#WEP #WINNER’s #GUESTPOST – Toi Thomas on the Power of Poetry
Hello everyone! L.G. here! As you all know by now, the winner of the WEP Challenge gets the opportunity to write a guest post. Her poem Good Freedom Dream provoked a lot of thoughts and feelings in those who read it. As our judge Nick Wilford said: Nick wrote: “This had such a quietly resigned tone to it. Measured, powerful and understated, but still making a big impact. A thought-provoking piece.”… read more here.
Thank you for taking the time to read this post. If you like it let me know and share it with others. See you next time, Toi Thomas. #thetoiboxofwords #blacklivesmatter
Thank you W.E.P. for this honor. I’m glad my words made an impact, whether good or bad. It’s nice to know that I was able to write something that in turn made others feel something. I have learned so much from this community.
For anyone wanting to see the Winner’s announcement post and see the other winners of the wonderful challenge, please click here. All recognition is well deserved.
[Original post from here on.]
I’ve been working on a sweet and inspiring story about a group of activists planning several protest marches, ranging from DACA to AAPI to Black Lives Matter and more, while sipping coffee at a diner. I haven’t been able to finish this story for weeks and have decided to put it aside to revisit later. After hearing the verdict of the Derek Chauvin case, I decided to write something else, something inspired by the heat of the moment, and something that I haven’t fully processed or thought through, but something I’m still going to share anyway.
Good Freedom Dream
Good morning, “they” say.
What’s so good about it?
It’s just another morning for me to wait.
To wait for the freedom that didn’t come in 1865.
Another day for a freed black person to be addressed as “boy” or “girl”.
Good day, “they” say.
What’s so good about it?
It’s just another day for me to wait.
To wait for the freedom that was taken by Jim Crow.
Another day for a freed black person to be killed for walking on the wrong side of the street.
Good afternoon, “they” say.
What’s so good about it?
It’s just another afternoon for me to wait.
To wait for the freedom that didn’t come with the passing of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
Another day for a freed black person to be paid less for their work and time while someone else appropriates and profits from it.
Good evening, “they” say.
What’s so good about it?
It’s just another evening for me to wait.
To wait for the freedom that won’t come while Black Panthers are call terrorists but the KKK is not.
Another day for a freed black person to face the ugly truth of a lying and unapologetic nation.
Goodbye, “they” say.
What’s so good about it?
It’s just another passing for me to wait.
To wait for the freedom that didn’t come with the acquittal of George Zimmerman.
Another day for a freed black person to be criminalized just for being black.
Good Freedom Morning, I hear my people say.
What’s so good about it?
It’s another morning of no more waiting.
No more waiting for the dream of freedom promised for more than 200 years.
No more waiting… but it’s only a dream, a dream we’re one small step closer to.
I’m glad George Floyd got the justice he deserves but this isn’t the end. Nothing has been solved. Black people are still being seen as a violent threat just for being black. Someone WILL surely come along and say, “See, we held that one guy accountable.”, “Aren’t we done talking about this yet?” or “Just wait, you’ll get your police reform eventually,” because that’s the story of U.S. black people. We get a sliver of freedom or justice and then we wait…
– Updated 4/25- I’m limiting my response to “Thank you for your words.” on any comments to this post as an acknowledgment and appreciation to those who took the time to comment. Reading the comments of this post is turning out to be too emotional for me at the moment.
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Please visit other entries in this hop and enjoy some funny, scary, touching, and thought-provoking stories. You’ll be so glad you did.
Thank you for taking the time to read this post. If you like it let me know and share it with others. See you next time, Toi Thomas. #thetoiboxofwords #blacklivesmatter
I didn’t know it would be like this. When I got married, I thought it would be like a fairy tale, but it was more of a nightmare. We got all dressed up, packed up, and headed out of town. I thought it was all part of the adventure. Course, I later found out that we had been on the run the whole time.
I didn’t know, or perhaps just didn’t quite understand, that it was illegal to marry somebody you loved if they didn’t have the same skin color as you. I sit here now, in reflection, thinking about all that happened, and I can’t believe it all started with a simple kiss.
He and I had been friends for a long time- since I was a little girl. When we started dating, it felt weird at first, but also kind of natural. Well then, you know how things are. One thing led to another, I was in a way, and he’d been saying for a while he wanted to marry me. Daddy and momma seemed like they didn’t mind at all, invited him right on into the house, and then we started making plans.
After everything was all set, we headed out for our adventure. I thought that was the start of something wonderful. Then, we tried to go back home. I say try because we were stopped. The authorities were waiting for us like it was some kind of holiday. They arrested us, told us we were wrong, and sent us on our way. Our choices, a year in prison or never go home again.
To this day I just don’t get it. Why would the punishment for marrying someone other people don’t want you to be with be prison and not something else, anything else? I mean it’s prison or marriage. If I married a tree, would the tree have to do a year inside as well? They tried to claim that the law was just and fair because both parties (guess they meant me and him) got the same punishment despite the difference in our skin color. It still didn’t make sense to me why marriage, in general, was something that could be punished, but I guess that’s the world we were living in.
So, we left home. We did the best we could do, but it was just too much. We couldn’t travel together to go see family, it was making things difficult for keeping up with bills, and then there was the kids. So, we decided to fight it.
It was a long battle. I think the thing that still sticks with me, after all this time, aside from the whole prison thing, was that the lawyers didn’t even want me to say I was black. Seemed ridiculous to me, but they thought we’d have a better chance if I identified as a Native person. I don’t see how that made a difference, but they sure thought it might. In the end, though, a black woman got to keep the man she loves and we both got to keep our freedom.
So, I guess we won. The world isn’t as great a place as it could be, but it seems to be getting better. We got to be together and we got to go home. This has not been a fairy tale, but, I guess, in the long run, it could have been a much worse nightmare. After all, I’m blessed to have the man I love, wonderful children, and my health. Looking back, I still can’t believe this all started with a simple kiss.
A “fictionalized first-person” account summation of the Loving v. Virginia 1967 Supreme Court ruling. Click the Loving image up top to learn more about the case.
Join me on June 12 to celebrate Loving Day! This is a day to celebrate the right to marry anyone you want no matter what anyone else thinks about it (including me). Celebrate Loving Day to honor the right to love… In case you didn’t know, that’s me and my hubby up at the very top. It’s an old picture but still very much us and in love.
Please visit other entries in this hop and enjoy some funny, scary, touching, and thought-provoking stories. You’ll be so glad you did.
Thank you for taking the time to read this post. If you like it let me know and share it with others. See you next time, Toi Thomas. #thetoiboxofwords #blacklivesmatter
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