"Tree Poem" by Kierra N. Toney

Source: Unsplash

Tree Poem 

By Kierra N. Toney 

I. 

All the weight of the world is placed upon you as a Black woman. 

Especially if you are a Black woman that is well aware of the intricacies of social inequalities.

 Is there such a thing as a Black woman that could truly say she isn’t anymore? 

We are taught, directly or indirectly, to be our own cheerleaders, our own biggest fans. If we aren’t, no one else will be. 

We are conditioned to be strong, nurturing, accepting crumbs of appreciation. I must admit that it gets tiring, hardening, disenchanting. 

And while I do love being a Black woman, wouldn’t trade it for any other social location. Watching myself and others being mined for our magic and denied any reciprocal relationship is getting so old. 

While sitting in the park one day I thought to myself… 

II. 

The Appalachian Mountains are really really old right? 

Ancient  

Even older than white supremacy 

At one point they were probably much taller 

Taller than some of the younger mountain ranges that tower over them today. 

Now, although beautiful 

In comparison to other mountain ranges 

They look like rolling hills 

Do you know how they got that way? 

Millions of years of weather erosion 

Slow but powerful enough to move,  

wash away, mountains.

That’s how social justice feels sometimes. 

I can remember as a younger woman 

I was really passionate about being an activist. 

Now as an older, wiser, learned woman 

I can’t say I’m passionate about it anymore.

I just am it. 

Often without reward

It’s an added layer to my identity  

An added burden  

At least it is one that I have chosen 

More or less.

Activism, like water erosion, is capable of moving mountains of injustice Slowly, over time, with much effort 

and much time. 

So yeah, I’m cool with being a drop of water in the weathering 

that will ultimately liberate my people from an ancient reign of tyranny But honestly, I think...  

III. 

I think I’d rather be a tree. 

To stand in my bareness, effortlessly secure. 

Remarkable in any light. 

Enriched by the world in the way it ought to be for each living thing. 

Embellished by my age and experiences. 

To give and to receive without expectation. 

To be nurturing and nurtured without doubt. 

To have a place that is mine in the world, in a system which knows it needs me and I it.

To be timeless. 

Rigidly planted yet open to entertain the push and pull of the wind.

Rightfully proud to be as big as I am meant to be. 

Earnestly believing that when my time is done, I’ve done all I was born to do. 

Expecting when that season comes, as it inevitably will, to 

elegantly fall back into the earth to await my next assignment.

Kierra N. Toney

Kierra N. Toney is a fourth-year Ph.D. student in the Department of Sociology at the University of Cincinnati. She is originally from Chattanooga, TN the eldest of her living siblings and a first-generation college student. She obtained her bachelor’s degree from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville in 2017. Her research interest includes Urban Education and Education Policy, Race and Ethnicity, Social Inequalities, and Critical Race Theory. Kierra identifies as a scholar-activist and hopes to use her research as a tool to aid in equity and liberation for marginalized groups. Kierra has been writing poetry since she was 13 years old. She has always used poetry to help her process thoughts and emotions through life’s ups and downs. Recently, she has started to explore poetry as a tool for expressing ideas about social issues. She has goals of publishing books in Sociology, Poetry, and Children’s genres.