Till We Have Faces Till we have faces which others recognize, we'll struggle for the genuine compliment of competence not a measure about how we make others feel, for promotions and invitations without expectations of contributing our best, for our voices to be heard without our need to call out louder ever lounder. Till we have faces we recognize in each other, we'll struggle to accept each other whether or not we have children an education, a stable home, a successful health care plan, a clean record, a proper background, a promising future, the right husband or children or pantsuit or political platform. Till we have faces for ourselves we'll struggle to wake in the morning and sleep throughout the night. Till we have faces for ourselves we'll look in mirrors with doubtful eyes and pounding hearts. Till we have faces for ourselves we'll teach our daughters and nieces and students this similar fear. Till we have faces we must rise to see, value, and affirm our being. Our uprising starts now and continues until we all know our worth because they'll finally see our faces.
♥️😊🌟
Thank you!
What are you going to submit to the anthology? I’m trying to choose mine after these various edits. What a fine experience this year as well. I’m looking forward to reading yours now!
Thanks! This year was brilliant. I’m finding it hard to choose for the Anthology: but, so far, I’ve set aside “Magic” and “Hour 5”. I would appreciate your feedback 😊
I really like the idea in this piece! What a way to combat the way people have a tendency to dehumanize those who are different from them. You use repetition really effectively throughout this piece.
Thank you very much. These hour-long writings are creative springboards that I work on throughout the year, and I’ll definitely be working on this one.
Very good!
Thank you, Ayanna.
I really love this one but don’t really have any words, so here is a heart…
<3
Thank you, Bhasha,
I’m just now catching up with the many comments, and it is rewarding to meet so many new literary friends through these marathons. Are you preparing some of the poems that you’ve written? What do you think you’ll submit to the poetry anthology?
i like the repeating line and how you play with different aspects of seeing/being seen and known.It can be challenging to create a strong political statement without sounding angry or hurt or complaining or lashing out; you have turned it around to a positive solution instead of a litany of negatives which to me is far more powerful. Thank you
I agree with the other comments – repetitive lines work well in this poem and give it an emotional ‘pow’ – but it is also gentle in its assertion – love the last line! Yes!