3 POEMS, BY ERICA DONALDSON-ELLISON
These poems were sent to me in response to my newsletter, "Amplifying Black voices," sent last week. The writer, Erica Donaldson-Ellison, wrote the poem "Rage" for a fellow poet in order to express the frustration in a language that they shared, so that her friend could feel empowerment during a work situation in 2017. “Stand Up and Be Counted” came in 2018 “when outraged in a manager's training course, another manager glibly announced that she did not understand the fuss about the issue of equal opportunities in the company. [Erica] stood to deliver [her] account and the trainer told [her] to sit down.” Written in 2019, "Colour Blindness” was in response to trying to understand the nonsense of it all as it went on.
Erica says, “You know, quite honestly l refused to accept that acknowledging then talking about a situation was not the absolute first step towards amelioration. In my own case though, duty of candour was a treasured policy and one that l complicity taught. Ultimately two years of talking without amelioration was enough.”
“I carry my Papa's name and am extremely proud of the way he challenged his children to overcome.”
I hope Erica's words will move you as much as they moved me. I will be sharing more of her work in the coming weeks.
Rage (2017)
Though
Once again
Unfounded
Brittle accusations
Crackle, on the air.
And, a mirrored fixation
Stares
Directly
At them.
They, do not see
Oppression
Reverberating Rage
Glancing back
At them.
Yet
Standing tall
We, shall not
Splinter.
We, cannot
Break.
Rather, we shall
Stand
Lift our heads
Laugh
And smile
Conquer
An, institutionalised racism
Rise above it.
And
Succeed
Though
You may
Doubt it.
We will
Consistently
Without tears
Implement an historic
Systematic strategy
And, we will
Endure.
A cocoon gestation
Into
Brilliant butterfly
Alive
In a triumphant, celebration
Of, our own education
And, of our own
Unique talents.
They
Cannot control
Our spirits
We will
Not
Break.
Stand up and be counted (2018)
Just because
you say that:
'It has to be
like that.'
Approved, without conscience
Driven by: uneducated criticism
and stereotypic nonconsensual nonsense.
A single dissenter
can still rise
Blooming, from the crowd
And, say
NO
The chatter of group compliance
simmers gently, without a spill
but, a lone ingredient
may yet spark a quicker bubble.
It unexpectantly [sic] spurts
a volcanic lava
overflowing
making a small trail.
Like the person, who
demonstratively argues
their cause.
Stands and brings attention
And, says
NO.
Moved by the need
To right, a wrong
Disgust, peaked by
witnessed exchanges
of a bullies attempt to dominate
a 'weaker person'.
I say
NO.
To team sly glances
highlighting an
underlying group aversion
to an individual’s
differences.
I say
NO.
Upright. Tall.
Against, sneering grins
smeared across
grinning lips.
Authoritatively, I protest
And say
NO.
Then,
walk on.
With my own
Smile.
Leading the way.
Colour blindness (2019)
Why?
Should we
Search for colour
When it just
Happens?
A creation, that is
Something
Uniquely beautiful
All around us.
It was never
Meant to be
Thrust
In front of us
As a yardstick measure
Of superiority.
Precious moments happen
Because of
The content of
Someone's character
And, personality
And not because of
Their skin colour.