Our first featured poet is Abiraami Elangovan! Abiraami is a rising junior at Allen High School, but has been writing poetry since seventh grade. She is passionate about art, poetry, and volunteering. She is the president of Uknity, a wonderful organization of fiber artists who create hats, scarves, and blankets for the local homeless population. This poem was also featured on our Instagram, @allenteenarts, where we promote bashes and feature artists and writers.
Equal Rights
Too long we have been pushed down,
Told to be seen and not heard
Too long we have been oppressed,
Made to live under others’ words
Too long forced
Face first into the dust
To a life of servitude and obedience
We have been bound and trussed
But we created something beautiful
Out of this dirt we’ve been smothered in
We created unity,
Sowing seeds of freedom where inequality has been
For hundreds of years we have been protesting,
Demanding for equal rights
We refused to be silent,
And so we shook the world with our fight
And we were pushed down once again;
We were told to quiet our voice
We were arrested for protesting,
And the world blocked us out as background noise
But we kept going;
Continued to grow, to empower, to speak
Even when the chances of being seen, being heard,
Seemed especially bleak
And we changed the world;
We showed our power through our words
Those voices that were once oppressed?
They became worldwide heard
But, still, we haven't achieved our goal
And so, we continue our fight
We will-we must-keep going,
Because one day, everyone will get equal rights.
A Note From the Author
"Hey! My name is Abiraami, and I'm a rising junior at Allen High School. I started writing poetry in seventh grade for a poetry competition in school and have fallen in love with it ever since. I'm passionate about writing, art, and helping our community through volunteering, and am currently the president of Uknity, an organization that knits, crochets, and donates clothing, hats, scarves, and blankets to the homeless population in and around the DFW area. I'm super excited to share my poetry and grow as a writer, and I'm grateful for this opportunity!"
If you'd like to be featured in a future blog post, please submit your art or poetry here: https://forms.gle/qJwL6SbMPWaJaCfh7