Yesterday I Had the Blues, But Today... | The Odyssey Online
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Politics and Activism

Yesterday I Had the Blues, But Today...

A poem about how we really feel about racism in our systems

Jessica Bordelon
Dec 19, 2016
New Orleans
7
Yesterday I Had the Blues, But Today...
Jessica Mishael Bordelon

Yesterday I had the blues

Like ravens harassing me from trees
telling me dark vows of Nevermore
When I felt the distant loss of Kings and X’s
Blue blood flowing out in tears over my skin
remembering the momentum loss as
the engines of the Movement were demolished

Yesterday I had the blues
as I read Northrup’s story & learned it was buried
inside shadows of the forest just steps from
my childhood home
Yesterday I had the blues thinking back on
past transgressions and suffering but

Today I’m just mad as hell
cause the books painted over the part where
the oil leak of HATE continued seeping
and randomly bubbles popped up like BP blobs
in the Gulf
deaths of Mike Brown, Trayvon, Garner,
Missouri, Carolina, Florida,
and 14 in Meridian Mississippi

They sprayed that Civil Rights Act over our surface
to make the crude drop below visible levels
but it’s still oozing its poisons
mutating and spreading a cancerous foam
we see remnants in history books
and testaments in court proceedings that send
teachers away for 20 years
and police who murder free to smother life along
the coast of our society
Beaches lure you closer, false freedom, fake security

Yesterday I had the blues,
but today… I’m mad as Hell
(TO BE CONTINUED)

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This article has not been reviewed by Odyssey HQ and solely reflects the ideas and opinions of the creator.
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