My Mural
By DS
If I had the opportunity to design a mural mine would be a tribute to the mothers.
Mothers from all over the diaspora,
mothers from Africa, Brazil, the Caribbean, and the U.S.
The mothers on the mural are teachers, because mothers are our first teachers.
I would have Ida B. Wells, Maya Angelou, one of our strongest poetic voices.
Assata Shakur would be in the middle standing on the Globe.
She represents the struggle for freedom by any means necessary.
You already know the Free Minds women are on there
Along with the sistaz from Black Lives Matter.
Behind the Free Minds family would be the poem I know why the caged bird sings.
There would be faces you wouldn’t know because all mothers are important.
I would have Nina Simone and Billie Holiday and Lauryn Hill
Front and center. Nina and BIllie singing about strange fruit.
Lauryn telling us why you just lost one.
Meshell Ndegeocello can play the bass.
While Nikki Giovanni is explaining through her poetry why Tupac was important.
My mural is a living mural so I would like for it to grow
I would like to add more faces and poems.
We already call Earth Mother Earth, we call nature Mother Nature.
I believe if there is a God she’s a woman.
Women give birth to everything, the female aspect is the most important.
So my mural is about mothers giving birth to movements,
Important moments in history, art, science, and math.
Like the sistaz from Hidden Figures and the first black woman in space.
Most of all I want my mural to represent the strength and resilience
of our Mothers, our sisters, our Queens
12 Comments
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This is very insightful!
I loved the intensity and meaning behind this poem. It demonstrates the power that women hold within them in a very beautiful way.
Don’t forget to paint yourself along side them my strong, beautiful friend.
This poem resonated with me on such a deep emotional level, I’m not even sure where to begin singing its praises. Your writing is not only a proclamation of the resilience of a woman’s spirit, but a celebration of it as well. It rings with truths that often go unspoken, as the women who shaped this nation and the lives of all the women that came after them tend to be overshadowed by the accomplishments of others. This is true in all aspects of life, as you made a point to mention: in history, art, science, math, and any influential movement that has shaped the experiences of modern women. The mothers of this world are truly our unsung heroes, as they embody the strength that we find within ourselves that they helped cultivate, and the fact that you chose mothers as the focal point of your poem is refreshing and incredibly satisfying…I kept thinking “Hell yeah!” to myself while I read through the poem! Using your writing as a vessel to give a shoutout to some of the highly influential, rulebook-changing women of our world is a beautiful strategy, and it serves a dual purpose: celebrating their accomplishments while simultaneously raising awareness to the causes they fought for. And God is absolutely a woman. No doubt about it. Keep writing!! And I bet you could somehow bring this mural to life in the real world, not just on the page. Just a thought! We all know we could use more art in the world that carries the social and cultural significance of this poem.
I appreciate that the poem is a tribute to mothers and also mother figures. I think good famous women who can set examples for others can often feel like a mother figure to some, especially those who didn’t have a strong maternal figure in their life, and that influence can be so warm and important.
Hello! I really liked this poem, especially where you write “The mothers on the mural are teachers, because mothers are our first teachers.” I think that is so very true, that our moms are our first teachers, and we learn so much at an early age from them. Great work!
Hi DS,
I absolutely love this message about mothers. I think for those that are fortunate enough to have a mother figure in their life, the majority would agree with your poem. Mothers and women themselves are such powerful individuals. I love the line “Women give birth to everything, the female aspect is most important.” I think especially in today’s political world, women are overlooked and disregarded, and this poem is so powerful to disagree with the time we live in, and I love that. As a woman, I also find this poem very motivating. Thank you so much for sharing,
Ainsley
As someone who greatly appreciates her mother, thank you for this.
This poem was beautiful and so meaningful. The line that stood out to me the most was when you said “Women give birth to everything, the female aspect is the most important.” I feel like this line resembles the part of society that we are almost trying to wrap our heads around today. Females are valid but are also somewhat looked down on up until this day. Mothers are so important and are the main source of providing life. I am so thankful to have a mother figure in my life because I feel like I owe everything to her. She has really guided me in the right direction and has always been my go-to person. She is the reason I am the person I am today and would not know what to do without her. Keep up the amazing work!
The black women of history are either forgotten or truly celebrated. We need to celebrate all the black lives and tell all their stories. They lived through the worst time in history and were so abused and mistreated.Black lives will forever evolve and change and I hope it gets better in our future.
Such beautiful writing! As I read, I could see your mural come to life in my mind. Familiar names and unfamiliar names, an ever growing picture. Not only is it a beautiful testament to women everywhere, and a wonderful literary work that paints a vivid image.