Ellie Alldredge Bell wrote the following poem for her writing group in Madison, Wisconsin. She taught for 34 years in Oak Park District 97 and also taught other teachers as part of the Illinois Writing Project. She retired in 2003.
Disappearing
Keep truth alive.
Tell your story of the capture while sleeping in your home,
Or in your sacred, holy place,
Or in the fortress where you learn and do research,
Or outside your car as your children sit in the back seat,
Tell of being bullied
Tell of your fear
Tell of their disrespect
Tell of their othering you
Tell of detention
Tell of detainment
Do not disappear.
Speak the truth.
As you march — as you write or paint or draw
Hold high your sign: Love Trumps Hate.
Sing chants.
Pound drums.
Clap hands.
Stomp feet.
Do not go silent. Do not disappear.
Quiet not your story
Your writings
Your music
Your art
Your voice
Quieting truth
Ensures we disappear.
Do not, my friends, disappear.
Ellie Alldredge Bell
Oak Park