racism right in the face
By Gregory Pond
We all don’t live every day
With the club of racism
Hitting us right in the face
But we live with its pernicious effects
Which we can’t easily erase
By shutting our eyes
Or rubbing the pencil’s other end
Across a hate-filled page
We may not all live every day
With the fist of racism
Punching us right in the face
But it flows like a river
Through our common veins
Its bitter history leaves our mouths
With a toxic after-taste
All because we happen to belong
To darker hues of the human race
Why should we have to live every day
With the open hand of racism
Slapping us across the face
We shudder whenever contact is made
It leaves us battered and bruised
Accused, the one who’s usually blamed
Every day, it’s an ongoing fight
Just to maintain our basic rights
But in this land of the free and the brave
Why should anyone have to live this way?
(This poem appeared in his book of poems titled
Unrested by Gregory Pond, Vagabond Books, 2024)
Born in Brooklyn to Panamanian parents, Gregory Pond has written 4 books of poetry, aftermoon – Blackened Blue – 4:00 a.m. (DARK) – 4:00 a.m. (LIGHT). Gregory is a member of Revolutionary Poets Brigade and volunteers as facilitator of Poetically Speaking, a weekly conference-call program for seniors offered by Covia Well Connected. His literary influences include Langston Hughes, e.e. cummings, and Gwendolyn Brooks. He currently lives in San Francisco.
