwealth’s betterment creed.

──And so take heed ever watchful gladiators of society free

   Of those sovereigns who would impale Venetian

      Commerce for subject and thee:

For economic liberty be castrated by virtuous glee of Republic’s

   Gentle-gradual, necessary-noble silent banshee.

Yes, curse the wretches to Tartarus who cowardly pine for secular Mahdis

   And earthly Messiahs to extinguish life’s anguishing terror-pain,

Never realising how Beast-Daemons become godlings of horrible

   Reign when all forget that mortals be inevitable folly of

      Cain and verily sinners Nature ordained.

──Still, who be with life and journey through Her Hellish of being, tenderly-

   Motherly accept why so many thirst for a deity-saint of foreseeing to

      Come forth with salvation of world-weary freeing.

And so blessed be our much-sought angel-goddesses and glorious demigods:

   We give spirit-felt thanks for thy presence and admire thy travelings

      Amongst our earth-ruins and most soiled of sod.