Frederick Douglass by Robert Hayden

I chose this poem because I believe it is written about a very important person to our history and because it sends a very strong message. There is a wisdom found within this poem that makes a person feel good about our country, our freedom. For someone to come from such a terrible situation to become such a figure of history is inspiring. I find the idea of freedom to be very poignant as well a part of wisdom because the poem speaks of freedom in two lights; as a terrible thing and then as a beautiful thing. I believe this to be because freedom to a slave was something that was not tangible so it was a horrible thing, but then once he was saved from slavery he was able to "feel" freedom so then it was a beautiful thing. I liked how this poem was written with a lot of imagery. I feel as though I am there, listening to this poet speak about Douglas's life, it is real.