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
America, I AmBy James CagneyI come from the kidnapped, the assaulted— my country’tis of reparations as in-store credit backordered...Social CommentariesClassCrime & PunishmentRace & EthnicityHistory & PoliticsLivingSorrow & GrievingRelationshipsFamily & AncestorsMetersFree VerseTechniquesAnaphoraRefrainAngerDisappointmentGrief + 10 more
38By Layli Long SoldierHere, the sentence will be respected. I will compose each sentence with care, by minding what the rules...Social CommentariesMoney & EconomicsRace & EthnicityWar & ConflictHistory & PoliticsLivingSorrow & GrievingRelationshipsFamily & AncestorsMetersFree VerseTypes/ModesElegyAngerGrief + 8 more
p1Stunt DoubleBy Tomás Q. MorínIn this life, there are starsand there are stunt doubles.Before I became one of those fathersobsessed...LoveSocial CommentariesClassRace & EthnicityLivingParenthoodRelationshipsFamily & AncestorsFriends & EnemiesActivitiesSchool & LearningSports & Outdoor ActivitiesArts & SciencesReading & BooksFather's DayAngerDisappointmentJoy & ContentmentOptimism + 12 more
Poisonwell Diaries: The GhostBy Shanta LeeMama birthed me, Papa sold me in the land of weeping willows Traces of sin trail miles across skin, ...Social CommentariesClassRace & EthnicityLivingDeathSorrow & GrievingRelationshipsFamily & AncestorsMythology & FolkloreGhosts & the SupernaturalTechniquesPersonaAngerBlameGriefMelancholy & Despair + 9 more
p1For My PeopleBy Margaret WalkerFor my people For my people In an interview for Callaloo literary journal, Walker remarked: “I remember hearing...Social CommentariesRace & EthnicityHistory & PoliticsRelationshipsFamily & AncestorsAngerDisappointmentOptimism
RiotBy Gwendolyn BrooksJohn Cabot, out of Wilma, once a Wycliffe, all whitebluerose below his golden hair, wrapped richly in...Social CommentariesClassRace & EthnicityAngerBlameDisappointment
Sex Trafficking Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl in the USA (or, The Nation’s Plague in Plain Sight)By Evie ShockleyAnd now, reader, I come to a period in my unhappy life, which I would gladly forget if I could. Asia Graves looks...Social CommentariesCrime & PunishmentGender & SexualityRace & EthnicityLivingYouthAngerGriefMelancholy & Despair + 2 more
For Virginia ChavezBy Lorna Dee CervantesIt was never in the planning, in the life we thought we’d live together, two fast women living cheek...Social CommentariesGender & SexualityLivingSorrow & GrievingRelationshipsFriends & EnemiesAngerBlameGrief + 2 more
Uncle’s First RabbitBy Lorna Dee CervantesHe was a good boy making his way through the Santa Barbara pines, sighting the blast of fluff as he ...LivingGrowing OldSorrow & GrievingAngerBlameGrief
In a Free CountryBy Frank ChipasulaThey ran out of cuffs, but with apologies for the inconvenience, they carefully wrapped barbed wire ...Social CommentariesWar & ConflictHistory & PoliticsLivingSorrow & GrievingAngerBlameDisappointmentGrief + 2 more
A Love Poem for My CountryBy Frank ChipasulaI have nothing to give you, but my anger And the filaments of my hatred reach across the border You,...Social CommentariesWar & ConflictHistory & PoliticsLivingSorrow & GrievingAngerBlameDisappointment
NightfallBy Frank ChipasulaIn the sad hotel that drinks a swamp, You breathe malarial air and enjoy Frog music piped in from the...Social CommentariesWar & ConflictHistory & PoliticsLivingSorrow & GrievingAngerBlameGrief
p1Rodney KingBy Crystal Simone SmithHe was an open book. An opening book. That had just been opened up somewhat wider. By sorrow. And-by...Social CommentariesCrime & PunishmentRace & EthnicityLivingSorrow & GrievingAngerGrief
p18 Minutes and 46 SecondsBy Donna Aza Weir-SoleyLights, camera, action! Cue George Floyd crying for his Black mother for 8 minutes and 46 seconds. 8 minutes and...Social CommentariesCrime & PunishmentRace & EthnicityLivingDeathSorrow & GrievingRelationshipsFamily & AncestorsAngerAnxiety & InsecurityBlameDisappointmentGrief + 6 more
p1Plastic: A Personal HistoryBy Elizabeth BradfieldHow can I find a way to praise it? Do the early inventors & embracers churn with regret? I don’t think...NatureSocial CommentariesLivingAngerDisappointmentGrief
p1My Great-Great-Great-Great-Grandfather Who Owned My Great-Great-Great-Great-Grandmother Also Owned a Jewelry Store and a Railroad, So He Probably Had a Dope WatchBy Jason McCallProbably one of those understated pieces. Simple silver. No ring of laurels surrounding an emperor or...Social CommentariesClassCrime & PunishmentMoney & EconomicsRace & EthnicityHistory & PoliticsRelationshipsFamily & AncestorsAngerBlameDisappointmentGrief + 5 more
p1I Just Want to Live Long Enough to See Allen Iverson Live Long Enough to Get His Reebok CheckBy Jason McCallI won’t care if Trump is halfway into his third term. I won’t care if the world is half flood and half...Social CommentariesRace & EthnicityHistory & PoliticsAngerBlameDisappointment
p1This Is Why People Burning Down Fast Food Joints and WhatnotBy Jacqueline Allen TrimbleQ. How do others sin against you? A. By cursing me—telling lies about me—or striking me. Q. What must you do to...Social CommentariesCrime & PunishmentRace & EthnicityHistory & PoliticsLivingSorrow & GrievingRelationshipsFriends & EnemiesAngerBlameGrief + 4 more
p1Poem for My Neighbor Whose Good Intentions Are Wolf PeltBy Jacqueline Allen TrimbleThis carpetbagging, gentrifying Aryan mother’s son cut through our neighborhood buying houses. Called...Social CommentariesCities & Urban LifeMoney & EconomicsRace & EthnicityHistory & PoliticsAngerBlameGrief