A Collection of poems by Author and Poet, Saleem Little. Includes, previews, interviews, and more. Saleem little is the author of Get In, Get Out, Crying for Tears, Gold, Oil and Drugs, and more. Asili (pronounced ah-SEE-lee) is a Swahili term meaning origin, source, essence, natural, indigenous. It can also mean the fundamental principal of a culture. It is not cognitive, it is metaphysical.