A Poem for You: Unconstitutional by Stacey L. Joy

“Unconstitutional” by Stacey L. Joy is offered to educators and students as an open resource — free to share and print through Just YA on Open OkState. We invite you to read this poem and listen to the interview (including a reading and discussion about the content and craft). And we encourage you and your students to write a poem in response.

Here is the poem:

Unconstitutional by Stacey L. Joy

Crave unity
The perfect kind
A union
Of differences
Celebrated and honored
Respected and preserved

Seek justice
For all human kind
Indivisible
Equitable
No hands up
And we will breathe

Pursue tranquility
With hoodies on
While jogging
When driving
Where standing
While being Black

Demand defense
Protection from enemies
Within white houses
Behind blue codes
Across every street
Inside cold courtrooms

Destroy poverty
Dismantle systemic racism
Secure all liberties
To live fearless
With radical love
For ourselves and our posterity

Stacey Joy is a National Board Certified Teacher who has taught for 38 years in Los Angeles. Stacey is a self-published poet and has poems published in various anthologies: Out of Anonymity, Savant Poetry Anthologies, Teacher Poets Writing to Bridge the Distance, and Rhythm and Rhyme: Poems for Student Athletes.

And here is our interview with Stacey:

You can download the entire anthology for free here: https://www.ethicalela.com/store/

And you can buy a paperback here: https://bookshop.org/p/books/just-ya-…