Best Rosa Parks Poems
Rosa Louise Parks
refused to give up her seat
“First Lady of Civil Rights”
back in fifty-five
civil disobedience
‘fore Martin Luther King’s time
courageous Rosa
kept her seat and caused a stir
faith told her she was right
created equal
in the colorblind eyes
of a Lord who loves mankind
desegregation
took decades to accomplish --
a Maverick led the way
*Entry for Cyndi’s "Mavericks" contest
This choka was tweaked by having six instead of seven syllables in the second line of the third verse.
Rosa Louise Parks (February 4, 1913 – October 24, 2005) An African American, Parks refused to obey a Montgomery, Alabama bus driver’s order that she give up her seat to make room for a white passenger. Congress bestowed upon her the title “First Lady of Civil Rights.”
Rosa Parks
Would have been a hundred
Were she alive today
Human beings of any colour
would gladly let her sit
Anywhere on the bus
With the possible exception
Of the driver's seat
Remembering Rosa Parks
By Elton Camp
Well over a half-century has now passed
Since she resisted discrimination at last
To the back of the bus she refused to move
One person makes a difference she did prove
Ms Parks refused to let herself be disrespected
And didn’t respond as racial bigots expected
Those officials who tried it were surprised
When the civil rights movement it galvanized
President Obama went and sat in her seat
In recognition of the courage of her feat
He well might not be where he is today
If Rosa Parks hadn’t acted in that way
Rosa Louise McCauley Parks
On December 1, 1955 She lit up a huge spark
She refused to give up her seat that day on the bus
Instead, she proudly sat, made faces and ignored the fuss
Rosa Louise McCauley Parks (1913 – 2005) was an African American civil right’s activist and seamstress whom the U.S. Congress dubbed the “Mother of the Modern-Day Civil Rights Movement”.Parks is famous for her refusal on 1 December 1955, to obey bus driver James Blake’s demand that she relinquish her seat to a white man. Her subsequent arrest and trial for this act of civil disobedience triggered the Montgomery Bus Boycott, one of the largest and most successful mass movements against racial segregation in history, and launched Martin Luther King, Jr., one of the organizers of the boycott, to the forefront of the civil rights movement. Her role in American history earned her an iconic status in American culture, and her actions have left an enduring legacy for civil rights movements around the world. (From wikipedia)
So graceful and kind
So honest and true
While she sat down for me
She stood up for you
Only by refusing to move
When ordered to
She paid the price
And satisfied our dues.
Stubborn refusal by Rosa Parks
to up from her bus seat set off sparks...
that ignited flames of Civil Rights movement.
'Twas a legendary, watershed moment!
Submitted for...
Clerihew Poetry Contest
Sponsored by Regina McIntosh
Date written: 12/18/2020
Serene in sweet repose, the scented Rose,
(With each and every velvet valley bare)
Will often offer pleasure's perfect pose;
Seductive Roses pleasure everywhere.
Sharp beauty rages in the Roses' red,
So darkly deep their polished petals bloom.
Yet white is bright within the garden bed,
While it protects the purple Rose of gloom.
And yellow is pastel just like the sun,
It winks and waves at one small Rose in back.
The Rose that fought the fight till freedom won;
A single Rose that stood alone and black.
Now wisdom walks with rainbow Roses seen
To teach each Rose to reach each human being.
Sometimes monumental events
Have humble beginnings
Like the unyielding courage
Of Rosa Parks
Refusing to give up her seat.
W.A CHOLT. Copyright Fergal O Reilly 2019.
Rosa took a stand
by taking a seat :)
making a strong point
with dignity sweet :D
[I read her autobiography for Black History Month; always admired her, but a big fan of her now!]
Destined a red rose, as her tired feet were that day
Day she stepped on the bus, she sat where she should
Should, upfront, where she belongs, so peacefully
Peacefully, with fortitude, seeking equality and justice.
Justice she never thought would come with such liberty
Liberty divinely shining, smiling eloquently, abundantly
Abundantly with God’s fortitude, her aching feet planted
Planted to move not, like a tree rooted beside still waters.
Waters of stillness in her soul, running deep, led by God
God leading her through the valley of the shadow of death
Death where the Lord is her Shepherd—she feared no evil
Evil, His rod and staff protect her with goodness and mercy.
Mercy, she shows all the days of her life compassionately
Compassionately, with reverence and love for humanity.
© Dr. Joseph S. Spence Sr., Ph.D. (Epulaeryu Master). All Rights Reserved. December 1, 2025.