p1PraiseSong for Annie AllenBy Angela Jackson Before you There was none so high Minded, So elegantly eloquent. You were high standing Fruit. The ...
p1A rickety door, a back one or side, not stableBy Justin Danzy No wrought iron bars like the door at my Aunt Cherry’s house on the East Side, her husband Ben always...
TotemBy R. L. SwihartThe young man says, “Alan can do anything he wants”“Not fly,” I sayThe young man returns a puzzled look...LivingComing of AgeThe MindDoubt & ContemplationArts & SciencesReading & BooksStanza FormsMixedMetersFree VerseTechniquesImagery + 5 more
GratitudeBy Cornelius EadyI’m here to tell you an old story. ThisAppears to be my work. I live in the world,Walk the streets of...Social CommentariesClassRace & EthnicityLivingLife ChoicesThe MindRelationshipsFamily & AncestorsActivitiesSchool & LearningArts & SciencesPoetry & PoetsMetersFree VerseTechniquesAnaphoraConfessionalMetaphorAngerGratitude + 13 more
After the 1916 FilmBy Karisma PriceThe Realization of a Negro’s Ambition requires melatonin & the soft dying body of a monkey face orchid...Social CommentariesRace & EthnicityLivingSorrow & GrievingGrief
BlackbottomBy Toi DerricotteWhen relatives came from out of town,we would drive down to Blackbottom,drive slowly down the congested...Social CommentariesCities & Urban LifeRace & EthnicityThe MindDoubt & ContemplationAnxiety & Insecurity
I’m a Fool to Love YouBy Cornelius EadySome folks will tell you the blues is a woman,Some type of supernatural creature.My mother would tell...LoveBreak-ups & Vexed LoveRealistic & ComplicatedSocial CommentariesGender & SexualityRace & EthnicityLivingMarriage & CompanionshipRelationshipsFamily & AncestorsMen & WomenArts & SciencesMusicMetersFree VerseTechniquesImageryMetaphor + 11 more
ApocalypseBy Sri ChinmoyWithin, without the cosmos wide am I;In joyful sweep I loose forth and draw back all.A birthless, deathless...LoveDesire & PassionNatureStars, Planets, HeavensReligionThe SpiritualStanza FormsQuatrainMetersBlank VerseTechniquesImageryPassion + 6 more
Reader, IBy Corey Van Landinghamwas, according to Virgil, always a fickle, unstable thing. Woman. Wyf. Merger of wife and man. To indicate: not-girl. Not...Social CommentariesGender & SexualityLivingSorrow & GrievingMythology & FolkloreGreek & Roman MythologyDisappointmentGrief
A Wyandot Cradle SongBy Bertrand N. O. WalkerHush thee and sleep, little one, The feathers on thy board sway to and fro; The shadows reach far downward...
A Desert MemoryBy Bertrand N. O. WalkerLonely, open, vast and free, The dark’ning desert lies; The wind sweeps o’er it fiercely, And the yellow...
A Song of a Navajo WeaverBy Bertrand N. O. WalkerFor ages long, my people have been Dwellers in this land;For ages viewed these mountains, Loved these...
Whose Mouth Do I Speak WithBy Suzanne RancourtI can remember my father bringing home spruce gum.He worked in the woods and filled his pocketswith ...
On Seeing and Being SeenBy Ama CodjoeI don’t like being photographed. When we kissed at a wedding, the night grew long and luminous. You ...LoveDesire & PassionRomantic LoveLivingMarriage & CompanionshipRelationships
A StoryBy Li-Young LeeSad is the man who is asked for a story and can’t come up with one. His five-year-old son waits in his...LivingGrowing OldParenthoodRelationshipsFamily & AncestorsDisappointment
The Part About Fate or CounterpointBy Sylvia ChanI want to begin this poem with two stories:1. In 1984, my mother was pulled over for speeding in a rural...Social CommentariesCrime & PunishmentGender & SexualityHistory & PoliticsLivingThe Body
As Winds That Blow Against A StarBy Joyce KilmerNow by what whim of wanton chanceDo radiant eyes know sombre days?And feet that shod in light should...LoveClassic LoveOptimism
MeanwhileBy Richard Siken Driving, dogs barking, how you get used to it. bow you make the new street yours.Trees outside the ...LivingMarriage & CompanionshipMidlifeRelationshipsHome Life
Winter Journal: Threshed Blue, Cardings, Dim TonsilsBy Emily Wilsonstripped batting of cloud glimpsed ligaments dusk coming up under lithographic, nib-hatchings instruments...NatureWinterLandscapes & PastoralsTrees & Flowers
p1I Carry a Wor{l}d Inside MeBy Felicia ZamoraWhere wor{l}d & the tangible object of that wor{l}d collide. My brain thinks traces & again, Singh’s words at ...LivingHealth & IllnessThe Body