From Song to Slur

Say it loud so proud

A word once used for hatred

Brings all together

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Thanks for reading!

This is inspired by Alyson Smith's challenge of writing a haiku a day for 50 days, inspired by songs and lyrics that are special to her.

So this is my eighth entry. I originally had a more introspective and darker one for today that I decided to shelve until tomorrow. Today's is instead an upbeat poem inspired by Irish rap group Kneecap and the title track from their second album, Fenian. The band champion Irish language, identity and culture. They also seem to piss governments off and write funny, important and excellent songs!

For extra context, I was already familiar with Fenian as a slur from growing up in Glasgow as a Catholic and a sorta Celtic fan. It had been adopted, mostly by Rangers FC fans, as a derogatory term for Celtic fans and Catholics more broadly. Historically, however, the word has much deeper roots. Its name ultimately derives from the Fianna, the legendary warrior bands of Irish mythology, while Fenian later became associated with the 19th-century Irish republican movement.

Kneecap take a word that has often been weaponised as an insult and reclaim it with pride.

Tina D. Lopez, Harper Lewis, Stephanie Hoogstad and my fellow Italian Sasha Desideri have also been doing this challenge.

Make sure you check out their poems at their profiles.