Amanda Gorman, For Alex Jeffrey Pretti "Murdered by I.C.E January 24":  We wake with no words, just woe & wound. Our own country shooting us in the back is not just brutality; it's jarring betrayal; not enforcement, but execution. A message: Love your people & you will die. Yet our greatest threat isn't the outsider among us, but those among us who never look within. Fear not the those without papers, but those without conscience. Know that to care intensively, united, is to carry both pain-dark horror for today & profound, daring hope for tomorrow. We can feel we have nothing to give, & still beloved this world waiting, trembling to change. If we cannot find words, may we find the will; if we ever lose hope, may we never lose our humanity. The only undying thing is mercy, the courage to open ourselves like doors, hug our neighbor, & save one more bright, impossible life.

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[–] [S] 5 points 9 months ago (5 children)

Does anyone know what that symbol is "Love your people (?) you will die". I'd like to know for certain, so I can make proper alt-text.

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  • [–] 10 points 9 months ago (4 children)

    Looks like the font + italics is rendering the ampersand (&) weird. At least too me it just looks like a really fancy ampersand.

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  • [–] 6 points 9 months ago (2 children)
  • [–] 4 points 9 months ago (2 children)

    What does the shape represent?

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  • [+] -16 points 9 months ago (6 children)

    It doesn't have meter or rhyme, so it isn't a poem. I can't believe people still don't know what a poem is.

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  • [–] [S] 11 points 9 months ago* (3 children)

    Your definition of a poem might not hold up under scrutiny.

    "Poetry (from the Greek word poiesis, "making"[note 1]) is a form of literary art that uses aesthetic and often rhythmic[1][2][3] qualities of language to evoke meanings in addition to, or in place of, literal or surface-level meanings."

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poetry

    Also, the form is intentional. She is an established poet.

    "Amanda S. C. Gorman[1] (born March 7, 1998[2]) is an American poet, activist, and model."

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amanda_Gorman

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  • [+] -13 points 9 months ago (2 children)

    She is an established poet.

    doesn't matter, she knows what a poem is, so she needs to stop fucking with us and write an actual poem

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  • [–] 6 points 9 months ago* (1 child)

    It’s a poem. They don’t have to rhyme.

    Do you have anything to add here?

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