The irony of this post is we had it planned long before Inauguration Day when Amanda Gorman came in and swept everyone off their feet. Admittedly, we weren’t familiar with Gorman’s work before her powerful reading of her poem “The Hill We Climb,” but now we can’t get enough of her. So of course we had to include her work, and 8 other Black poets who make us feel things with their words.
Amanda Gorman
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“And so, we lift our gazes not to what stands between us, but what stands before us. We close the divide because we know, to put our future first, we must first put our differences aside. We lay down our arms so we can reach out our arms to one another. We seek harm to none and harmony for all. Let the globe, if nothing else, say this is true. That even as we grieved, we grew. That even as we hurt, we hoped; that even as we tired, we tried; that we’ll forever be tied together, victorious. Not because we will never again know defeat, but because we will never again sow division.” – excerpt from “The Hill We Climb”
Porsha Olayiwola
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“He says this and | I become who he believes I am | my hands thicken | my fingers plump | my long twists shrivel into a short afro | my chin oceans a shadow | my cheeks tumor typhoons | my lips are fat pink | each | word | drags | itself | out | my | mouth | like a guarded hearse | each line | break | squeezes a song | a rap | a dance | beat for this boy tonight.” – excerpt from “Notorious”
‘Gbenga Adeoba
“The tiny things are heavier — even songbirds.
I am thinking these tunes being telegraphed
into the dark, fretting the waters,
are a tribute to the lives of drowned men.
I sit by the water, knowing how
sounds could alter the shape of an expanse.” – excerpt from “Here is Water”
Jericho Brown
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“Aster. Nasturtium. Delphinium. We thought
Fingers in dirt meant it was our dirt, learning
Names in heat, in elements classical
Philosophers said could change us. Star Gazer.
Foxglove. Summer seemed to bloom against the will
Of the sun, which news reports claimed flamed hotter
On this planet than when our dead fathers
Wiped sweat from their necks. Cosmos. Baby’s Breath.” – excerpt from “The Tradition”
Danez Smith
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“let ruin end here
let him find honey
where there was once a slaughter
let him enter the lion’s cage
& find a field of lilacs
let this be the healing
& if not let it be” – “Little Prayer”
Nayyirah Waheed
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“You do not have to be a fire for every mountain blocking you. You could be a water and soft river your way to freedom too.” – “Options”
Morgan Parker
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“I take music self-stirred and sleep
alone curve into the morning like an almond
My shoulders lush as romantics
You wash up on a barstool
smooth heartache black sand” – excerpt from “Lush Life”
Alysia Nicole Harris
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“The woman you married knows
I hunt for you still
in a forest of giants.
I call your name in English, Arabic,
Arabic
until it gets so guttural I have to get on all fours
then I growl your name.
I drive it out over the expanse
and don’t expect the half-moon to answer.” – excerpt from “ABRAHAM, IBRAHIM”
Alexandra Elle
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“I am giving myself space to ripen and become whole. Sour & sweet. Full of flavor & hard work. Because rushing the fruits of my labor will not serve the greater good.
They say exceptional things take practice and patience, so I dig and sow and wait, sorting through old and new, hurt and healing, my truth and theirs, until the conditions are perfect for blooming.” – excerpt from “Creativity Affirmation“
Featured image of Alex Elle by Erika Layne
