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Lucy Houbart Jun 2020
Mary Seacole
Black nurse sculpture
Your determination points
To injustice. Your struggle
To serve, be accepted.
Why were you shamed and denied?
This is the broken land where we live.
Your courage, your stride
Takes me to our weakness

To the ache in my chest like a
broken blood vessel.
And trace the lines in my hand
To a bad rotting root.
How many wounds did your hand with compassion soothe?

Behind your certitude
I imagine pain.
Did your hurting
Search out injury and loss?

And as you nursed those violent lacerations,
Patiently waiting whilst the pathway beat its course,
Did you see as if through a veil,
Your own fractured self,
Fusing with your patient’s,
Both your Injuries restore back together
All the way towards their good health?
This poem is inspired by the sculpture by Michael Jennings which is of Mary Seacole which stands outside St Thomas's hospital looking over the river Thames and towards the House of Parliament.
BungeeGum Oct 2018
Chains unbound , Shackles broken , Voices unheard finally
spoken.....

A raised fist to empower a community , to show strength , defiance , resistance and unity.... John Carlos & Tommie Smith

A man who had a dream , so big it endures til this very day , so big , it can't be cast cast away.... Martin Luther King

A lady who sat in front of the bus , thinking , why seating there was such a fuss , confident and brave.... Rosa Parks

A man loved by an African nation , capturing all with with his own brand of Afrobeat music creation.... Fela Kuti

A lady tending to the sick and wounded , bruised and battered , though a ghastly sight , ensuring their well-being , to her ... was all that mattered....Mary Seacole

Throughout history and even now , many have shown....

B-   Brilliance and Bravery
L-   Liveliness
A-  Ambition
C - Courage , Confidence and Creativity
K - Knowledge
Been on hiatus for a bit , decided to share the poems that I wrote for My universities ACS - Black History Month event
Hope you enjoy...
P.S : ACS- Afro Caribbean Society
Universe Poems Mar 2021
When you do those jobs,
that means you care,
24hrs day
With tenacity inbuilt,
as thick as a quilt,
life saving is part,
of daily life,
rewarding patient care,
is beautiful, and fair,
fills you inside with contentment,
and, lots of cheer
That can only be described,
as jubilation,
far out waying,
any emancipation,
giving a gift,
letting you be part,
of a life,
that is not myth
Reality right in front,
of your eyes,
causing your,
compassion inside,
to fully lift,
letting you know,
you are also a gift,
so reality is undertaken,
and, not hidden,
in a daily drift
Florence Nightingale,
Mary Seacole,
Compassion, and bravery,
still reside today you see,
inside that be
Gracing patients solely


© 2021 Carol Natasha Diviney
Big Virge Apr 2021
They're....

... NEVER To Be FORGOTTEN ... !!!!!

The Sodden And Down Trodden...
By The ILL Gotten... ROTTEN... !!!
Enslavers And HATERS... !!!!!
FAKE Claiming... “ Bravers “...

Faithless No Namers.... !!!!!!!
Who CHAINED Us And Claimed Us...
As If Like Their Papers...

They Could Simply ERASE Us... !!!

Actions So... SHAMELESS... !!!
That It's HARD To Stay Gracious...

And Calmer Than PARKER... !!!
When Preaching From Charters...

That They Used To HARM US... !!!

In Truth I Mean... THEM...
... Our Ancestral Men...
And Women Who DARED...
To STAND... WAR DECLARED... !!!

When Others Were SCARED......
And FAR From.......... Prepared............

To STAND UP To Systems...
That Led To BLOODSHED... !!!!!!

The LOSS of SO MANY...
A Toll That's STILL HEAVY... !!!

So They'll NOT BE Forgotten... !!!!!

I Promise That... OFTEN... !!!!!

I'll Take Time And Reflect...
And Mark With RESPECT...

... Our Ancestral Friends...
YES Brothers And Sisters... !!!
Forefathers And WINNERS... !!!!!
Who Suffered NO Dinners...
Being Seen As PURE SINNERS...

Unforgiven... "FORBIDDEN"...
From Thinking Or LIVING... !!?!!

These Words Are NOT Written....
For Smiles Or For Missions... !!!!!

They're Written For THEM... !!!!!
Those I WILL NOT FORGET... !!!!!
NO MATTER What's Said...
By Those Who... “ Pretend “...

That Things Have Got BETTER.......

So... " We should move on ! "

And FORGET Our ICONS...
Who PROVED Themselves STRONG... ?!?

Well Their Thoughts Have A PONG...
Like OLD...“ Slavery Songs “... !!!!!!

That DO NOT Belong....
Where These Words Now Come From... !!!

As I Think Now of... " ROSA "...
And... " MARY SEACOLE "...

WOMEN Who Were BOLD... !!!!!
Who Have Stories Untold...
Who Gave Up Their LIVES...
To INSPIRE The Minds...
of Black Men Like ME...
To Now Write Poetry...
As Well As... Movies...

That RESPECTFULLY Speak...
About Their History... !!!

Well From Parker To Malcolm...
To... Marcus Garvey...
They'd Better REMEMBER...
When Talking To Me... !!!!!

BEFORE They Get BURNED...
Like My Ancestors WERE... !!!!!!!

From Homes To Those CROSSES... !!!
WHEN Klansmen Were Bosses...
Who SHOULD BE FORGOTTEN... !!!!!

But It's Just NOT That Easy...
PLEASE People BELIEVE ME... !!!!!
It Rests In My Psyche...

So I TREAD This World Lightly...
With FIRE INSIDE Me... !!!
Because of The LOSSES...
And HORRIFIC Nonsense... !!!!!

That HARKS From The Past........................
Of Those Who Left Marks...
And... DEFIANT Hearts... !!!

REAL Braves Who STILL Spark... !!!
These Words I Impart...

That PROVE Slaves Who Moved....
AGAINST HATEFUL Crews...
With... BRUTAL Attitudes...
May Well Be Old News...
But DON'T Get it Confused... !!!

These Words Are A SOLVENT...
To Prove WITHOUT Doubt...
That Those MADE To BOW...
By Souls TRULY ROTTEN... !!!!!

Are....

" NEVER To Be FORGOTTEN !!! "...
As The Poem Says ....

— The End —