Questions: Aggression & Prejudice Poem by Afia Gyimah

Questions: Aggression & Prejudice

Rating: 4.7


'Why are you so aggressive? '
Unknowingly oppressive
Questions
Open my mouth once
'Why are you so angry? '
Why shouldn't I be?
When they look at me
All they see is a perpetrator
'We know best'
Wrongly assessed
There is no logic
Doing so much to shine light on this skin
Trying to change
As if there's something to prove
Never-ending
Questions
'Why can't you be better? '
Improve
Their opinions cannot be moved
Still-bleeding scars within
Being cut deeper from this
Reputation
It holds a sharp edge
Head held low
Hand on my heart
I pledge
Allegiance?
How could I when I'm seen as a grievance?
Trying to disassemble this harsh interpretation
Angry beings
Constant
Questions
'Why won't you calm down? '
Stripped of our own culture
Beaten
By vultures
Worked so relentlessly only to please
Begging for liberation
A set standard
Why are we so angry?
How can we be at ease?
When a colour defines our being
Forever repeating mistreatment
Prejudicial
Questions
'Why are you so defensive? '
Harmful
When I ask
Questions
Why can't I be curious?
When I will forever be deemed as furious?
How can you preach liberty without liberation?
Burdens ring
In these
Questions
Why does this have to be the set standard foundation?
Why must I live in a skin seen as a threat?
Ignorant
Questions
'Why can't you just forget? '
Why can't you see?
The scares are deeper than what's current
From shackles and chains
To discrimination and pain
Burdens from the past
A spine-snapping weight
Judgements because of a trait
But we're seen as the ones filled with hate?
Relentless
Questions
'Why does it matter? '
To fight or to be silenced
There is no choice
There is only the latter
A voice
It's all we're given
But whether we use it or not we'll always be seen as anger-driven
The hue of our skin a target of discrimination
Genuine
Questions
Why must we be placed into these walls inclosed?
Why must we be stuck under these labels imposed?
No matter what
Questions
Whenever we ask it's put to an end
Actions speak louder than words
'We don't mean to offend'
No more rebuttals
'Shut up'
Honest
Questions
Why can't we question?
Be expressive?
Why ask questions that you answer yourselves?
What do you want from us?
A shadow for a hand covering our sound
Pushed deeper down into the ground
Chains
Scars
Hearts filled with pains and burdens of oneself
So many words left unspoken
Broken
After all this
Just one
Question
But we're the ones seen as aggressive?

POET'S NOTES ABOUT THE POEM
There's so much more I wish I could incorporate into this piece. There's emotions I can't even begin to put into words. Especially as a black woman everyone always wants to ask you why you're so aggressive, why you're so mad, black people and black women especially are always seen as angry creatures. We can just speak out once and instantly we are tone-policed. 'It's not that serious.' They want to ignore the logic and focus on the emotion to ignore the truth. They know exactly what they do when they ask these questions and built it upon a system where they will always win with this method. Now it is just universally stereotyped that black people are aggressive perpetrators walking around all angry and filled with hate. When in reality there is so much beauty in the black community that nobody cares to look at. Despite all the struggle that we have to endure in our communities and the high crime rates that people want to stereotype us with, we can still find beauty amidst all this struggle. Meanwhile people in such high societal placement still cannot find love or beauty within their own lifestyle, despite what they and many others consider having it all. They still want more and more, and yet they will turn to the black communities and call them the cause of every criminal issue in society, because of their 'aggressive nature.' Open your mouth once and instantly, you are the bad guy. You have a hand over your mouth if you are black and are below anybody. Living in the shadows of what is supposed to be places filled with life, with people towering over you so ready to criminalise and oppress you, and their height creates more shadows that there is to overcome. Even if you are a successful black individual, you aren't seen as someone who worked hard to get there, and you still cannot escape the oppression, even white individuals in worse situations than some black people will still be seen as more successful and would be more trusted than any black person. When you can't do anything to impress or change these higher-ups opinions, it leaves another question, what do you really want from us?
COMMENTS OF THE POEM
Sheeya Hacks 11 June 2023

All anger in you can be seen in your poem too, Good one. FIVE STARS

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