deepundergroundpoetry.com
For the love of ...
I just want to express my admiration
for a chap called William Ellison.
Born a slave in a not very great nation:
by talent and skill his freedom was won.
To free his consort Matilda his mission
- for children are born free post manumission.
Next, to own land and slaves himself his scheme,
for isn't this the American dream?
When established as a cotton gin maker
he built his empire using slaves as bricks.
As we know, pricks don't kick against the pricks.
Upon his death he left 1000 acre.
At the time race had not been invented,
bigots mumbled: money represented.
for a chap called William Ellison.
Born a slave in a not very great nation:
by talent and skill his freedom was won.
To free his consort Matilda his mission
- for children are born free post manumission.
Next, to own land and slaves himself his scheme,
for isn't this the American dream?
When established as a cotton gin maker
he built his empire using slaves as bricks.
As we know, pricks don't kick against the pricks.
Upon his death he left 1000 acre.
At the time race had not been invented,
bigots mumbled: money represented.
Published 27th Oct 2018
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27th Oct 2018 9:49pm
The worst thing I've written. I felt blocked; I felt as though I was spending too long on it and that if I just posted it I could come back to it in the future. It doesn't say what I wanted it to say but has some of the lines I wanted to fit. I wanted to critique our current system and draw a parallel with Ellison's life (a black slave holder in US) with our current lives with some of us being employers or aspirant employers. Will people look back at us in a hundred years time and call us scum for buying and selling one another's labour? Anyway ... I could go on ... but that defeat's the point of writing a poem about it - which I've just done again: in the comments. Sigh.......................
I hope to move on to something else and come back and re-work it.
I hope to move on to something else and come back and re-work it.
28th Oct 2018 2:50pm
I would not say it is the worst thing you've ever written (mind you I have not read much of you...)
Anyway, I think the poem really provokes some deeper thoughts here and that is important.
Anyway, I think the poem really provokes some deeper thoughts here and that is important.
28th Oct 2018 3:48pm
Very kind of you to say ... the historical fact of a slave working hard, freeing himself and going on to own slaves is extremely interesting to me. The parallel to our own political system and economy is also interesting but I barely got that across ... ah well, must try harder.
Anonymous
- Edited 25th Oct 2022 6:45pm
28th Oct 2018 5:06pm
<< post removed >>
28th Oct 2018 8:12pm
thanks for your kind words ... and I'm pleased you've learned about him through the poem. I'm going to let this one rest awhile but I definitely will either revise it or he'll turn up again in another poem. I find poems that shine the light on things that I wouldn't otherwise know fascinating; I'm definitely inspired by people such as the academic Peter Dale Scott and poems such as the following, https://www.lobster-magazine.co.uk/articles/liberation.htm (hope the link works).
All the best
AB
All the best
AB
Interesting read of Peter Dale Scott's poem on the actions of "Deep State" all around us, running rings round governments. I think I'm beginning to see where your impetus to write 'political poetry' is coming from.
I can see the 'Pushkin Stanza' figures in your writing. Even though it's 14 lines (as in sonnet) in my book it's explained as a stanza form for longer poems. I guess it can be both.
I can see the 'Pushkin Stanza' figures in your writing. Even though it's 14 lines (as in sonnet) in my book it's explained as a stanza form for longer poems. I guess it can be both.
15th Dec 2018 6:26pm
I got the Pushkin Stanza from Andy Croft in his Ghost Writer https://fiveleaves.co.uk/product/the-ghost-writer/ if you get the chance to read it, give us a shout. I can't think of a way of discussing it without spoilers.
15th Dec 2018 8:40pm
Hi AB, just looked at the fiveleaves website. Interesting publications. Currently won't accept to send stuff to Portugal (not unusual) but meanwhile have book-marked Andy Croft. I'll hunt around a bit more on the internet. Thanks for the tip.
