Will's Poetry

A Long Journey

by Will B.

A long Journey.

People stacked on top of each other, on a wooden boat.

Over many seas with rough winds and lightning

No one wanted to be there,

Not even the captain.

With patience she survived the Middle Passage.

She was taken from her home

Without her consent

Only,

To be put into to a house of wealthy white people

And being worked all day

Without her consent.

She didn't want to be there,

She never did.

But she had a child and grandchildren, all enslaved (and emancipated) alongside her

Toward the end of her life

She settled in Branford with her husband, Prim.

After his death she returned to Madison, where she died, age 72.

Her name was Tamar,

It wasn't just a name,

It represented a strong woman

Who was enslaved for most of her life,

She wasn't just an enslaved woman,

She was a weaver,

A caregiver,

A great mother,

A great wife,

A great person,

And much more

She was Tamar.

My statement:

My work in this poem was all inspired by the life of Tamar. Tamar went through a lot, so why not say her name and her story and tell the world about who she was? She wasn't just an enslaved woman, but a mother, a wife, a great person and much more. I wanted to write this to remember Tamar's legacy.