well, its national poetry month. i really meant to address that earlier but oh well. with the remaining days of april, i thought i would highlight some of my favorite poets. the one featured on this post is my absolute favorite female poet. she is nikki giovanni. i actually got a chance to meet her and get her to sign one of my books. nikki is just the absolute coolest. an older person who appreciates and has empathy for the young is rare these days. anyway, find out more about her when you can. in the meantime, enjoy a poem from her catalog.
Nikki-Rosa
childhood remembrances are always a drag
if you’re Black
you always remember things like living in Woodlawn
with no inside toilet
and if you become famous or something
they never talk about how happy you were to have
your mother
all to yourself and
how good the water felt when you got your bath
from one of those
big tubs that folk in chicago barbecue in
and somehow when you talk about home
it never gets across how much you
understood their feelings
as the whole family attended meetings about Hollydale
and even though you remember
your biographers never understand
your father’s pain as he sells his stock
and another dream goes
And though you’re poor it isn’t poverty that
concerns you
and though they fought a lot
it isn’t your father’s drinking that makes any difference
but only that everybody is together and you
and your sister have happy birthdays and very good
Christmases
and I really hope no white person ever has cause
to write about me
because they never understand
Black love is Black wealth and they’ll
probably talk about my hard childhood
and never understand that
all the while I was quite happy
besos jenna pearle*
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