Rosie's Poetry
free
by rosie l.
she was never free
never
ever
did she have her freedom?
it may have seemed like she was
but when we think about it
was she ever free?
she shouldn’t have to earn her freedom
she should have gotten it from the start
but no.
she didn’t.
and she never did.
she was freed
but not free.
she had possessions
but she had no possession over her life
she was harmed
but she was not harmful
so why, oh why, could she never be free?
Rosie’s Statement
I thought of the idea for this poem when I realized that yes, Tamar has been freed, but she wasn’t really free. She had been granted freedom, but being a Black woman in the 17-1800s, how free could she really be? Even when she had been given freedom, she lived a life of fear and constant danger, and no one should ever have to endure what she went through, even when she was freed. You can’t call yourself free and always live in constant fear.
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