WE ARE HERE
I don’t recall choosing where I was born
But I can choose to be who I am
Even if circumstances do not always allow
And I fall victim to outside pressures
Then
I can feel I have no choice
Feel that I am downtrodden
Unloved
Not wanted
Not needed
But
I can choose to fight
Choose to gain my identity
Win my right
To be recognised
To be heard
I can choose to turn left
Turn right
Go straight on
I can choose my words
Words that define me
Words that drive actions
Words of war
Words of peace
Words of comfort
Words of apology
Words of ….
I’m not standing for this anymore
I can choose my friends
Make my enemies
Choose my reality
Choose to have another drink
Another cigarette
I can choose ‘my way’
Choose to be myself
Together, however
We can choose not to hurt each other
We can choose to stop the arguments
We can choose to walk away
We can choose to face ourselves
And
Confront what is wrong
Choose which way we go
But most importantly
Choose to find the ‘me’
Choose to see the ‘you’
And know
Where each of us stands
Where each of us falls
And declare with pride that
We are here!
Brendan Hawthorne National Poetry Day 2021 on the subject of Choices
Something you should know:
Poet, playwright, singer-songwriter, author and comic compère, Brendan Hawthorne is a born and bred Black Countryman! He is widely published and has held several writing residencies throughout his career. He was one of Anthony Gormley’s ‘Fourth Plinthers’ where he performed his work in Trafalgar Square, London, atop the empty plinth. Brendan was made Wednesbury Poet Laureate in 2014 and currently holds the ‘Bill o Bowes’ national award for best written dialect.
Joy to Enjoy today:
12.01am: Ancient Champion - Under Pressure »»
1am: Ade Crossen - Thoughtful Choice »»
2am: Jackie Stein - The Battle of Social Media »»
3am: Dave Pitt - Spiderman Brendan »»
4am: Jimmy Andrex - Festival of Brexit »»
5am: Brendan Hawthorne - We Are Here »»
6am: Ahmed Magare - We Cannot Walk Alone »»
7am: Emma Purshouse - Mermaid on the Number 3 »»
8am: Rue Collinge - That Year »»
9am: Deborah Alma - Mother of Pearl »»
10am: Steve Pottinger - Fatima »»
11am: Jay Lewis - Betrayal 1991 »»
12pm: Hollie McNish - Honestly »»
1pm: Emma Purshouse - Five Minutes on a Midland Train »»
2pm: Rebecca Stanhope - Take Your Hands Off Me »»
3pm: Michael Pederson - Here in a Glasgow Tenement - Not Asleep, Not Awake Either »»
4pm: Glyn Phillips - Doorways »»
5pm: PixieVic - Curious Choices »»
6pm Christian Present - Poeme »»
7pm John Robinson - My Reply To You »»
8pm David Benjamin Blower - 47 »»
9pm Emma Purshouse - Feeling Low? »»
10pm Steve Pottinger - Jam today: Mrs Veronica Blake’s manifesto for a brighter future »»
11pm Jay Lewis - The Starling 1976 »»
