It is edited by Kevin Powell’s Writing Workshop. 164 diverse writers—like Nikki Giovanni, Gloria Steinem, jessica Care moore, and V (formerly Eve Ensler) PLUS several writers who are being published for the very first time. These writers together fearlessly explore one of the most explosive years in U.S. and world history through blogs/essays, poems, fiction, and journal entries. With cover photos by Kay Hickman. ON SALE NOW via www.Amazon.com (paperback) and Amazon Kindle (ebook).

CeLillianne Green speaks @ the University of Cambridge, Robinson College on 10-11-2020.                   

Poems are now posted on the Prince George’s Arts & Humanities Council (PGAHC) website. See this and other poetry related news and information on the Poet Laureate webpages at https://www.pgahc.org/2020-nahm-haiku-challenge

Michelle Wilkinson, Curator National Museum of African American History and Culture quoted CeLillianne Green poem, “Stay in Your Lane” from her book, A Bridge, The Poetic Primer on African and African American Experiences in 11-2-2020 presentation at the University of Arkansas “Black Pillars: Notes on Precarious Resilience”  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7R-YY2hJrfE

   

Covid-19.  Pandemic.  Virus.  Worldwide.

No vaccine. Millions infected. Thousands died.

Gratitude for the EMT, the doctor, the nurse

Applause. Well deserved. Unrehearsed

But, what about the driver of a funeral hearse?

What about the janitor?

What about the maid? 

Over worked. Under paid. 

What about us?

Our work is an essential public service

We fear Covid-19 and we are nervous

We work during the pandemic like medical workers do

We keep working because you need us too

Will we receive your praise?

Will we get a much-needed raise? 

We are truck loaders, cashiers, and grocery store clerks

We are the people who pack a lunch for work

We are the attendant at the gas station

12 hour work-days without hesitation 

Do you use public transportation?

Taxis, buses, subways, trains

We work in the sunshine. We work in the rain.

We drive18-wheelers across America’s roads

We transport America’s heavy loads

When will we hear your applause?

Do you intend to recognize our cause?

Our cause is to live and to be virus free

Like you, we don’t want to expose our family

We are utility workers and meat packers

Hard workers. We are not slackers.

Personal protective equipment is in short supply

We don’t want our jobs to cause us to die

We are public school teachers and teacher aides

Your children, we educate and assign grades

For teachers, there has been faint praise

However, there has not been a pay raise

We are seasonal workers on farms

Strained backs. Weak legs. Tired arms. 

Do you hear the exhaustion in our voice? 

We work hard.  We have no choice.  

If we wake up, we go to our jobs

Many of our employers are wealthy snobs 

We have to pick up garbage, recycle trash

Do you tell yourself we have enough cash?

Do not be deceived.  

A living wage, we do not receive.

We deliver packages, medicine, and the mail

You expect us to work without fail 

Sadly, we disproportionately die from Covid-19

Underlying conditions. Our health is not pristene.

For the sake of our family, we would like to rest

We would like to earn enough to invest

Health insurance, we cannot afford

Our work ethic cannot be ignored

We are the bellhop, the porter, the red cap

We deserve to hear your hands clap

Working at our job is daily expected

Yet, daily we do not feel respected 

We work behind the scenes.  We work the front lines. 

For us, working conditions are not fine.

Why is there no fuss about what happens to us?

We are the us too many refuse to see  

We are the daily necessity 

We are the us we all need

Humble, hard-working, with a family to feed 

CeLillianne Green Copyright 2020 All Rights Reserved

We are not here to be your minister

Instead, we convert you into that which is sinister

A monster, a demon, a menace

For causing your death, we will not do penance 

We convert your humanity into what, not who, we see

In our conversion, we see no basis for equality 

Your humanity, we have been taught not to see

3/5ths of a human is the origin of your pedigree

It was written in the U.S. Constitution

The 13^th Amendment was a compromise solution

Prisons have not stopped using the labor of slaves

And for police killings, charges are waived

The law upheld the casual killing of a slave

No remorse.  It was not viewed as depraved

What’s the difference between a slave and you?

Casual killing still holds true

You casually kill each other too

This is what centuries of self-hate can do

Your casual killing, your self-hate

The system can easily accommodate

Arrests, charges, trials, prison, probation, and parole

For you, the system has a clear goal

The system accommodates us as well

We have a different story to tell

The system is just for us

This is why you continue to fuss

We need not march, protest, or make demands

For us, the system works just as planned

Grand jurors ensure we are not publicly tried

Your death, by our hands will be justified

We kill with impunity and with government immunity

Your acts of surrender, we do not remember

Hands in the air, we do not care 

A boy, a teenager, a mother, a father

Protecting your life, we need not bother

In you, we see a danger, a suspect, a weapon 

We see melanin in your complexion 

This is how we profile you

Men, women, and children too

It is not possible to serve or to protect

People who we profile and do not respect

We can beat or kill Black women without hesitation

Knowing the outcry will not span the nation 

In 2 seconds, we can shoot your boy dead on a play ground

And, we expect the system to protect us as we move around

We can end your teenager’s life and leave his body in the street

A 4 ½ – hour warning in mid-day summer heat

For you, this is how we meet and greet

Our power and control is not meant to be discreet

We represent the system.  We embody the law.

You are not to question what we say or do

Do not speak unless spoken to

You must obey

Yes Sir, yes Ma’am are the words to say

The words “I can’t breathe” are not on our list

These words sound like you’re starting to resist

To resist our chokehold is much too bold

It means you are attempting to live

Your attempt to live, we cannot forgive

In a system born of racism and persistent hate

Your words, your breathing carry very little weight

Breathing is not our priority for you

Our prior conduct has shown this is true

If you say “I can’t breathe” multiple times

Each time increases your resistance in our minds

How can you desire to breathe and to be free?

The desire for freedom is a human condition

For you to want it, raises our suspicion

We see your breathing insistence as an act of resistance.

We define resistance exclusively

It does not matter what others see

The people who videotape, watch, or hear

These witnesses do cause us to fear

To fear your humanity might be accepted

To fear your desire to live might be respected 

Yet, witnesses do not temper our behavior

We know the system will rule in our favor 

So, of course, we can use more force

We decide when to escalate the situation

Regardless of witness observations

It is our judgment to make

If you die, we made a casual mistake

We do not need a pretense 

In-the-line-of-duty is our defense

The system serves and protects us without reservation

It is what we deserve. It is our expectation

This system was not designed with you in mind

Except to control, contain, or confine

Of course, liberty and justice for all is America’s ideal

But, for you, this was not meant to be real

Thus, your death, by our hands is not really a crime

The prosecutor will make sure, at just the right time

In the meantime, we do share a common thread

If we interact, you could end up dead.

“Casual Killing” – On 5-25-2020 a Black man, George Floyd was murdered by  4 White police officers in uniform.  One officer kept his sunglasses above his forehead, his hand in his pant pocket, his knee on Mr. Floyd’s throat for over 8 minutes, and casually ended Mr. Floyd’s life.  Mr. Floyd who was handcuffed, behind his back, face down on a public street, pleaded for the breath of life, to no avail.  The other 3 police officers aided and abetted the murder, in the presence of witnesses, who the 4 police officers knew were video-taping their crime. The Casual Killing occurred in broad daylight with an apparent expectation that they would face no consequences.  The officers reminded me of a poem I wrote in 2014 – “Casual Killing” which sadly, has not stopped. Amid uprisings and protest, 1 of the 4 police officers was arrested on 5-29-2020.  The other 3 police officers remain on the loose. Will there be justice this time?

“I Didn’t Know” by CeLillianne Green Copyright © 2007

I didn’t know I could love like this

I didn’t know I could experience such bliss

I didn’t know when you were born

In you, my heart would now be worn

I had no idea my child could take my heart

And teach me to love, from my deepest part

I didn’t know how much I had to learn

And that from this love I would never return

I had no concept of love like this

Or that between us, this love would always persist

I didn’t know the joy of seeing your tiny lips 

Or the power of feeling your tender kiss 

I didn’t know that in your eyes

I would now see the sunrise

I would see the sunrise and never forget

That because of you, God and I met

I didn’t know that when I bore a child

I would be intoxicated by your smile

Or that I would gladly shed my tears

To erase your doubts and remove your fears

Carrying you in my womb

Has allowed me to fully bloom

I have bloomed and made room

I’ve made room for love like this

Love I could never dismiss

You are my child, the fruit of my loins

In the power of love, we are forever joined

Joined in a love that will never set

As long as tears continue to be wet

A love like this, I’d never known

With your birth, I’ve been shown

You’ve shown me the power of motherhood 

Before you, it was a power I misunderstood

I will use this power to move heaven and earth

To make sure you know your value and your worth

With you, I’ve experienced love in its purest form

The love for which I was born

Before you, I didn’t know there was love like this

Now I know, why I exist

CeLillianne Green Copyright © 2007 All Rights Reserved

“Hot Comb”

Hallelujah

Our

True Hair

Condition

Only

Means

Black Power

“The Present” is my offering to @NMAAHC 2020 Virtual Poetry Slam. It is my poetic tribute to the 2016 opening of @NMAAHC and its existence as a demonstration of the resiliency and hope of African Americans. Enjoy.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VRCHaZ3aWS0 #NMAAHCPoetrySlam