I wrote these poems from the heart, because growing up a child of colour wasn’t easy and anyone who I’ve known will stand by that statement. There is bullying and the supervisors like the people at school who are supposed to trust and take care of you never did to me, they were never the nicest either. Continuing it wasn’t just at school or sports; I, as well as many others experience white privilege and racism every single day. It’s just appalling and I’m so glad that recently more and more people are coming forward about their experiences and injustices towards this topic and others are supporting them. It’s such an important topic to me and billions of other people around the world so I thought what better way to express that than through art in my poems.
Him
On Abby road south he stands
Facing east towards the sun.
Silenced, Lifless.
His voice, stolen.
His hands, taken.
His words jumbled.
He’s barely living
Just alive.
Not a tear
nor a cry
But how he got here?
The story is all told when you look into his eyes.
Her
Honey.
Candy.
Chocolate.
Fudge.
Her eyes?
A drop of sunlight
As gold as can be
Beautiful like honey
And Sweet like candy.
Candy.
Oh her sweet sweet smell,
Her embrace brings healing
And happiness as well.
Chocolate
Her flawless skin
So smooth
And dark
You can see in her eyes all the love in her heart.
Fudge tangled and tough
Like her curly hair up in a puff.
Oh sweet sweet love but that’s never enough.
She is sweet as can be but nobody takes the time to see the candy.
Who knows, maybe the world’s not as sweet as you see.
A walk in the park
It’s just a walk in the park,
It’s just a walk in the park.
The Park where my father died,
My mother, sisters, and brothers, too.
Grandma, grandpa, and their parents, our whole family though.
Killed?
Murdered?
Enslaved?
My father would tell.
All of us died here running away from hell.
Not the hell that you see
But the hell that I live
Every day, forever more
Over my dead of my kin.
All for what?
The colour of my skin.
Well ladies and gentlemen now.
Let our story begin.
Your headlight is out
Sir stop your headlights is out,
Grab your ID there’s nothing to worry about.
Keep your hands in sight
don’t move to sudden,
Don’t disobey
your life could end with a pull of a button.
Boom Pow
Your head swings back
After asking a question
What’s all this about.
Red, red, all I see is red,
Now I am laying here all but dead.
Sir stop your headlight is out
Now here.
THIS.
Is what I’m talking about.
Present
It’s the Present not the past,
2020 at last.
There’s no racism, sexisem, or anything vast.
Those ships have sailed, finished their tracks.
Well then why am I the one always being looked passed.
It’s my fault all my fault sir how can It be
He only looked in the glove box for his own ID.
Shot?
Dead?
How can this be?
It’s still the morning barley half past three
Fire
The fire.
Oh the fire in her eyes
after they told her
that her husband had died.
The flames,
The hurt,
Screams,
And cries.
Oh sudden they stop, as a bit of her dies.
Her hands tremble,
She’s weak in the knee.
Her hearts broken
How is this to be?
Days
Days weeks and years go by
And one after another all of us die.
Why do they get to walk on by
Their privilege? Their skin?
Im sorry were born in the world that were in,
But are you really too selfish to see only our skin
Or to look and find the power
to see what’s within?
We might surprise you with our love and devotion.
Until then try to give us a chance
It’s hard to live without even getting a glace
For college, jobs, and even life too.
You and me are the same
Through and through.
So why?
Why is it only my skin that matters to you.
War
BLACK LIVES MATTER!! BLACK LIVES MATTER!!
We chant yet you say we can’t
How dare we ask for freedom, how dare we speak for hope.
Equality is something you did revoke.
BANG BANG BANG BANG
Get back in line you say
You wouldn’t have shot us if we were thinking “okay”
What’s wrong with wanting equality
You blame it all on psychology
Well sir there is absolutely nothing wrong with me.
You put us all in pain
because you’re so vain.
We came here today to protest
We came here for peace
Then yet again someone else dies here next week?
We are not sick nor weak
Sir were to seek
the injustice you imbed on us whilst you sleep.
My Leader
My leader is my savior,
My love, and hope
My leader will never ever revoke .
He speaks with words of love
He’d never preach hate.
The lord and the heavens above
Watch us with a heart ache.
His children hating each other?
Because one thinks their skin is above the other?
Black, white, red, blue.
God loves all.
So should you.
Happily ever after
Happily ever after they say.
From fighting to dying we pray everyday
But our happily ever after is still far away.
But until then we’ll keep our emotions at bay
And keep fighting and fighting until we see the day
When our happily ever after is not far away
And even then we’ll keep fighting
until it’s near
When the days of equality are FINALLY here.
•
Susannah Faith Morris