Poets: We Stand Our Ground
I have come to believe over and over again that what is most important to me must be spoken, made verbal and shared, even at the risk of having it bruised or misunderstood.~Aude Lorde
Poetry is political. It is controversial. If we fail to tackle the issues of our day as a community, then we're failing our world and ourselves. Brian, it's been more than a week. For many, the injustice has not become old news.
In rememberance of Trayvon Martin, we stand our ground. We stand in opposition. We continue the struggle to remove the bullseye off our children's backs.
Your silence will not protect you. ~ Audre Lorde
Below is a short list of works in response to the Zimmerman verdict.
Guilty, Not
Susan
A poem after Tisha b'Av
WATER FROM THE SOURCE
Velveteen Rabbi
Not Yet
Mama Zen
I Stand My Ground with my words
Amy
A love letter from a gun to a hoodie
lola mouse
Conscious lies
Dr. Pearl Ketover Prilik
Lobster Boil
LaTonya
At Black and Gray, you will get politics, controversy, love, anger and loss. This blog respresents the spectrum of my life and my views. My views are biased. I respect your right to share your honest and candid views as well. I welcome debate and difference. One requirement: Focus on message. Do not attack the messenger. We don't have to agree to have intelligent discourse.
What has moved you? Incited you? What matters to you? Drop a link to your blog or others.
Blog for change,
L
LaTonya, I am humbled by the inclusion of my poem on this list. I will link these poems and also get you any others I find.
ReplyDeleteThe senseless violence in our country comes from fear: Fear that "they" will take over; fear that if I don't have a gun, I won't be the hero at the next school shooting; fear that one is impotent in the face of others' violence.
Until we get down to dialog, until we "turn our swords into plowshares," we, as a nation and a world, are threatened with self-annihilation. As for me and my house, we choose love.
Amen, Amy
i love a good political poem.
ReplyDeletei still havent really written on this
as i am still processing. most of what i have read is pure emotion
which can make for great poetry but poor logic, like this crying
out for justice, while at the same time preaching anger and hate
or twisting the facts to make it more dramatic
of course no one holds poets to facts or expects it
it is perspectives.
i am saddened a boy lost his life
i think we have an over abundance of guns in our country
i think violence should be the last answer
i think we have a system we have helped create
and until we are ready to make the significant changes
in order to really change it, we have to point the finger
at ourselves as much as anyone.
I don't write good political poems, but we write a lot of bad poetry, because we write. We get better with practice.
DeleteYou make valid points, Brian. Collectively we have created this society and our actions, our decisions. I don't think calling for justice or assigning blame exists in a vacuum. I think we create the diaglog. I don't think we can make changes if we're silent. Solutions don't magically appear so without having all the answers, we can still talk. I'm glad you're at the table.
Thank you for including my poem with these other awesome poems! We do need to discuss these issues, not attack each other. Peace.
ReplyDeleteThank you for sending me this list and including me on it. Many many years ago I was part of a theatre company called This River of Women (title from Susan Griffin's Women and Nature: The Roaring Inside Her) which created a dramatic piece for the Women's Encampment for a Future of Peace and Justice called "It's Better to Speak"--title from the Audre Lorde poem you quoted above!
ReplyDelete