She was born 7:13, or has the clock read 1913
The doctor said she wasn’t the easiest birth
But she was born to be free, huh the irony
With a name as beautiful as a single rose in the park
That spark of hope in the dark
This is the story of Rosa parks

First December, Montgomery
A date and a place to remember
But she said “I never done this for you to remember me”
Well sorry Rosa your act of bravery will always be in our memories
An AA, no alcoholic, she was drunk of the essence off time
She felt laws preventing desegregation was a crime
So Jim crow be aware
Numbered is your time

After a long day of sewing, she weren’t prepared to cloak her feelings
So this seamstress seemed stress
The real shame was, the fact she was on a bus was seen as a progress
Cause she remembers when she was young, and had to walk to school
While the white kids had the bus driver as a personal chauffeur
And she kept walking (and kept walking) x3
Even doe Plessy fought Jackson in 1896
Which made us (separate but equal) x2
Hmm didn’t know segregation had its loopholes
But hay what do I know
Yet, loophole or no loophole, it was still a step forward
And just goes to show how we can all move forward, literally in this
case,
If just one person takes action
No one progresses as a coward

She wasn’t the first of her kind
A suffering African American
Nah, but she wasn’t the first of those too
I’m talking bout a revolutionist
Caused a revolutionary
It was fate that decided
That it will be her name that will be put down in history
But lets no forget the others
No caped crusaders
But their names and efforts seem to be covered in a shroud of mystery
1944 Jackie Robinson
Sarah Keys and Irene Morgan
Not to say their efforts where not important
But you need to understand that Rosa’s involvements in the fight for
black rights
Before this event was not dormant
And active member for the advancement of coloured people
Its weird, how colour can make some see others as feeble
Colour made some see others as lesser people
But on this day, this lady proved colour meant nothing
When it came to being equal

Now let me take you back 1955
Same year, just a couple months back
15-year-old Claudette Colvin also fought back
She also believed black was not just a throw back
So she stood up for her rights by also refusing to stand up for a white
But she was still a baby
But this foetus grew
Ate of the hate that was gave
Drank the piss take that the whites told them to behave
If you ask me it was a late birth
So don’t watch black time
You never complained when our freedom was delayed
But still
Time was ticking and the clocks where spinning
Like the veins on a windmill
Tick, tock, tick, then suddenly
The ice cracked and water broke
And labour was induced by the death of Emmett Till
It took some time but finally
Yes, December 1st 1955 a baby was born
Rosa parks, a mother, a mother of freedom
The mother of the freedom movement
As if she was married to the cause
She was the First lady of civil rights
As if a spokesman for the monarchy she gave the king a say
And he gave us he’s dream
And this gave us hope
Gave us strength
And in turn, gave us freedom
And there, my friends, black or white
I give you, the story of Rosa parks
A quiet protest that screamed freedom

Written by Mr Dauda Ladejobi

Poet of the Year 2014 – Tony Tokunbo Fernandez National Poetry Competition for UK Residents