For Walter Rodney 
Assassins of conversation
they bury the voice
they assassinate, in the beloved
grave of the voice, never to be silent.
I sit in the presence of rain
in the sky’s wild noise
of the feet of some who
not only, but also, kill
the origin of rain, the ankle
of the whore, as fastidious
as the great fight, the wife
of water. Risker, risk.
I intend to turn a sky
of tears, for you
– Martin Carter
Martin Carter’s Diaries
28/10/63
“The alchemists sought to find the philosopher’s stone which would transmute base metals into gold. Guyanese society contains that which transmutes anything of value into base matter.