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Black Herstories

Helena Petre

Sunday, November 3rd, 2002

1 Leave a comment on verse 1 0 Black Herstories

2 Leave a comment on verse 2 0 Kicked out of Amin’s Uganda, they come to our convent
in Scotland: we don’t know what to do
’cause this is 1978, in Bridge of Earn ­ the
Kitumas are the first black people we’ve met. We

3 Leave a comment on verse 3 0 Remember mission films ­ enthusiastic nuns; slides of
African children; smiling new uniforms in Burundi. But
Cecilia and Mary offer intimacy, not pity, and
In a matter of a few slow years we pick up on
Small things like hair styles: Cecilia does demos on
Mary’s locks in front of the whole school.

4 Leave a comment on verse 4 0 Of course, convent girls do not play football! Tall, fast Mary is
Under the glare of the netball team, shooting goal! goal! goal!
Tiny culture lessons for us: complete shift for the Kitumas.

© Helena Petre, November 2002

Notes

I think this more appropriate for the Black history comp. if it is still opne. Please enter it into any comp. category you think it will fit into!

Source: http://footballpoets.org/poems/black-herstories/