Prejudice Poem
- Think carefully about all of the different types of prejudice that exist in the world today and write your poem based on your feelings about these issues.
- You may choose to write about incidents that you have experienced in your own life or have witnessed in the lives of others. You can also choose to write from a generic point of view (not based from direct experiences).
- This prejudice poem consists of six, four-line stanzas.
- You can choose to use a rhymed or non-rhymed format.
- The first stanza consists of your definition of prejudice.
- The next four stanzas each depict a different type of prejudice.
- The last stanza offers a solution or resolution to the problem or prejudice.
- Put another way, the format is as follows:
- Stanza 1 (lines 1-4) = Define prejudice in your own words.
- Stanza 2 (lines 5-8) = Discuss one type of prejudice.
- Stanza 3 (lines 9-12) = Discuss another type of prejudice.
- Stanza 4 (lines 13-16) = Discuss a different type of prejudice.
- Stanza 5 (lines 17-20) = Discuss a fourth type of prejudice.
- Stanza 6 (lines 21-24) = Discuss your solutions to the problems of prejudice.
Example
Why is the world against me for what I am?
A small minority in a majority's land.
Just 'cause we're we, they won't lend us a hand;
Superiority's the authority, but I do what I can.
"Little sun chile, why you so black?"
"Why you so light?" another child retorts back.
"Your kind gets all the breaks," my daddy say.
"Why child were you born this way?"
Popularity standards frown on excess pounds,
Yet on anorexic issues they'll also hound.
So weight is also now a burden on our chests,
For we rather, lithe and lissome (Ogden Nash said it best).
If a woman rises above her "station,"
Then, it's her "curves" that won her "that situation."
But if one receives recognition for a single sincere stand,
The we say, "Oh well, it just the man."
The obscenely rich will get their due someday,
While the poor are still yet turned away.
They don't stand a chance improving their circumstances,
Their families they can't feed, 'cause they don't have the finances.
Now to those who by prejudice choose to daily live,
I do offer this dismissal:
That we all fluctuate and learn to freely give,
Love the man for what's inside, and forget the superficial.
A small minority in a majority's land.
Just 'cause we're we, they won't lend us a hand;
Superiority's the authority, but I do what I can.
"Little sun chile, why you so black?"
"Why you so light?" another child retorts back.
"Your kind gets all the breaks," my daddy say.
"Why child were you born this way?"
Popularity standards frown on excess pounds,
Yet on anorexic issues they'll also hound.
So weight is also now a burden on our chests,
For we rather, lithe and lissome (Ogden Nash said it best).
If a woman rises above her "station,"
Then, it's her "curves" that won her "that situation."
But if one receives recognition for a single sincere stand,
The we say, "Oh well, it just the man."
The obscenely rich will get their due someday,
While the poor are still yet turned away.
They don't stand a chance improving their circumstances,
Their families they can't feed, 'cause they don't have the finances.
Now to those who by prejudice choose to daily live,
I do offer this dismissal:
That we all fluctuate and learn to freely give,
Love the man for what's inside, and forget the superficial.