Black Poetry Tuesdays (June 27, 2023 Edition): "Who Said It Was So Simple" by Audre Lorde

This week's Black Poetry Tuesday poem comes from writer, activist, radical feminist, professor, and philosopher Audre Lorde. I present Audre's powerful poem, "Who Said It Was Simple, " to y'all."

Who Said It Was So Simple

"There are so many roots to the tree of anger   
that sometimes the branches shatter   
before they bear.

Sitting in Nedicks
the women rally before they march   
discussing the problematic girls   
they hire to make them free.
An almost white counterman passes   
a waiting brother to serve them first   
and the ladies neither notice nor reject   
the slighter pleasures of their slavery.   
But I who am bound by my mirror   
as well as my bed
see causes in colour
as well as sex

and sit here wondering   
which me will survive   
all these liberations."

Lorde's focus in the piece was to point out the racism and classism of the feminist movement's whiteness and lack of intersectionality. She turns the language of the women she's observing back against them, using it to underscore how the "liberations" they seek both depend on and exclude "problematic girls" such as Lorde. Audre, who openly talked about the difficulties and traumas that came with being viewed as "other" in every group her identities were part of, keeps it short and sweet with this piece. But you can also sense her exhaustion, her need to make sure her identities were viewed as relevant and not tokenized. This piece was written in 1973 but is still relevant and impactful in 2023.

You can learn more about Audre Lorde here.