This astonishing poem was written by Vanessa Kisuule, the Bristol City Poet, in June 2020 in response to the destruction of the statue of Edward Colston, a slaver. His entire fortune was built on the systematic enslavement, murder and rape of enslaved Africans.
Kisuule has generously given her permission for anyone to use the poem in the classroom, so I’ve transcribed it to make that easier for busy teachers. I’ve taken a few liberties with formatting and punctuation, but have tried as far as possible to stick to the poet’s underscoring from the original video.
You can see the video here.
Download the transcribed poem here: