Hayden's Poetry

Bird

by Hayden G.

Born free as a bird

Africa her home, her culture, her family

Middle passage

Survived the sea, the sand, and the stars

Reverend Jonathan Todd

East Guilford is his home, his people, his church

Believes people should be free

Yet dehumanizes and enslaves her family

A weaver, a cook, a mother

Responding to the demands of her captives

A human used as an object.

At his death, Jonathan Todd emancipates those he’s enslaved

A cow, a loom, a piece of land to live on,

And Tamar is set free

Free as a bird again

Hayden’s Statement

For my project for honoring Tamar I wrote a poem. I chose to write a poem because people seem to love poetry and encouraging words. I told her story in order, which I found challenging to do in poetic form. Believe it or not I enjoyed writing this poem because it kind of summed up everything I've learned about Tamar in a short and sweet way. I start the poem with “Born free as a bird” and I end the poem with “free as a bird” to tie the poem together. Yet it is very likely that she had a hard time after she was freed because, after so many years being enslaved, she would have had little or no money and other challenges to face.