Dying voices...
There are stories of despair that are never shared,
Words unheard are enveloped in the tears shed.
Gratitude goes to the rain,
The showers of heaven conceal our cries and blanket our shame.
Our voices are heard when life ends;
Our lips move when graves demand sad songs to be sung.
We are quiet when life is in progress,
Enemies of progress say the sounds we utter yield nothing but problems.
So, we borrowed a language from our bodies
To speak in gestures.
We fear what happened to a black boy.
During daylight, he tried to be an advocate of black pain.
In the morning, he was an injured bird crawling on the prison floor.
He died while waiting for an advocate.
Only an invoice is a magnet to the voice he was waiting for.
Urgent attention is paid to pay-checks;
The world is deaf to the screams of poor boys.
The poor have lost hope in the promises of the flag.
Their pain is thrown into the fog,
And their voices are chained in the backyard like my neighbour’s dog.
The leaders have forgotten their voices.
As they rose to power,
Community disappeared at the top of their tower.
Their voices turned into markets that sell lies.
Dear black boy,
We have no flowers for your grave but an oath;
Our voices will rise from the low valleys.
They will claim power and proclaim healing for the forsaken.
About this poem
Through exploring untold stories of injustice and hopelessness in our community, I convey the black experience. I highlight the fight for recognition and a voice in the face of institutional oppression and societal indifference by using vibrant words and strong imagery. A black youngster who was let down by a system of neglect is the subject of a poem that mourn the loss of voices silenced by power struggles and profit-driven ambitions. Yet it also conveys a message of tenacity and determination, promising to take back control and give voice to the voiceless while pursuing justice and healing in the face of adversity. more »
Written on July 11, 2023
Submitted by asiphenicholasfeni on April 28, 2024
- 1:20 min read
- 49 Views
Quick analysis:
Scheme | XXAXXXXXBX CADXDXXXXXXEEX CXBX |
---|---|
Closest metre | Iambic hexameter |
Characters | 1,301 |
Words | 267 |
Stanzas | 3 |
Stanza Lengths | 10, 14, 4 |
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"Dying voices..." Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 20 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/187273/dying-voices...>.
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