We rushed in on
the wind of a promise,
they said come and build,
build upon streets paved with gold;
We built our Homes out of unemployment
and spit We built our Homes out of ‘no blacks signs’
We built our Homes out of crooked backs factory air and
tired feet
painted the walls with our public service
tiled the roof with patriotism
for 70 years We called it Home:
it was still not enough.
they rushed in:
cold and biting,
stripped it down to the
bare bones of empire
they showed Us,
exactly what Our Homes were made of.
I wrote this poem because I felt that the sheer injustice of what was happening to my community needed not only to be petitioned and debated, but also expressed. It was picked up by the BBC and made into a spoken word video. I feel this piece encapsulates topics which are important to me and appear often in my writing. These themes include: the rift that occurs between dual identities, the power dynamics of belonging, and the often-concealed narratives of Black British people.