Identity Voodoo

A body possessed by identity voodoo
views prejudice as madness,
timescape of rumpus,
stories of Dark ghosts haunted by a war
against 500 lifetimes of submission

Between the tallest stakes,
a pile of White thieves engage caste illusion—  
hunt to the strangest of death,
do not educate,
do not write literary words
that ruminate power

The essays of a learned Dark man are
wings of pain that fly,
light words cannot entertain them—
flammable and curious
enough to rupture the pregnancy of prejudice

Oh solidarity!
We are an anthology of Brown leaves
We are the pillars of an uncommon dream
We are a collectionnnnn of lit trends and sounds

We are the promised prayer of a future
where Dark sons are not lesser,
where death by geography is unknown,
where solidarity is like a magnet

strengthening the people
grieving again and again and again
for the Dark bones deceased by death
from White syndrome

We are a body
possessed by identity voodoo,
waking
from submission.

Copyright © 2023 by Abiola Haroun. Originally published in Poem-a-Day on July 4, 2023, by the Academy of American Poets. 

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“I wrote this poem as a project for my doctoral poetry studies. Being of African origin, I wanted to incorporate African beliefs into current-day Black struggles. ‘Identity Voodoo’ celebrates self-awareness and self-empowerment in the Black community. The poem reflects on racial subjugation in America, particularly the historical oppression of Black individuals, and calls for unification amongst all people of color.”
—Abiola Haroun