Vow To Thee, My Country

---

Digital
13x19in
2025

---

An illustration for the annual collaboration with the WBS project (Writer in Baltimore Schools program).

Original poem:

Vow to thee, my country

written by Jaden Lemessy
Grade 12 / Franklin High School

I’d vow to thee, to sit down and learn as most I can
Even though the learning that I do
Equates to y = mx + b. Why, equals, am I mixing 2 letters plus b to make
A list of consecutive letters
To that I vow to thee, to live a life of longevity
Even though the longevity of my race and gender
Gets shorter and shorter as the days go on
Every second, I’m the youngest to ever be.
I vow to thee, my people inside the system
to break the automatic oppression
the souls of jazz may suffer from.
like a d-line to o-line,
I'll get my men out the trenches
I vow thee, my world to make it a better place
Idealistically to make it entire, whole, and perfect
To reform the policies that lead to anguish
To lead the world to ascent
And to that I vow to thee, myself
To never fault, for the sins of the self
Even though the sins of others are
the fault of the self.