On the day after election,
My church friends sent to me,
An in-box of distasteful jokes,
Sent with God-fearing glee.
Their punchlines were as vulgar,
As their dull minds could produce.
Fried chicken, niggers, welfare checks,
Watermelons and a noose.
The church is very clear -
I'm not permitted to condemn.
I still believe in God,
But I do not believe in them.
Author notes
I had the good fortune to read this poem in second grade. It changed the way I saw everything, and still does to this day.
From the book "Color" (c) 1925
"Incident" by Countee Cullen
Once riding in old Baltimore,
Heart-filled, head-filled with glee,
I saw a Baltimorean
Keep looking straight at me.
Now I was eight and very small,
And he was no whit bigger,
And so I smiled, but he poked out
His tongue, and called me "Nigger."
I saw the whole of Baltimore
From May until December;
Of all the things that happened there
That's all that I remember.
In a list
A contest entry
- Racism and its effects.PWs allowed by Misskaoz.
650 points, ended November 5, 20 entries
• next poem in this contest, remove from contest
Comments
1 - 9 of 9
-
Great Write and I like how you put shit on the table. Especially about the church where you can always find much hypocrisy. I enjoyed the rhyme and flow and am glad I got a chance to read it. Thanks for entering and Good luck
-
The messengers no longer delivering
the message as intended,
but have corrupted it to the point
of hatred, not love.
A bold piece, words needing to be said.
Kudos!!!
M-C
-
-
Thank you. A poem I didn't want to have to write.
Your comments are always so poetic, sometimes I think I should cut and paste your comments into the poem section, and post the poem as a comment! -
-
Started out that way----
on another site---comments on someone's blog
treasfered over to the poems' area as the thought
of the day. Terrible software there---a glitch happened
over a year and a half ago---everything strung out in
one line---unless double spaced. Checked back recently--
still doing it!! blessings to AP!!!
My return to poetic expression was prompted
by an Underground Poetry section on a fan board--
now just a home away from home for a few of us!
At one time---everyday conversation in poetic form!!
Encourages not being so serious--or concerned---about
the form, but in the expression of the thought.
You do both so well.
Thanks for the cut and paste thought!!!! Smiling!
-
-
-
ouch
Your poem and the one your sharing both carry a hammer .
Your verse speaks of the hypocracy found in church and is also why I find God within instead. You use good irony to underline your message. What I think is brilliant here is this line.....
"I'm not permitted to condemn"
These words point out the major hypocracy by specifying .."permitted" rather than saying...the church teaches...
Love the pen in this one. good write!
-
The day after the election
Your poem made me uncomfortable, as indeed it should . a reminder in colourful examples of the hatred that ignorance can breed.The noose suddenly reminded me of a very powerful song, by Nina Simone , called Strange Fruit.
Sadly the Church can put a stamp of approval upon cruelty. A place where Love is taught but with conditions.
The N word as far as I understand is still felt painfully sharply by members of the Black Community when used by people who are not black.A word carrying such a history of hatred , predjudice cannot,surely be scrubbed clean.It can carry memories past and present.
Thank you for posting your poem and that of Countee Cullen
Keep on keeping on
Rhygirl60 -
A distant episode with a huge impact
This is the first poem that I have read that was written by Countee Cullen.Thank you Uncle Dunk.The last line gave me the shivers. One of the reasons for writing poetry, it has affected Countee and will I hope still move people to more positive thoughts of their fellow man. I too will now have a an extra special memory of Baltimore, as well as that my mother G-d rest her soul was born in Johns Hopkin ,but came over to Merseyside as a little girl in the 1920's.
To read of man' s inhumanity to his fellow man can produce remarkable changes if the words fall on receptive ears and a caring heart .Some of my earliest poetry was about the Holocaust 1930s to mid 1940s
I will recommend this poem to many.
Rhygirl
-
I can see where the inspiration came from in this. In the original, one small incident changed that persons thinking for life and had a dramatic effect on them.
This is a good. concise poem and thank you for your AN.
Sue
x
-
now really I know you were worried about this upsetting someone but truthfully I didn't see anything that was all that horrible in this... just one slightly objectionable word... "niggers" but to be honest I am not all that upset with the word since I keep hearing the colored peopel I work with constantly call each other that.
Anyway, I did like this write. Well done. And your Ap at least explains why you wrote what you did.
Adding your comment:
1 - 9 of 9
