Little Ladies Keep Your Head Down—Work
Hard—Don’t Ask For a Raise
dig deep what’s
on your mind
Halloween is the
next holiday
goose
bumps on my flesh
on the news equal
pay called a gimmick
by the GOP
mostly
fat white guys in suits
perhaps the idea of equal pay a
hypnotizing tease
head of microsoft while speaking to
a women’s conference
let
Karma give women a raise
uniform response
not good
he is supposed to be the guy with
the brains
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
Beautiful Young Black Men
what do they have to look forward to no jobs nowhere to go
do
not pass GO
go
straight to jail
hang on the street
play
pool
Sell a little get by drink liquor
no where to go stick
a needle in the flesh
your son and mine ring a chicken by the neck
it’s a part of the machine close the
schools
build
prisons
we real cool Gwendolyn
Brooks tells us
we got brains but
no trains
it is torture to
be born beautiful young and black
we die soon
we die soon
October 11, 2014
Note: Yes, I think women and minorities are tired of this old song.
12 comments:
I am tried of police killing our children, and women beging paid less than men for the same work!
Me too! This history has so lasted too long! Patriarchal hegemony has to end somewhere. Maybe women should be in charge world wide. At least we value life and quality of life. And peace! Love this style and organization of your write. Each verse is co dependent but independent.
I agree!
A fantastic write. Great topics. The second is especially poignant. "It is torture to be born young beautiful and black / we die soon". Intriguing layout, Annell. It really lends movement to the poem.
A powerful piece Annell...the form of it seemed like a pattern...like one of your paintings..and in a way the life of not being allowed 'in' does follow a scatter pattern that you can't see until you are outside or gone ..sadly
The scattered words on the page - although at first glance distracting actually focus in as images flashing through the mind - and vivid images they are in a powerful piece
Someday, we hope, there will be no more need for the song. Until then, the singing of it is necessary. We dare not forget. (I like all the space in these poems. It give me room to move around in.)
Whirling with Alberto
Unusual. I found the patterns of words actually as punctuation. Nice.
Love your style, Annell...and talking about TV news....I donated my TV.....but good of you to support the women and minorities, I'm with you! xx
Ah but Karma will get that guy back, in the next life - he will be woman. The second poem is just heartbreaking.
Annell, I love how you wrote this. It reads perfectly and the second one is my favourite. Also, thanks for the heads up on Stanley Kunitz. Hugs to you.
Pamela ox
You remind me that the Women's Movement was a direct result of the Civil Rights Movement. Love your form...it moves and the mind moves with it. Gwendolyn Brooks spoke for so many of us.
Elizabeth
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