Grace B.

But was he free?

by Grace B.

But was he free?

Even if he left,

could he forget?

As he left his legacy,

were the chains pulling him down,

metal glinting in the dark against skin,

even as he kept his head up?

He was born

around 1720,

and enslaved later,

but was he free?

He made his own life,

married Penelope Tantipen,

was the father of six kids,

but was he free?

When they treated him

as if he weren’t human,

was he free?

When he was born

around 1720,

did he know?

Did he know

he would be enslaved?

Was he free?

When he was freed,

was he really

free?

Did he wonder

what would happen

once he died?

Did he ever wonder

what free even was?

Did he wonder

if it would go away?

Or did he think

his freedom was forever?

When we believe

that he was freed,

did he believe it too?

Did he believe

that he was free?

But was he free?

Grace’s Writer/Artist statement

When I first started writing a poem, I only listed facts and dates because we don’t know much about Mr. Niger, other than some things he owned, people in his life, and moments in his life. So because I couldn’t say things about him that I don’t know are true, I decided to ask questions. Even the title of the poem is a question, and it asks something we don't know. Maybe he was freed, but we don’t know if he felt free or if it was just something he was told he was.

Even though I didn’t make the whole poem a bunch of dates, I did add one and used it twice to show the time period. I used 1720, which was around when we think he might have been born. I also showed dehumanization in the lines, “When they treated him/ as if he weren’t human/ was he free?” in a simple way, by just saying they treated him as if he weren’t human. I used questions to ask things we don’t know about Theophilus, questions that he would have to answer with his opinions. While he can’t answer the questions, asking the questions still makes us think.