April's Known For Poetry

Open Your Mind by mssparklyone

 

It’s just fear deep within you,

You think you know what’s right,

Open your mind and you’ll see,

It’s not all just black and white.

It’s just fear deep within you,

You just want to belong,

Open your mind and you’ll see,

Being different isn’t wrong.

 

It’s just fear deep within you,

Everything isn’t what it seems,

Open your mind and you’ll see,

We’re all just human beings.

 

It’s just fear deep within you,

Telling you what to say and do,

Open your mind and you’ll see,

You have the right to choose.

It’s just fear deep within you,

You don’t want to see the truth,

Open your mind and you’ll see,

There’s a much more beautiful view.

[14] 

By Martha Collins

black keys from trees white keys locked

on black shoulders locked together above

skeleton ribs keys to 45 keyboards from one

tusk the word ivory rang through the air

one tusk + one slave to carry it bought

together if slave survived the long march

sold for spice or sugar plantations if not

replaced by other slaves five Africans died

for each tusk 2 million for 400,000 American

pianos including the one my grandmother

played not to mention grieving villages

burned women children left to die the dead

elephants whose tusks went to Connecticut

where they were cut bleached and polished

while my grandmother played in Illinois

my mother played and I— there were many old

pianos and slaves were used till the 20th century:

an African slave could have carried a tusk

that was cut into white keys I played, starting

with middle C and going up and down