please keep in mind
as you prepare to pass sentence
you may at some time be
in need of a presidential pardon
and I may, understandably, be
reluctant to grant it.
Dennis Brutus is a South African poet. Active against Apartheid, he was arrested in 1963 and imprisoned for 18 months on Robben Island. After his release, he became a political refugee in the United States. Today he is based at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, engaged in poetry and activism against all forms of oppression and exploitation. The Centre for Civil Society circulates a Dennis Brutus poem every day. If you want to get a Brutus poem a day, subscribe to the Debate list at lists.kabissa.org/mailman/listinfo/debate.