Rosa Parks

I was just another girl born in Tuskegee.
But I was different because of my skin.
Others were considered better than me.
Because of this, I could never fit in.

I must accept that whites are the superior race,
Even if it doesn't make much sense to me.
I guess I should take my place
Under the whites, even if I disagree.

I went on living an ordinary life.
I got a job as a seamstress,
And became a barber's wife.
But I still didn't feel like a success.

My people were still being hurt.
Life is unfair, but it was more than that.
We were all being treated like dirt.
People walked all over us and even spat.

I had to do something, so I got involved.
I joined the NAACP movement.
We discussed issues that must be resolved.
I became a leader and fought for improvement.

No one ever expects to be called sublime
Or be remembered for several years.
I didn't even know it at the time,
But my chance to change the world was here.

The day seemed to be heading in the same direction.
Another long day at the Montgomery department store.
Another bus ride home in the colored section.
And more white people walking through the bus door.

The bus became full, and white folks had to stand.
The bus driver was determined to make us rise.
Four of us had to get up, he demanded.
Everyone else complied, but I was tired of giving into their lies.

I was arrested and thrown in jail,
But something had to be done.
It was a small price to pay for good to prevail.
Now, people finally could see the power of one.

My movement started the bus boycott.
It lasted three hundred eighty-one days
And showed everyone what we really thought.
My brothers and I were tired of falling prey.

It is time to look for the good in each other
And end everyone's superior claim.
No race or person is above another.
We are all really different but really the same.

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