By: Mohammad Anas

A colour, a skin, a hidden musing of an oppressed soul,
It is a barrier between the outer world and its ultimate goal,

In past,it was a portrayal of art from neolithic cave artist,
At present, it is filling the voids of blank pages without any profit,

In Roman Empire, it became the symbol of mourning and death,
While in Europe, the conflicting ideas of protestants were taking a breath,
In late 17th century America and Europe were frightfully hammered by witchcraft fear,
People believed the devil appeared in the form of a black dog, a black cat and a black bear,

Then came the Age of Enlightenment where black receded as a fashion,
All the nobles, aristocrats, including upper classes of town were in prodigious passion,

As Romanticism dominated, black also dominated as the colour of melancholy and sadness,
Poets like Shelly, Blake, Byron used their dark and revolutionary ideas with intense madness,

In early 19th century, James McNeil Whistler painted this dark colour as the most celebrated one,
When he was busy in his masterpiece – ‘Arrangement in grey and black number one’ to be done,

19th century ends with the powerful idea of anarchism in an organised way,
Some great minds were working hard on this goal from dark to dazzling ray,

When the blooming of black became modern in the 20th century,
It became to be a symbol of individuality and intellectual exemplary,

Ornament of those who didn’t accept established norms and values of society,
Again and again celebrated as a colour of rebel against social deity,

From emblem of grief and sorrow to its rebellion identity,
The colour of fear, mystery and evil evolved to strength, power and authority,

I tried to sum up the enthralling story of the black in history,
I end my narrative here with some unanswered questions and mystery.