So all of that was for this?
and none of that will help this other than to remind me how far this can go
how deep the well of societal dysfunction is and find ways to mitigate more dis-ease
my people are working, tied at the knees with everything we’ve got
to hold eachother close
raise our babies with love and give medicine to the people
be it in song or something to soothe the aches
we didn’t come for the dole, or the unemployment line
we came because spirit brought us here and wanted us to stay
But somehow our bodies mean nothing and out babies are prey
how could you take a mama’s baby away?
what makes you think you know
what they need or what we know?
give my sister back to me
I can feel the pain and frustration of the narrator in this poem. The opening line, with its play on pronouns is a philosophical lead into the meaning – a sense of shuffling pieces, objectifying and removed; callous, cruel. I appreciate the hyphenated use of “dis-ease” and the new meaning that brings. The demanding final line feels powerful but also a bit sad, since it is both demanding but pleading if someone holds the power to keep the sister retained.