If You Are Over Staying Woke
By: Morgan Parker
Water
the plants. Drink
plenty of water.
Don’t hear
the news. Get
bored. Complain
about the weather.
Keep a corkscrew
in your purse.
Swipe right
sometimes.
Don’t smile
unless you want
to. Sleep in.
Don’t see the news.
Remember what
the world is like
for white people.
California born and currently Brooklyn-based, Morgan Parker is one of many renown black female voice of our era. As an activist and feminist, her poems often center around race, gender, politics, and current events. Her poem If You Are Over Staying Woke explores the thought process of the modern person of color, as well as integrates her personal experience.
If You Are Over Staying Woke is a modern and contextual poem, referencing many concepts specific to the past two years in the United States of America. It takes on a progressive form as it continues from start to finish, and in a way requires the reader to stop and focus on the weight of each line.
Listen to
cricket songs.
Floss. Take pills.
Keep an
empty mind.
When you are
hungover
do not say
I’m never drinking
again. Be honest
when you’re up
to it. Otherwise
drink water
Upon initial analysis, the poem may seem as though it is structured as a complaint- but is actually the grappling thoughts of a person of color in a world that seems to heed no cry for reform.
As the writing continues, Parker carefully intermingles verses that communicate issues on a large scale.
lie to yourself
turn off the news
burn the papers
skip the funerals
take pills
laugh at dumb shit
fuck people you
don’t care about
use the crockpot
use the juicer
use the smoothie maker
drink water
from the sky
don’t think
too much about the sky
This play between superficial day-to-day ideas and the unfortunate realities of society angle If You Are Over Being Woke as a somewhat stream of consciousness writing. The poem mirrors the way in which thoughts speed through ones’ mind, yet instills an intimate but harsh dose of reality to the audience.
The stanza set up of this poem also communicates the theme of thought pattern. There are no line breaks throughout the entire work, each line follows another in a unique and sequential pattern. As is continues, the poem becomes increasingly frenzied and anxious, mirroring the way a person silently speaks to themselves in their mind.
don’t think about water
skip the funerals
close your eyes
whenever possible
When you toast
look everyone in the eyes
Never punctuate
the President
The motivations of the speaker are conflicted, signaled through the rising and
The webbing of the speaker’s thoughts allows for a comparison of normal life amidst the dark backdrop of the unspoken cruelties that occur every single day.
Write the news
Turn
into water
Water
the fire escape
Burn the paper
Crumble the letters
Instead of
hyacinths pick
hydrangeas
Water the hydrangeas
Wilt the news
White the hydrangeas
Drink the white
Waterfall the
cricket song
The central nature of this poignant poem is the disheartening anthem of the modern social crusader.
Keep a song mind
Don’t smile
Don’t wilt
funeral
funeral
The complicated nature of the piece creates a paradox that perfectly surmises the seemingly dim future of a world where sometimes...it is just too tiring to care.
