• As a seed in the bright-colored street I am saying so long To the I know of nothing, the nothing that knows not of me. On a high cushioned wingtip my bondage was loosed with a song Of seduction to come, a provoking, profane melody; The lean languid lusting of aimlessness, sloth, and despair,Continue reading “A Summer So Long”
Tag Archives: #poetry
The Greeters
A poem You’d think everybody’s eyes would be fixed up here, so far above the cataracts. But these two kids look just like they used to, and nobody calls them four eyes— they’re the cool ones who left the party early, before you could corner one of them and say hey, how does it feelContinue reading “The Greeters”
A #PoetryMonth Plug
In which I do a touch of self-promotion Well, it isn’t all promotion of the self! It’s a (pretty) early glimpse of an anthology of poems by contemporary women writers from around the world, published by the very industrious team at Moon Tide Press. I just so happen to be featured with a poem titledContinue reading “A #PoetryMonth Plug”
It’s Poetry Month…
In which I remind you to spend some time at rhyme and verse …as established by the Academy of American Poets in April 1996. Quarter-century, baby! It’s also Easter weekend, hence this tidbit from the vault of a respected multi-hyphenate forebear. So make room for a poem or several in the next twenty-eight days—they don’tContinue reading “It’s Poetry Month…”
Poetry Spotlight: Phillis Wheatley
In which I return to a childhood heroine Happy February, all. My American readers will know that this month is Black History Month. I’m going to be spotlighting a few important figures, some of whom I’ve admired for years and others of whom I’ve only just learned abut recently. Also, they’re all going to beContinue reading “Poetry Spotlight: Phillis Wheatley”
So Beautiful It Hurts
In which I direct my readers to a departed talent Gwendolyn Brooks, poet and relentless voice, left us twenty years ago today. For those unfamiliar with her name on sight, she was the mastermind behind the oft-misread “We Real Cool,” She was also: The first Black writer (of any discipline) to win a Pulitzer PrizeContinue reading “So Beautiful It Hurts”
A Birthday Salute to Paul Laurence Dunbar
In which I mark a poet whose work has occupied my mind Allow me a moment out of my other endeavors to devote to a topic of true import. A few months or lifetimes ago, as social institutions and governments responded to the pandemic by mandating masks in public, it didn’t take long for aContinue reading “A Birthday Salute to Paul Laurence Dunbar”