I Got Up
By DC
If you see a man down, do you assume that he fell?
If the burning in his eyes is there, which story does it tell?
If he is on his knees, is this a sign of submission?
Or was he once on his back, and rose to this position?
If you see him dropping his head, staring at the ground
Did he quit? Or is he looking for a new way to get around?
If you see that he is in tears, and he is letting them run
Do you assume that he lost, or that he has won?
Is he giving up or getting up?
Is he content with the notion of slumber
With no real inclination of waking up?
Could you give him a sec, could you wait?
To watch him fall, and then rise to be great?
For his struggle, though long and imperfect
Built him up from nothing
So it was worth it
From laying to sitting, from sitting to kneeling
To now almost standing – his resolve, so willing!
To be standing on his own, is his burning desire
It’s what drives him, like passion filled fires
To put his head up high, and his chest popped out
And not many can say, they know what “getting up” is about
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The poets featured here are currently incarcerated, and many of them are in federal prisons far from home. Your feedback is a valuable source of motivation and connection to the outside community. Post your comments, feedback, and encouragement in the space below the poem. Messages will be passed on directly to the author. Comments may not appear immediately on the site, as our team processes them to mail to the poets.
A great triumph of a poem. I’m glad you made this happen for yourself.
Dear DC,
I really love the rhythm in this poem. It has such a strong, lyrical beat which really compliments the triumphant narrative.
Wow! This is such a great poem. I have read it twice already today, and I intend to save it. I hope you’ll keep on writing.
“If you see a man down, do you assume that he fell?….If he is on his knees, is this a sign of submission? Or was he once on his back, and rose to this position?”
This is a provocative start to a really interesting (and excellent) poem. Throughout the poem a picture is created in the readers mind (a man on the ground, a man on his knees, a man with tears in his eyes) and then the interpretation of the picture is immediately challenged.
I listened to a lecture online recently by the Nigerian author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie called “The Danger of a Single Story.” She talks about how when we create a narrative that reduces a person to just one thing (a poor person, an immigrant, etc.) we completely lose your ability to truly see them in their complexity as a human being, and we are almost certain to misunderstand who they are, or what we are seeing.
This poem made me think of her lecture because yes– as I read this poem I ignored the burning in the man’s eyes and saw (in my imagination) that the man in this poem was on the ground. I assumed that he had fallen, rather than was rising up. At first glance, I assumed tears were defeat, rather than a reaction to victory, and so on.
On of the signs of a great poem is that it allows us to look at something in a new way. It startles us into seeing something we had reduced to a single story with new– and open– eyes.
“If you see him dropping his head, staring at the ground
Did he quit? Or is he looking for a new way to get around?”
DC,
Thank you for sharing this poem. It reminded me of the Japanese proverb “Fall seven times and stand up eight.” The questions you posed were really effective in getting me to question the assumptions I make about people. Thanks for reminding me that strength is often born from vulnerability.
Please keep writing.
Your fan,
Rachael
This is a really arresting image, well done. First two stanzas are my favorite – clear, powerful, get the point across.
Hi DC,
Thanks for sharing your poem with us. It is very uplifting. It is quite true that at times people tend to rush to a conclusion about another person based on what they see without knowing the full story. We all go through challenging moments sometimes life knocks us down so hard and we are just trying to rise up. I like how you include in your poem that “For his struggle, though long and imperfect Built him up from nothing.” This line speaks to me and gives me the courage to understand that struggling is a part of life and it can become a strength if we learn to appreciate it and see it as a way to build us up versus tearing us down. We are more than what we go through.
Dear DC, I would like to start by saying what a great poem you wrote. Your poem was able to make a connection with my life over here in St. Paul, MN. The line, “If the burning in his eyes is there, which story does it tell?” struck me as a great metaphor for conveying the intensity of emotion through the eyes. Furthermore, the line “Is he content with the idea of slumber, with no real desire to wake up?” was a subtle way of saying “Is he OK with giving up?” Reading your poem, DC, was like looking at two sides of the same coin. Both sides are made of the same metal, but both sides tell a different story. The line, “If you see him dropping his head, staring at the ground Did he quit? Or is he looking for a new way to get around?” You ask a great question by making our readers try to infer whether someone has quit or is finding ways to overcome his challenges and “Get around.” After giving us two perspectives on whether someone is doing good or bad, you lead me to believe that at the end of the poem, one is triumphant, as we see someone struggle but steadily rise. Your last line hit home for me. The one thing that motivated me during COVID was knowing that if I could get up and stand, no matter the challenges I faced, I would be among a select few that could say, ” I got up.” As a reader, I could understand the meaning behind each line. The poem told me a story that few people can live to tell. You should be proud of yourself because you accomplished everything on your own. Now go ahead and help others around you. Others will need someone to make them feel proud.
I hope you’re well,
AF, Saint Paul, Minnesota