"Ghazal" is a historical poem by American poet Tracy K. Smith. It was published in the Wade in the Water collection by Graywolf Press in 2018. The collection won the 2019 Anisfield-Wolf Book Award and was nominated for the 2018 Forward Prizes for Best Collection.
Smith expresses the pain and suffering of African-Americans in history. From the distinction between the races to the characterization of history as a slave ship sailing perpetually as it subjugates people of color. Smith contemplates whether people of color will be satisfied in the event that they acquire the freedom they so desire. The poet begs the question; does a captive recognize freedom when it is granted to him, or has he been so accustomed to oppression that he chooses to subjugate himself?
The poem is an impeccable expression of unreconciled trauma. The questions raised are thought-provoking and existential to the African-American plight. They are faced with impossible choices at every turn, with each generation facing a different crisis of the same nature.
