Last month I received an email on my mellon (Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellowship) listserv. One of my fellow Mellons was uninvited to perform her work (at a Mellon meeting!) because some her work could potentially make the "conservative" meeting attendees uncomfortable. For some reason, her poem was in my head today. In solidarity, I am posting it below.
Hard
by Rosamond S. King
I just wrote a poem that changed my life
which is not hard
so I cannot listen to the white girl who says collegeis hard
school is easy
watching your brother necklaced is hard
erasing your 3yearold self
so you do not see your father’s thing is hard
I am appalled at how I hear this girl’s words
and even reply while ignoring her, dismissing her
but it’s not hard
passing the exam will be difficult
graduating ivy league will be challenging
fighting a revolution when you’re 13 is hard
being Black is exhausting
being Latina is fatiguing
being Native American is wearisome
being Asian is laborious
being raped by 17 soldiers is hard
dying alone is hard
choosing where to eat is perplexing
meeting your ex-lover is awkward
deciding what to wear is complex
getting up in the morning takes effort
surviving is reflex
life is hard
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