Poem Retrospective 3


Considering that life is fleeting
and years are flying by fast
better post poems I’ve written
before I breathe my last


The following poem was written the day after President Barack Obama was elected the first time.

The Arrows of White Privilege

By Victoria Marie (November 5, 2008)

People of colour, close friends
Empathy, proclaimed
Yet, Joy unshared
Bring arrows of pain
To understand let us
Go back and see
What this old black woman
Saw as a child on TV

Policemen with dogs and hoses
Attack my people huddled
In defensive poses
Angry white crowds shouting, enraged
Because black children with theirs being schooled
While soldiers surround the black children
Protecting their right to what the Supreme Court ruled
Three young men missing, murdered
For helping Black people register to vote
With no one brought to justice
Until 30 years later, a sad footnote

Obama’s election, no big deal to you
Full citizenship has always been your right
However, for people of colour, sometimes
Just to stay sane is a fight
“You can grow up to be president”
They tell us in school, but black students face
The constricting clarifying message
“President, not people of your race.”
So you see, it’s not that he will
Make all the nation’s problems go away
But millions of Black Americans
Full citizenship became reality that November day

Poem Retrospective 4

Poem Retrospective 2 


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