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Best Poems Written by Imani Wedderburn

Below are the all-time best Imani Wedderburn poems as chosen by PoetrySoup members

Details | Imani Wedderburn Poem

Colors of Our Rainbow

Color it Red,
To symbolize our strength, health and vitality
And give it a sense of power and unity

Paint it Orange,
For our fun-loving personalities
The color of our curiosity,
Of finding out where I fit with you

Draw in Yellow,
For bright days that have come,
And the ones that will follow
With many smiles and laughter

Squeeze in Green,
To represent the hope that you have giving me,
When I was feeling down
And for the inspiration that you gave me each day

Put a line of Blue,
Mainly for the tears I shed
But also for the compassionate conversations
Which we shared

Dash a little Indigo,
For the change in me,
That you brought out some years ago

Color it Violet, 
Only for our honesty with one another
And our creative differences

Each color has its unique place in our rainbow,
The colors that make our connection special,
And without them,
Our rainbow would not be complete.

Details | Imani Wedderburn Poem

What Is Life

Surrounded,
Trapped in
Taken out of my home land
Brought into a new place
8000 miles of scared
8000 miles from freedom
8000 miles of bars,
That encloses me
Nothing but walls and darkness
So, what is life, other than a cage for me?

I feel as though I am a gift,
Wrapped up,
Made in Africa
Shipped from the motherland 
Thrown, broken and given away
Shred from my knowledge 
Brainwashed by my owner
Abused by myself
So, what is life, other than a cage for me?

My heart beats faster
The rhythm stuck in my head 
2000 miles from love 
2000 miles from safety
2000 minutes watching those memories leave me
And only one thing stopping me from running 
So, what is life, other than a cage for me? 

My mind is lost in thoughts
Thoughts I can’t control 
Thoughts that can disappear from me
Thoughts that I can’t stop from traveling back 2000 miles 
Thoughts that keep me locked up 
So what is life other than a cage for me? 

I try to fight past the sights
My eyes have to endure
The sights of my brothers and sisters
Being destroyed by their brothers and sisters 
The sights of screams 
From a mother trying to save her children 
But they already have us
Locked up in boxes, 
Shipping us away 
So what is life, other than a cage for me?


I smell flesh 
Flesh of my four parents 
Flesh that has been hung up like beef in a Chinese market
Flesh that has been burning for thousands of years 
Flesh waves over my nose,
As I sit here thinking, 
What is life, other than a cage for me? 

As I sit here wondering,
I can’t help but imagining
Is this the life that Martin Luther King dreamed of?
Is this the life that Malcolm X fought for? 
Is this the life that Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat for? 
Is this the life that Lil Wayne tattooed to his body?
Is this the life that Beyoncé sings about?
So I must ask myself one last time,
What is life, other than a cage for me?

Details | Imani Wedderburn Poem

You Are

You are a mountain,
We try so hard to climb
You are a tall tree,
Many roots and history deep within
You are the star,
Lighting up the dark sky
You are our faith,
We have such great hope in you
You are a vision,
Making us see clearly,
You are a lion,
King of your jungle
You are a teddy bear,
Someone we can hug through the tough times
You are our piano,
Playing a harmony no one will forget
You are the music,
The secret message within
Your are the mirror,
Showing us our pure image
You are the peace,
Showing us that we don’t have to fight a war
You are the rain,
Washing away all the pain
You are the sun,
Shining brightly through our days
You are the heart,
Filled with lots of love
You are our brain,
The knowledge holder
You are the pride,
Your confidence walks tall
You are sass,
Got all the attitude
But before you are all these things,
You are Mama,
Our peace, love and harmony

Details | Imani Wedderburn Poem

Decisions, Decisions

What am I supposed to do? 
When my back is against the wall
And the world is crumbling into pieces

What am I supposed to feel?
When pain changes its name 
And hurt plays the same game  

What am I supposed to say? 
When silence has ears everywhere
Or it’s really loud, I can’t hear myself

What am I supposed to see?
When the rainbow comes after the clouds
And the storm blinds me 

Who do I trust? 
When life tells me lies
And fantasy creates them

Who am I supposed to be? 
The girl who can find her way
Or the way that found the girl.

Details | Imani Wedderburn Poem

Empty Space

Gone
Leaving no trace
It’s like I’m on a train drifting into space
I’m traveling to a place of no return
Leaving a space empty and cold,
Every moment I turn around and glance,
For I miss your face
In this place

In a winter storm,
It’s bare and freezing
Lonely and away from everyone else
I look up, down, and many times around
But I see nothing
Because you are not here

In a fall gaze,
Leaves falling all over the place
Staring into the sky
It’s like a whole new place
But when I turn around
Thinking that you are there,
You have just disappeared

Summer is now coming
It’s hot and humid
It is the best
But I have nobody to share it with
Because you are not here,
It almost feels like it’s just a waste

Spring has arrived
All the bunnies are coming out to play,
I watch them as they go
Leaving not a pathway or a trace
I was hoping I would see you
With that smile on your face
There was nothing left
Just an opened, abandoned place

It’s a space that no one can fill
Only you can
You have taught me about life, love and peace
And my time will come
I think about the space you left and
Try to fill it up
But with what!?
You won’t come back and
I have lost time with you
It was everything to me,
The place that we shared
But before long,
That too 
Will be gone.

Details | Imani Wedderburn Poem

I'Ll Never Be Good For You

I’ll never be good for you,
I’m the poison that you’ll never taste
I’m the broken heart that you’ll never see coming
The best time of your life that will end

I’ll never be good for you,
I’m the job you’ll get fired from
The drama that’ll never stop
I’m the race,
You’ll lose over and over

I’ll never be good for you,
I’m the coldest winter ever,
The tsunami that wiped out Japan
The landslide that took you with me,
The hurricane filled with hate

I’ll never be good for you,
My secrets are a closet,
You never want to open
The fire you never want to sit next to
The room you never want to get stuck in

But underneath all of that,
I am the river,
Running deep
The tropical rain forest
With the hidden treasure deep within
I am the sunset,
That sets after the storm
Peacefully reminding you that everything is worth it

Details | Imani Wedderburn Poem

My Future

They told me that my future was a result of my past
Choices that I made when I didn’t know better,
Choices that I made for the survival of myself
Those same choices that helped me to become the person I am today,

They told me that my future was a result of my present,
The present that I no longer wished to be a part of
The present that had gifted itself to fit in a perfectly wrapped gift
The present that I never wanted to open,
That same present that was now apart of my reality

They told me that my future was a result of my actions,
The actions that made our first kiss,
The actions that forced me to become vulnerable
The actions that broke my heart, when I was taken away from you
Those same actions that make me regret getting to know you

They told me that my future was a result of my thoughts,
The thoughts that slaved me to my past
The thoughts that kept me a slave to my mind
The thoughts that are being taking away from future
Those same thoughts that lead me to write this poem

They told me that my future was a result of my body,
The body that I tried so hard to change
The body that housed the fat that clung to me
The body that cannot save me from anything
That same body that I tried time and time again to make perfect

They told me that my future was a result of something
Something that cannot be described,
But as usual, 
They lied,
As my future is a result of myself.

Details | Imani Wedderburn Poem

Knock, Knock

Knock, Knock
Who’s there?
Is that the past that I have hidden from,
The past that I have buried deep at the bottom of the sea

Knock, Knock
Who is there?
Is that the grandmother that has abandoned her grandchild in a time of need,
Or the starving Aunt, who can’t feast on the fruits of her niece’s labor

Knock, Knock
Who is there?
Is it the ex who lied and called me names,
Belittled me in many ways and wants a second chance

Knock, Knock
Who is there?
Is that the sound of my ghosts trapped in the closet,
Trying to come out to reveal themselves

Knock, Knock
Who is there?
Is that the sound of my breath,
That was taken away at the sight of you

Knock, Knock
Who is there?
Is it just the sound of the calming music playing in my head,
Or the sound of Africa beating a drum in a celebration

Knock, Knock
Who is there?
My chance to run into the unknown
Or the invitation to fix my history?

Details | Imani Wedderburn Poem

Rejection

It usually breaks the heart into pieces,
And pains the soul
The pain so unreal to the naked eye
Which I wear a mask to cover
Seems to disintegrate every time I see you
And suddenly it feels as though my walls are coming down
And my emotions come out
Nights are the worst though,
Wishing and thinking of what we never had,
It tears me apart like that Michael Jackson song, ‘Bad’
People say there’s more fish in the sea 
But you’re the one I want on my hook
I want you to be here
Here.
Here.
What a powerful word that is
For being away is like a parent without their kids
This abandonment which you have made me feel
And the situation seems horrible and unreal 
My heart which seems like a soldier at best,
Goes through relentless pressure which pushes it to the test
Not only at war with this person, but also my brain
Thoughts of being with them comes back and back again
“Be rational” it screams, “Forget about him,” it shouts
If only it was that easy, 
I would surely continue my life without a doubt.

Details | Imani Wedderburn Poem

Defined

I will not be defined by those in my past
Chained, and broken down to the core
Malnourished and crying for their lives to be surrendered 
And then burned for their sacrifices 

I will not be defined by those mistakes
Ones made out of love for another 
Ones created by the jealousy living inside of me
Ones born from the fear that rises
And surely not ones made from the anger that you caused

I will not be defined by the hurt
Pain that you have caused me 
The loss of something greater than that of friendship 
The loss of family 
The loss of the truth that never spilled from your lips

I will not be defined by the way I act 
The play I put on for show
Where we clap and laugh together 
One that is fake to my eye 
One that is believed by yours

I will not be defined by the way I love 
Crushing my heart, ripping it out of my chest
Giving it to you, hoping that you would do the same, 
Cherishing the memories that we shared 

However, I will be defined by my faith
My path that is destined for me
Leading me to take great steps
If I stumble and fall, its faith that catches me 
Guiding me back on course
To finish who I was defined to become.