The Black Freedom Seed

The seed of Black freedom, was planted

Long before it was acknowledged

That all men are indeed created equal.

But it was planted in the desert,

It was watered only by raindrops

Which came only within 10 inches a year.

It yearned for rain

All it could,

When the rain finally came

It stored the drops

In its roots,

So, it could survive

The germination process.

 

Was it a test of strength then?

Since the beginning that

It had to prove itself

Worthy, to be

Accepted by the majority?

 

But still,

A desert stays a desert

So, it knew that it had to reign

Deeming the fact that

It survived

And grew into a tree.

It felt that it was absolutely necessary

To reach everybody.

For that, if one isn’t free

Then none are free.

For that, if one’s deemed unequal,

then none are equal.

 

Was its view simply a miracle,

That it wasn’t the kind

to survive the hard burn

Of the desert, but it did?

 

Well, it understood

The pressure growing from its roots

That it had to make it out.

So, it adapted to the climate

With hope that its fruit

Would be tasted.

Its fruit would be tasted

By all humans.

 

But not long after,

Its trunks were cut to the ground

Aggressively.

“HOW DARE YOU GROW ON MY LAND?”

They were so offended

And felt that

It needed to be eliminated!

They thought it was the last

They would ever see of its kind…

 

But they failed to realize

That the roots

Of the black freedom tree

run deep in the ground:

That no chainsaw

Can remove it completely,

That no burn

Can destroy it completely,

That no deserted conditions

Can stop it from growing.

 

The seed of black freedom

Produced freedom heroes

The seed of black freedom produced

You and Me.

The seed of freedom

Produced the Legend Dr. King!

 

We are here

Celebrating his legacy

And living his dreams

Wouldn’t he be smiling down

Seeing… How are we now?

 

Look how far we’ve come:

From the inspiration of nonviolence,

With the determination for justice

And at last we can taste

The fruit of freedom-

But may I say

It tastes bittersweet.

It tastes bittersweet

Because

My brother who is across from me

Is captured in an invisible chain

Can’t taste it.

And I am so blinded

By the flash of fake smiles

That I fail to realize it.

 

It tastes bittersweet

Because my sister who walks past me

Every morning

Spent the last hours crying

And, when I looked at her

She flashed me a smile

The pain was evident in her eyes

And she felt too ashamed

To voice it out.

 

So please…  Understand me when I say

It tastes bittersweet, because

In order for the freedom fruit to be enjoyed

It has to be shared by all,

And this reminds me too much

Of the importance of Dr. King’s Legacy

 

Dr. King- simply formidable

To the world,

A veritable hero.

In our realities

We are living his dreams.

 

His dream wasn’t unique

From day one we have been hoping

For a superhuman being

To voice out our tragedies,

And the Black freedom tree produced Dr. King.

 

Therefore, it is our duty

To preserve his legacy

He led us to the road of equality

So, we could reach our destination.

He got us to the freedom tree,

Now we understand

How sweet freedom truly feels.

Let ‘s not settle for less.

It is our duty to continue

The pursuit

Of genuine equality for All so that every yard

Can harvest the fruit

Produced from the freedom seed.

 

Let us thank

The unsung Heroes

Who planted the first freedom seed?

And Dr. King,

And his dreams

Who helped us believe?

That we are worthy

Of a freedom tree.

That we all deserve to taste

The sweetness of freedom!

This poem was written by Joneldina Bazou, a junior at Atlantic community high school in honor of all who contributed black freedom. She is sponsoring a child to go to school Indonesia with education rocks.

About Carma Henry 26328 Articles
Carma Lynn Henry Westside Gazette Newspaper 545 N.W. 7th Terrace, Fort Lauderdale, Florida 33311 Office: (954) 525-1489 Fax: (954) 525-1861

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