Black or White
a common soul
Beneath the surface
of hate resold
Uncolored ground
that buries deep
A shared endowment
— to haunt our sleep
(Dreamsleep: August, 2026)
Oh,
how
tragically
sad
it was
to look
at
the
local news
that day;
with my
coffee mug
in hand
after a
lovely night
with a
good book,
and then
I learned
that
a wooden cross
was burnt
up
at a park
before
my people
on our
shared
glorious
urban
city streets,
while uprooted
trees
and debris
fought
harshly
in the wind.
If you
have never
met me
or tried
to understand
who I am
then why
should
I value
your opinion
about who
I am
and what
I feel
as an
autistic
person
of color?
Note: Sometimes people take what I write too literally hence the need for these notes. That being said, I am not actually asking any questions with this poem. However, in the face of discrimination, this is a common internal and external monologue. If you are an autistic person of color reading this, I see you. You are brave and resilient. Do not let anyone try to break you.
This sad old devil seems tragically nasty and cruel
Her creative writing is just not very helpful or cool
She needs to take her goofy old self back to school
Her fate is now a loose thread on a withering spool.
Note: dedicated to the late Dr. Jason Arday. I didn't like how that one lady talked about him and I'm glad people called it out.
Asian
American
African
Middle Eastern
Pacific People
Islanders
Now, They are White
There's
a very
self-loathing
Mexican girl
in my area
who tries to
look like me
and I saw
online today
that she is
mean to other
Mexicans too
and wants
them to
suffer
And she
doesn't even
have a
good heart.
But I am not
like her
because
I do not hate
being Mexican
nor do I
hate myself,
And I think
Mexicans
are good,
noble and kind,
though she is
poisoned rot
and her soul
seems already
cursed.
I do not
have any
respeto
ni tengo fe
in someone
who votes
against their
best interests
since they
are fools
and there is
no way for
that to change
unless they
choose to
look
within.
Note: This poem is about known bigot and self-loathing Mexican-American Josceline Amaya, traitor to the Chicagoland Mexican community. If you are Mexican and you don't like yourself, please just go to therapy and fix your heart. Don't try to be like La Malinche. That is BETRAYAL. Bonus poem in Spanish, titled Nopalita, is also available on Threads and on Tumblr.
Self ego ~ feeling pride in one's superiority to others ~ is a wall. You can make it littler or bigger or even zero.
Take a child, any child
And paint it any colour.
Place it in any mother’s arms,
Anywhere in the world: watch it grow.
Tell me now, who to blame for the disorder,
the chaos and prejudice in this anomalous world.
(3rd Placement Win in Line Gauthier's Bite Size No 150 contest)
Hell
Is
The
Worst
Thing
That
Can
Happen
To
You
The
Birth
Of
The
White
Race
What a lovely lamp,
not contemporary style,
from the good old days,
early Dachau I am told
it's very old, menschlich skin.
Football brings a people together,
A country's people unite,
And yet almost but not quite,
When race is a factor, hatred leads the fight,
A sport that supposedly brings together a nation,
Sure does like a bit of discrimination,
When a Black player scores -
The crowd roars,
When a Black player misses -
The crowd becomes malicious,
Fans become hypocrites,
And when the team needs support, all you hear is crickets,
Just racial remarks,
And racists embark,
To blame,
As an excuse to shame,
To hate -
And humiliate,
Black players who are the only reason their team is so great,
HAIL TO NEEDLES OF PREY
They had
Hand-set
The trap
To lure
And capture
Freed nocturnal
Prey–
A prized
Catch
For the
Oppressive
Stew pot–
However,
In liberating
Darkness,
They blindly
Reached
In
And tightly
Grabed
A porcupine!
Pray-tell,
Our prey
Llives
Will likewise
Become
Sharp,
Liberating
Ones:-
Racism Categories
Definition | What is Racism in Poetry?
Looking for the formal definition, structure, and history of this poetry form? Visit the Poetry Dictionary entry below. Then return to explore how PoetrySoup members bring the form to life through their own poems.
Related Poetry Forms
discrimination, bigotry, bias, segregation, apartheid, unfairness, partiality, one sidedness, racialism, sectarianism, illiberality,