This week in my class, I discussed slavery. Well, I asked my students to discuss it. Real slavery, not metaphoric slavery. What does it mean to be someone that is held against their will, abused and forced to do something everyday that they are not receiving  wages or benefits for. I asked them to each write something that depicts slavery in an honest way, that forces them to think about it is as a real experience that real humans struggled through. We talked about how in our heads slavery is a thing of the past, but slavery is still happening today, in 2018.

The specific reason I brought this discussion to my class is because Passover is next week, and it is a time that we spend celebrating our freedom, but more in theory than in practice. I wanted my students to take a moment and realize – woah. I’m not a slave.

We discussed. We wrote. Some more than others. The realization was had, I hope, by everyone.

I managed to be able to write my own poem during this class, and it’s been awhile since I’ve had the chance to do the same assignment I’ve assigned. But I thought about it. And I realized that I am no slave, metaphoric or not. I am the one who holds myself back – I hold my own key.

This poem is not my best, it was written hastily and mid-thought. But perhaps it will spur more of you to have the same discussion we had in class, because it’s a conversation worth having.

 

My legs are not in shackles,
My hours are my own.

No whips are taut above me,
No gates keep me contained.

Freedom of speech is granted,
Freedom of growth allowed.

I am not a slave in Egypt,
I am not a slave at all.

They say it is our prison,
They say we must break free.

Do I feel as if I’m broken,
Have I secured my fate?

Have I hidden my own key
Or am I truly free?

 

Blog Post: 27/52

Featured Photo by Evan Kirby via Unsplash