#inclusion poems on Hello Poetry

David Hilburn Mar 19

Lost Prides, Sometimes Understate Privilege

Letting wings
Tell the story...
Marvel at a sunshine's keep
When the bravery of simple and worldly...

Suppose a charity of kind
Vainer though kept, to these we mind
A house of resolve, a yearning time
To remind even the littlest hopes to find

Gages of wan, wonder in the eye?
Overt to liberty, the talk of somewhere
Favored for sense, surmisal in the lie
Of conscience to have, the least's we fare

Cope, sincerity, and honor
To tell a tale of such, might's we enthuse
Is a labor of love, the dread in songs and heirs
To come, with the ides of repose, we never lose

Without a voice to fly
A hap and demand of sustained go
Through the moments deed, a showing of cause all the while
Realms to its survival, the role of strength to hold...

A broken promise?
A seclusion of rights, to word and envy of a letter
Seen in the needs of virtue, we claim are a host of what sigh's
A means to an end, that has saved even a little more than better

A bird in hand, and two in the bush. Or is that three to meet, I can never render? Altruism's pie from a hopeless romantic...

#handshakes #ought #inclusion #birds

Khadijat Bello Mar 8

An open letter to all Queens

Hey dearest Girl friend, you're more than meets the eye.
There's more to you than the world see and only you can feel
You are more than the current moment, may be stuck, but not for too long

You're fierce and engaging
A lioness in her own den, you are predictive and predetermined
A conquer, you have fought so many battles, Zues would be jealous

Going from house to house, you have served!
Moving from office to office, you have worked!
From one business to the other, you have thrived!
From street to street, you have hawked!

You move mountains with determination
Your mere presence sets them on fire
You are a woman first,
A sister
Sometimes you're a wife but above all,
You are a mother.

You are the best work of art God created to multitask
A Russian-roulette any man would **** to be victorious for.

You are a reason for inspiring inclusion.
Happy International Women's Day Queen!

Bellah

To every woman out there! The world sees you, the world knows you. Happy International Women's Day Queen 👸

#iwd #inspiring #inclusion #women

James Rives Jul 2023

prime to burst and cry

I break my own heart with hope
that it mends stronger,
and that others reach out to help.

i cling to false independence,
and bitterly bite back blood and anger,
sadness and complacence.

i create a fortress in my mind,
constructed, brick by brick,
to shield me and complain
when no one finds their way inside.

i'm not sure what i hate more-- everyone else?
or me.

#anger #sadness #change #growth #trauma #want #need #friendship #inclusion

Kim Sep 2021

Judgment Day (Repost)

Is it where you come from that matters?
Is it your history, your line of descent?
Do they really know you, they chatter
Would they sit down with your friends
Where do you come from they ask
What is your story they say
Will you do away with your mask
Let them know you if they may

What went before doesn’t matter
Only the present counts
It’s a fresh start you barter
For your past in the ground
But when it comes down to it
They still want to know
Where did you come from
Where will you go

You choose your own fate
Your life is in your hands
Your future’s for you to make
You’re not bound to the land
Let them know you by your deeds
By your words and by your song
Do they need to trace your feet
To know where you belong?

What is a reputation -
But a binding rope
No leeway to stumble
For it’s a slippery *****
If the days gone by are to colour
Every speech and action
Where is the scope to discover?
Aren’t our lives but a fraction -
Of what they could be
If we believed we were free
To set forth and make waves
Or float along with the sea

But then again you may say -
Do people really change?
Can they let go of the hate -
Washed clean by the rain?
And can we trust someone who lays
No claim to yesterday -
For whom nothing can vouch
But the words of their mouth?
If one is constantly changing -
Then where does one stand?
How can the others trust you -
How can they shake your hand?
Is trust merely an illusion
We conjure up for ourselves -
To alleviate the confusion
To put reason on the shelf?
One day we all must choose
When there is much to lose
Whether to cling to the family tree
Or take flight and be free

Those you grow up with are forever
They’re the ones you never leave
Where you came from is your start
The first page of your story
But it can’t tie you down
It can’t hold you back
You mustn’t be afraid
For in the attack
They may have the armour of the known
And the weapons of their forebears
But you will have freedom
And an army of your brothers
Your brothers in thought
And ideals and humanity
Your sisters with whom you fought
The winds of disparity

So I suppose what I’m saying is
The only story worth telling
Is the one that unfolds
In the final reckoning

This is an old one, posted here a few years ago. Made a slight edit. Thought it was more relevant than ever so decided to repost.

#differences #humanity #change #ties #inclusion #family #growth

Melody Mann Feb 2021

Equity & Inclusion

You subject me to the norms that stem from your fears,
your ignorance shrouds you from the generational trauma endured by the BIPOC community,
you continue to suffocate and silence the masses,
it is the color of your skin that reigns supreme,
however the same heart beats within us all,
a tantric hymn fighting for recognition,
so the world rises to have their voices heard,
to end the norms that are wrongfully placed upon marginalized communities,
for we will be heard,
it is well deserved.

Ode to the voices that have been silenced in pursuit of inclusion, recognition, and equitable treatment.

#bipoc #inclusion #equity #generational #trauma #justice #solitude

Steve Page Jun 2020

Black Futures

Black futures -
not a month
not a meme
not hash-tagged and gone
past in a blur.

Futures built
on the foundation of the past,
but rising past past expectations
and housing future generations
of black lives that answer back
and build better black futures.

The future's bright.
The future's colourful.

Still listening and learning.

#future #hope #inclusion

Max Neumann May 2020

Colorblind Speech II

dis here speech addresses all colors
this speech addresses all colors

try to appreciate life
try ta appreciate life feel me?

try ta respect everyone
try to respect everyone

yo maybe eved try ta love people
maybe even try to love people

if ya don't embrace such values
if you don't embrace such values

try at least tolerating others

yous black, white and biracial brothers
your black, biracial and white brothers

don't forget yous sisters
don't forget your sisters:

black, biracial, white

24 hours be made of day and night
24 hours are made of day and night

ya feel me?
do you understand?

every man be a mister
every man is a mister

every woman be a lady
every woman is a lady

racists are lazy
racists be lazy

since they don't want to understand "others"
since dey don't finna understand "others"

lovin', tho, be de best mood to make it trough dis state that we call life

loving, though, is the best mood to make it through this state that we call life

Today is a good day.

#racism #tolerance #openmindedness #identity #society #people #mankind #being #belonging #inclusion

Steve Clarke Apr 2020

I am

I am a woman
with a defective gene
living beyond expectation
I am more than an illness

I am a man
whose skin is shaded
refusing to be excluded
I am not just a black

I am a woman
wearing modest clothing
respecting my faith
I am more than a hijab

I am a man
who is proudly
owning my sexuality
I am not just a gay

I am a person
who is more than just labels
defining my what
or who I am

I am a woman
I am a man
I am a person
I am a noun
I am not your adjectives
I am my own
I am me
I am

A poem about identity and that no single adjective is our 'identity noun', only the accumulation of all of our adjectives.

#identity #sexuality #disability #race #religion #faith #inclusion