Anna V.

Uncovered Legacy

by Anna V.

In Madison’s backyard is a tree,

A Hickory tree,

Strong, powerful, beautiful,

All around were flowers,

Flowers of all colors,

Colors of the rainbow.

Till they are strong enough,

The tree protects the flowers.

In the flowers,

Five seeds appeared.

Five seeds of the tree.

Those seeds will grow,

Multiply,

Taking the nutrients of the tree.

Surviving because of the tree.

Thriving,

Growing,

Spreading,

Filling a space in the world.

One day,

Gone,

Disappeared.

The only thing left,

Roots of the tree.

Hidden under pounds of dirt.

Almost two centuries later,

Thirty-one students,

Find those roots.

Dig up a new seed,

Planting that seed,

A legacy

Anna's Poet's Statement

This poem is about Theophilus’ legacy he left behind. I wrote “Uncovered Legacy” because it describes the discoveries we found about Theophilus Niger. The title “Uncovered Legacy” is my grade for uncovering the seed that was stuck in time - Theophilus himself and his family.

The line “Madison’s backyard” is referring to when Madison was East Guilford, and the backyard is that his legacy was left in the past waiting for someone to open the gate. The Hickory tree is Theophilus. The colorful flowers are all the things he had to endure to get to where he was - becoming a farmer, for example, and getting an estate, are his positive moments in life. The five seeds are his five children. Those seeds multiply like the Theophilus family tree. The nutrients in the seeds are Theophilus' legacy spreading, like how Alfred Niger, Theophilus’ grandson, was a Black voting rights activist. The trees disappearing is the Niger family disappearing from the world, the story is lost and the legacy is lost, like how they were probably buried without a headstone. The last stanza is my grade uncovering his legacy and building a story of Theophilus Niger and discovering his legacy. Theophilus’ legacy will be known because of my grade placing this plaque in our community.