A window sign that reads "poems."

Poetry #185 Winter 2016-2017 — Art, Culture, and Community Development

Poem: “This Yes”

When the federal government required the mills of Cohoes to hire “colored” workers or lose war contracts, the mills relented but Cohoes maintained its segregation. Workers of color settled across the river in North Troy.

Photo by Pascal Maramis, via flickr, CC BY 2.0

When the federal government required the mills of Cohoes to hire “colored”
workers or lose war contracts, the mills relented but Cohoes maintained its
segregation. Workers of color settled across the river in North Troy.

I cross the rivers people crossed to get to work: Hudson
then Mohawk coming, Mohawk
then Hudson going.
Scenic.

I can’t feel it: river as moat, bridge as fence, labor as white
privilege; can’t hate Cohoes the way red-lined lives
must have hated
Cohoes.

The day I moved in a Black girl of five or six stopped to chat
and chatting asked, “Will you live here
the rest of your life?”
I felt

invited, invoked. Oh shaded streets! Oh confluence of rivers
great and great! Her mother and I touched glances
over her head in silent, cynical assessment:
This

is no place to live a whole life. But didn’t dappled shade,
enthusiastic child, even silent, cynical
agreement disagree?
Yes.

Scenic Cohoes, I felt this yes.

About the Author

Elizabeth Gordon

Elizabeth Gordon is a slam poet who has performed and competed nationally since 2011. Her first full collection of poetry, "Love Cohoes," was published in 2014.

Tags

Comments

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

OTHER ARTICLES IN THIS ISSUE

ISSUE TABLE OF CONTENTS

  • A Resource for Well-Meaning Landlords

    • Roger Markovics

    January 11, 2017

    When I picked up Peter Shapiro’s book, The Good Landlord: A Guide to Making a Profit While Making a Difference, my first thought was, “What happens when you can’t do both, or have to choose one over the other?”

  • Bringing Together Arts and Community Development

    • Miriam Axel-Lute

    January 11, 2017

    Who has been behind the large increase in financial support for and attention to what has been termed "creative placemaking" over the past couple years, and why?

  • A woman tells her story about life in Little Tokyo while someone holds an old photo of her and her coworkers.

    Preserving the Character of Little Tokyo

    • Amy Evans

    January 11, 2017

    In the wake of rapid gentrification, an organization in Los Angeles leverages the arts to celebrate a community's rich heritage and keep social equity as a priority. But what is the core character of Little Tokyo?