Meghan's Poetry

A Girl and a Legacy

by Meghan B.

How does a girl taken from her home in Africa,

A girl who lost her freedom and her family,

A girl who survived the middle passage,

A girl who was wrongfully enslaved,

How did she still care for others, help every person she knew, respect all, how did she still love?

She seems to have loved everyone.

She loved and cared for Timothy Todd even though his uncle enslaved her.

There was nothing they could do to stop her from loving.

She loved everyone no matter their name, their gender, their title, the money they have, the color of their skin. No matter where they were born.

And her name was Tamar

Tamar saw the beauty in the world,

She knew the cruelty and unfairness in the world,

Yet she knew how to balance it all.

Tamar was a mother, a grandmother, a caregiver, a cook, a wife, a survivor, and most importantly of all, Tamar was a kind and loving human being.

Tamar was born free,

She died free,

She lived looking for the beauty in the world

While not forgetting the cruelty, flaws, and inequality of the world.

Tamar was a girl and had a legacy.

Meghan’s Statement:

The reason I chose to write this poem is because I wanted to express that Tamar was not just an enslaved person, but she was a kind, loving human being with a legacy and a family to protect. I thought that the title of this poem was perfect because of these reasons. I chose to express this through a poem because I find that poetry expresses thoughts and feelings with more power than prose can.