Elizabeth P. Brooks is originally from Trinidad and Tobago and now calls Tampa Bay home. She is deeply concerned about human dignity and the need for social justice. She is a performance poet and has had several poems and non-fiction essays published in Indiana Voice Journal. She has a chapbook, “You May Applaud Now and Other Poems” and is currently working on a novel. She is a contributor to the Huffington Post and writes a column, "A Call to Love," for Spirit Fire Review. Her latest book, "Freedom Fighter," presents a unique perspective on her experience as an immigrant and a woman of color. You can visit Elizabeth at her Facebook page here: Elizabeth Brooks
I Want You Gone
You have no vision and are afraid
to see the grimace on my face
ashamed to see the scorn in my eyes,
embarrassed by your broken promise.
Can you hear the uproar, the horror,
the pain?
Should I consider you an unwilling victim?
A woman conned?
It would soothe my spirit were I to see tears,
stained face tormented with swollen lips,
like mine, by what you continue to uphold.
Yet, you stand there beguiling and demure
without mercy, compassion or empathy
for humanity. In the midst of our lifetime
of tension and conflict, you persist
as a treacherous and deceptive symbol.
I wish you cared enough to take a stand
instead of just standing there.
Change your heart.
But you are just an empty stone,
shallow, no heart, just a farce.
Your secret codes reveal yet
another contradiction, ball and chain
as your sword represents the swiftness
in which it yields injustice.
Your scale is a sham, lady. I want you gone.
Elizabeth P. Brooks
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| Pixabay |
I Want You Gone
You have no vision and are afraid
to see the grimace on my face
ashamed to see the scorn in my eyes,
embarrassed by your broken promise.
Can you hear the uproar, the horror,
the pain?
Should I consider you an unwilling victim?
A woman conned?
It would soothe my spirit were I to see tears,
stained face tormented with swollen lips,
like mine, by what you continue to uphold.
Yet, you stand there beguiling and demure
without mercy, compassion or empathy
for humanity. In the midst of our lifetime
of tension and conflict, you persist
as a treacherous and deceptive symbol.
I wish you cared enough to take a stand
instead of just standing there.
Change your heart.
But you are just an empty stone,
shallow, no heart, just a farce.
Your secret codes reveal yet
another contradiction, ball and chain
as your sword represents the swiftness
in which it yields injustice.
Your scale is a sham, lady. I want you gone.
Elizabeth P. Brooks
