Color Outside The Lines

Posted byChristine BoltonPosted inBlog, HistoryTags:, , , ,

Color Outside The Lines

We breathe the same air
and bleed the same blood
You see what I see
It sticks in your craw
and we will disagree
 
Your skin is light
And mine is dark
Our pigments differing
Geography determined
Tempers simmering
 
The Mighty Whitey
Ruled the roost
We lived under your thumb
Fearing the whip
Taken from whence we come
 
We still pay the price
For not being like you
We melt in the same pot
Freedom long since coming
We still ain’t got what you got
 
 
Christine Bolton - Poetry for Healing ©

Anmol (alias Ha) is hosting D’Verse Poets
tonight.  we are celebrating Black History Month
and he has prompted us to write a poem either
using one that he suggested or one of our choosing.

I was inspired by the following
Langston Hughes Poem

"Poet to Bigot"

I have done so little
For You
And you have done so little
For me
That we have good reason
Never to agree

I, however,
Have such meagre
Power,
Clutching at a
Moment
While you control
An hour

But your hour is
A stone

My moment
is a flower

Image by geir fløde from Pixabay 

Published by Christine Bolton

I have been writing poetry since I was a child and it has helped in the good times and bad times. I am always looking within to find the answers to life's problems and to write thought-provoking poetry and prose. Thanks for checking it out. Christine

28 thoughts on “Color Outside The Lines”

    1. Thank you Lisa. I should give you the credit for speaking out. Your beautiful poem touched me deeply. If only we were all color blind.

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  5. The title of your poem is a clever play on every adult’s admonition to a child, Christine, and the poem is a powerful reminder of the fact that racism is ever-present, especially in the lines:
    ‘We melt in the same pot
    Freedom long since coming
    We still ain’t got what you got’.

    Like

    1. Thank you so much Kim. Sadly it is ever-present. Sometimes if is just below the surface but right now it is brazenly displayed by political leaders.

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    1. I love his work. With his writing he had the ability to draw you deep into his own mind and experience what he was experiencing.

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  8. Pingback: Color Outside The Lines – Poetry For Healing | The Reluctant Poet

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