Bleek: A Dramatic Poem

This poem is not about any character in particular. It is a montage of disenfranchised voices which reflect disenchantment with the status quo: a system that continues to see gang members as crazed people who are non-human, a stereotype which perpetuates gang-related killings. Nevertheless, the poem has some of the qualities of a short story in that it has a beginning, middle, and end, as well as a central character, Bleek, who speaks for the norms of the poem. Through a series of scenes and reflections, Bleek takes us on a journey which is as demoralizing as the one that African Americans experienced when they were brought to this country on slave ships, their language and culture ignored as they were force-fed poverty and treated like puppets for children's flighty joy. But just as some slaves rose above their circumstances, Bleek is changed through the course of the poem. Needless to say, his journey is a necessary one in a society divided by violence and prejudice. As a result, he trades his old weapon, the gun, for a new tool, the pen. This is his story.