Poetry

AFP photo

By

Fee Thomas

Stripped in the USA

Went to my local polling place to cast my vote

Woman there said, “sorry son, you missed the boat”

Saying my ID didn’t match my place of residence

SCOTUS just gave presedence

I thought it funny ’cause all around this land

Things are named from what dropped from my elders’ hand

Stripped in the USA!

Stripped in the USA!

The theys say they gotta stop voter fraud

All the while cheating in the name of God

I looky brother in the eye

Hard to not break down and cry

Hills of home calling me back

Brother unable to vote because he’s Black

Stripped in the USA!

Stripped in the USA!

Purging voter rolls left and right

I’m so angry, want to fight

Mom says, to keep calm

She’s a sage like a calming balm

Calling on ancestors to see me through

This is America, ain’t nothing new

Stripped in the USA!

Stripped in the USA!

Little Children

These little children we so casually lose

Speculatin’ about “They will be done’

Though we haven’t picked them up

Talkin’ about how our backs be hurt

Little things

We cannot see anyhow

Not comprehending

Each is Good

Fully in need of a lift

Coping With These Synapses

(A word about mental Illness)

What do they place in the mother’s arms immediately after labor

<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<except expectation<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

To grow, to think, to move, to act

But (or) not

A mother like mine

Me, the wondering non-stop

Instead, meddling about

Lost and bouncing

Avoiding the word “crazed” here on purpose

When the chemicals align not

Lines upon lines askew

Does this mean

My mother’s arms

Were empty?

Fee Thomas

Fee Thomas is an internationally published poet and activist from Minnesota. Her debut book Owning the Color Blue is available through Clare Songbirds Publishing House.