Marckincia Jean | + Follow Poet |
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Let My People Go

Let My People Go


Ain’t I a woman?
Ain’t I a girl? 
Ain’t I one to bleed in underwear?
Ain’t I one to wear brazier 
And raise them high into the air?
Ain’t I one to carry life 
And push it out into the world?
Ain’t I worth more than the work of my hands 
And the color of my skin?

Ain’t I more than a thing , tossed and flung 
To whichever distance?
Ain’t I one to refuse the advance of a gentleman?

Sleeping in the kitchen floor
Scraping scraps  under the belly of a boar

Ain’t I a child ,now
Crying for momma
To sweep my tears off the ground?
Sold off to different masters 
They broke the bond
That God put in place 
They erased my name 
And replaced it with slave 
Or “girl” no matter my age 

I done hear sayings 
Moses and the North Star 
Crossing the river
Going underground 
Leading slaves 
To freedom, now

Leave master’s house 
He’ll whip my behind
Or leave me dead on the ground 

Owned colored folk
Own no materials
No property 
No books 
A sense of humor
Singing old ***** spirituals
Keep them afloat 
A slow, steady pressure 
Hammered into their heads 
And down their throats 
You must work ‘till you’re dead
“Yes master “
Don’t you dare talk back
Branded with iron 
Oh, how it burns
Like cotton , sugar cane, tobacco, a commodity of sorts
Cheap labor for capital

Some occupy 
The wondrous innocence of a child 
The laughs
The smiles 
Skim the cream
Churn butter
Was his job

The conductor sings and rouse the enslaved,  the enchained 
God has spoken 
Through , lightening, thunder , and rain 
The skies open
And reach out to the weary of souls 

My Lord calls me
The sweet chariot coming for to carry me home

I ain’t got long to stay here 

Tell old pharaoh 
Let my people go...
You can hinder me here ,
But you can’t up there...
He sits in heaven and answers prayers


For the old man is a-waiting for to carry you to freedom
If you follow the drinking Gourd 



Marckincia Jean
Free verse
09/22/19

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