Political Poems

The Political Poems Collection exemplifies the power of poetry to inspire change and challenge injustice. Centering on themes related to politics and governance in a broad range of settings and cultures, these poems interrogate and challenge the systems and people who hold power in society.

The Tradition

by Jericho Brown

Publication year 2015

Genre Poem, Fiction

Themes Race, Politics & Government, Justice

Tags Lyric Poem, US History, Race & Racism, African American Literature, Modern Classic Fiction, LGBTQ+, Social Justice

“The Tradition” by Jericho Brown is written from the perspective of a collective “we.” This group planted colorful perennial flowers, including aster, nasturtium, and delphinium (Line 1); filmed the flowers they planted blooming; then watched this video on fast forward (“Sped the video to see blossoms / brought in seconds,” Lines 11-12). At the end of the poem, the reader discovers that the collective “we” narrating the poem are Black men, and the sped-up video... Read The Tradition Summary