Nina Blalock
January 30, 2009
English III
Mr. Fiorini
Breathe
The indescribable joy motherhood brings
The horrific misery slavery holds
What if the same man that causes your oppression fathers your beloved child?
What if you’ve always known that your spirit is born to be free, but your beloved baby boy isn’t part of that freedom?
What’s the price of a child?
Is it less than the freedom of three of God’s children?
Is it more than the haunting, sleepless nights you’ll long to hold your baby?
What do you do when you’ve waited a lifetime for one moment, but it’s not exactly perfect when it happens?
Do you take a chance and wish for the best?
Do you play it safe and pray to God that this wasn’t your last opportunity?
How do you live with knowing you let the opportunity of a lifetime pass you by?
How do you live with knowing you’ll never see someone you loved so dearly ever again?
On the ferry the moment of truth,
All eyes are watching the great drama of your life unfold
Strangers urge you to claim “your freedom.”
It’s yours.
Just stand! Just stand! Stand up!
You hear it in your head; you feel it in your heart.
Then like a massive blow to the gut that takes your breath away, you return to reality.
Your child is in Virginia. You’ve left him. It’s so hard, too hard to separate.
You stand.
You love your baby boy; but you’ve always wanted to be free.
“You are entitled to your freedom according to the laws of…”
You stand; you walk; they watch;
“Breathe”
Impressive. Good use of vocabulary, even better flow. Ms. Blalock always tends to have a good rhythm with everything she does and this poem is almost well written and metered enough to be used as a song. Good work.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading this poem. It puts into one place all the emotions and thoughts filling Mercer throughout the book. It also shows all of the tough decisions Mercer had to make in order to become free. You did a nice job!
ReplyDeleteI really liked this poem. The title you gave it fit perfectly. It shows how hard a persons life can be and how just taking a breath can calm us down. I liked how you used a lot of questions in the beginning. This poem doesn't rhyme, but it still has a nice flow to it.
ReplyDeleteThe poem really makes you ponder the question: "what exactly, is the price of a child." It also partially answers the question too. The choice of words is great too! i liked it Nina. Good job. =]
ReplyDeleteLike others have pointed out, I thought one of the most successful aspects of this was your choice to include a series of questions that portrayed well the issues that Mercer might have struggled with as she wrestled with her decision to run from Pryor. I also thought the way you address your audience directly throughout the poem was also well executed. Nice work, Nina.
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