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Poetically Yours Ep. 48 - Rockford Poet Recognizes Essential Workers

Charles White
Provided by Charles White

This poem is a part of “Equal People” Our Human Family’s anthology of international poetry on equality and inclusivity.

Welcome to this week’s Poetically Yours. This segment features poetry from northern Illinois poets. This week we present Estacious Charles White.

White is a poet and an educator. His work experience encompasses managing schools and teaching a variety of subjects. White found his passion for writing poetry, short fiction, playwriting and non-fiction, over 25 years ago. He won one of six prizes in the Rockford New Play Festival with West Side Show Room for his play “Incarcerated Christmas.” He is married with three children. He's also a New Orleans native. Here’s his poem “Ode To The Essential.”

Ships crossing waves
Human cargo chained
In the belly of a monster
Landed 1619 on rocky shores
Lives and identity taken
Forsaken to the task
To create rich men
In their own blood
Now the task is running America
Others locked down
While the black and brown
Make the world go round
Dying not on ships
Or plantations
But in hospitals
Bearing a diabolical
Demon
Named COVID-19
We must honor these heroes
Risking loved ones daily
As they return home afraid
To touch their own progeny
Essential yes
Essential to children
Essential to spouses
Essential to parents
In all the ways
Essential yes
But also so much more

  • Yvonne Boose is a current corps member for Report for America, an initiative of the GroundTruth Project. It's a national service program that places talented journalists in local newsrooms like WNIJ. You can learn more about Report for America at wnij.org.
Yvonne covers artistic, cultural, and spiritual expressions in the COVID-19 era. This could include how members of community cultural groups are finding creative and innovative ways to enrich their personal lives through these expressions individually and within the context of their larger communities. Boose is a recent graduate of the Illinois Media School and returns to journalism after a career in the corporate world.