Poetry Report: Gutting of Voting Rights Act
“Why Some Are Scared of Pencils”
This week's gutting of the Voting Rights Act by the Supreme Court shows us that we can never rest. Remember this? Martin Luther King died for these two sentences.
Amendment XV
Section 1. The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.
Section 2. The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.
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Why Some Are Scared of Pencils
A pencil
is seven inches long
made of wood
and graphite
and you can wittle
the end down to
a sharp point.
It won't crumble,
it won't shatter
and even if
someone snaps
it in half
you can still
pick up
the broken remains
and etch
a very dark mark
onto a very white
piece of paper.
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