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Race Poems | Examples of Race Poetry

Stage 4 silence
Diagnosis:stage 4 silence Treatment:a kinder world (one where racism doesn't exist) Cure:unknown Lifespan:1-5 years, if that Symptoms: ? a silenced voice ? being black ? loss of control over body autonomy ? racism ? microaggressions ? discrimination ? stolen childhood ? stolen innocence The cancerous silence had spread through her body She had tried to tell the doctors and nurses They called her dramatic With...

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Categories: race, death, discrimination, health, prejudice,
Form: Free verse
When our joy became a weapon for them
Our pleasure is political Our presence anarchy Our smile a rebellion Our hair A revolution Our blood our fire Our blackness A force to be reckoned with Our joy to them is a declaration of war Our resilience an act of political warfare Our resilience a threat to the system of oppression they built They don't like when we take...

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Categories: discrimination, jealousy, prejudice, race,
Form: Free verse



My blood, my comfort
She always hated the sight of blood But now it had become her greatest comfort She felt her blood was the only one who understood What it was like to be judged Both hated on for their colour Both wanting to be hidden Both wanting to be invisible Each cut sent waves of euphoria throughout her body She wasn't a masochist...

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Categories: race, depression, discrimination, mental health,
Form: Free verse
The blurred lines between childhood and adulthood
When the lines are blurred How can we tell who we are anymore How do we know when innocence begins and when it ends Or if it ever really happened At all This was not everyone's experience But it was black children's For a black boy who had to be a man Before he could be a child...

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Categories: children, corruption, prejudice, race,
Form: Free verse
When racism met suicide
Scars fade but trauma doesn't She wished it was the the other way round At least then she wouldn't be haunted by the memories Maybe the cuts wouldn't hurt as much Maybe she wouldn't have done it at all Each tear was another cut Each cut made her numb She didn't want people to see her cry she thought Her...

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Categories: bullying, prejudice, race, racism,
Form: Free verse



The blood they spilled that couldn't be removed
He was strong in life But even stronger in death He refused to be forgotten So he stained the pavement in his blood A haunting reminder of what was done His blood spoke more than words could It's echo mourned his childhood To his friends and family he was the embodiment of love To the system they called him a thug How can that...

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Categories: race, discrimination, innocence, mother son,
Form: Free verse
RACE OVER HUMANITY
They speak of humanity in colours Black as night, pale as bone Silver like moonlight, gold like the sun As if the sun warms one side more than the other. With free hands they drew maps Carved mountains, split rivers Crowned some as kings of dust Left others to beg beneath their feet. But what is race, really? Is it not just a shadow...

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Categories: 12th grade, humanity, race,
Form: Free verse
The scars they left us
He reflected on the life he had lived Staring out the window watching his kids with his grandkids They were his greatest gifts He also felt this quiet melancholy of putting them in a position To survive In a world filled with racists He hoped they would outlive him He hoped he would end up in a casket...

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Categories: race, discrimination, granddaughter, grandfather, prejudice,
Form: Free verse
The case of lynching vs suicide
The case of lynching vs suicide A black man Hangs Lifeless Silent Eerie The only sound Is the wind thrashing around As it surrounds The black man Screaming loud Trying to get the man to make a sound The wind howled In pain In agony Watching as the whole town Laughing like he was some kind of clown The police never showed In the...

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Categories: political, prejudice, race, racism,
Form: Free verse
They laughed at our pain
A circus act A puppet A clown When you think of these you think of a Performance Or even entertainment You think of Comedy You think of Jokes You think of Laughter So what happens When you become the butt of the joke Where they are not laughing with you But at you Not because you're funny But because of what's being done to you Oh you don't know Well...

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Categories: discrimination, murder, prejudice, race,
Form: Free verse
The violence You greeted us with
Would it be safer to be born as a white person In a world that worships them What would it take for the world to accept black When we have always been treated as less than What would the world look like if we chose peace Where our hands connect in the name of justice But you don't want...

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Categories: evil, jealousy, prejudice, race,
Form: Free verse
When the church said pray it away
When the church said pray it away When the church said pray it away To the elderly woman Who lost her whole family Not from just a gun But from the system holding one She had prayed And prayed And prayed For her family's safety And do you know what God did He committed the ultimate sin He killed them But It was...

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Categories: depression, god, prejudice, race,
Form: Free verse
Black without a mask
Black without a mask What would it look like to be black without a mask? Would it look like freedom? Or would they laugh? At our attempt to be ourselves To feel like we can tell the world That we are fighting back That we are tired of being attacked That we are human and you should respect that Maybe it would feel like...

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Categories: race, emotions, freedom, metaphor, prejudice,
Form: Free verse
A eulogy for the me I had to kill to survive
A eulogy for the me I had to kill to survive She lay in a casket I was the killer But was it really me? When the world gripped her hand and told her to kill her blackness She stared in a mirror Full of sadness Knowing she would kill her last bit of innocence So did I...

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Categories: race, betrayal, funeral, grief, prejudice,
Form: Free verse
The cold hand
She just wanted help drowning Everytime she tried speaking It felt like a cold hand gripping her throat It felt like racism breathing silence in her mouth To other It looked like she had been saved But she knew she had been condemned To a life without freedom She couldn't pretend She didn't want her life to end She wanted an out And maybe the...

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Categories: race, death, discrimination, mental health,
Form: Free verse

Specific Types of Race Poems

Definition | What is Race in Poetry?


Book: Radiant Verses: A Journey Through Inspiring Poetry