Let your anger boil like a volcano about to erupt.
Let your voice spread like ashes all over the country.
Let your words cause destruction to a world in need of change.
Because fuck, do we need change.
We’ve needed change from the very beginning.
And we will not settle.
I refuse to settle.
Will you refuse to settle?
Or will you allow these chains of white supremacy to continue to enslave you?
Slavery hasn’t been dead.
Never been dead.
Slavery’s just a shapeshifter that white people control, changing it into other forms, changing the name into incarceration and minimum wage labors for immigrants they continue to try to deport.
“Man, I’m used to this shit.”
“People will never change.”
Stop making excuses.
Stop being afraid.
Stop being oblivious.
Don't you realize that’s your privilege?
Being able to ignore these problems because they’re not affecting you directly.
Stop swimming in that privilege; you’re only drowning yourself in ignorance.
Stop apologizing for the shit they’ve done.
Stop forgiving when there hasn’t been improvement.
Sure, Laura didn’t ship your ancestors to America, but she’s benefiting from those actions.
She knows she benefiting.
But she doesn’t give a shit because giving a shit means losing her white superiority, and without that superiority, she knows she ain't shit.
And heaven forbid that.
Can’t have white people losing power.
Don’t you see?
They’ve made power synonymous with controlling people—with controlling you.
It shouldn’t have to be your job, my job, people of color’s job to educate them on their lack of consciousness, but still...
We stay preaching, overreaching, teaching, trying to change the world
When they don’t want to listen.
Then they complain about the volcanic acid when they’ve been fucking with a volcano that refuses to dormant.
Never be fucking dormant.
And let the revolution begin.
Wow. As my old friend Gary used to say, "boy howdy."
ReplyDeleteI like this opening:
"Let your anger boil like a volcano about to erupt.
Let your voice spread like ashes all over the country.
Let your words cause destruction to a world in need of change.
Because fuck, do we need change.
We’ve needed change from the very beginning.
And we will not settle.
I refuse to settle.
Will you refuse to settle?"
Also like the power of this:
"Slavery hasn’t been dead.
Never been dead.
Slavery’s just a shapeshifter that white people control, changing it into other forms, changing the name into incarceration and minimum wage labors for immigrants they continue to try to deport."
I have to say you'd be brilliant also at embedded the power of this political anger into poetry of witness. We're going to talk about it next week!
Same energy fueling slightly dialed-up seeing (over saying/ telling). I'll explain it in class next week.
Keep writing!
—kw
I have to agree with Mr. Weisner on this...
ReplyDeleteYour justified rage oozes over like lava...
Your words are Just as unrelenting and merciless,
Scorching and eating away the lie that racism is over... You're right, It's still present every time you open a newspaper and there's a blurb on the tv anchor who compared Michelle Obama to a Planet of the Apes character. When you walk down the street and see three cops surrounding one black man. getting pulled over because they saw chocolate hands on a steering wheel attached to a nice car in a 95125 area code...
We must continue to fight with our words... We must continue to not only "teach and preach" to white society, but also to our own people... To rebel our assigned stereotype by rising above the aggravating narrow minded ness, and receiving a higher education. Because A college diploma and a career is the Ultimate Revenge.
Absolutely brilliant...
Congrats on such a great piece!