Amidst the unrest that started late May Poets.org started not just a daily poem from Black writers, but re-promoting older works from their history.
It may look minor to promote poetry, but giving a voice, a space to speak is essential. And history shows poetry has been used to be that voice for as long as humans have needed to speak.
These are some of my favorite poems from the month. They are powerful, sweet, painful, personal and so beautiful.
If you like this, I recommend supporting these poets, not just now, but always. I also recommend connecting to Poets.org either on social media or their poem-a-day mailing list.
#BLACKLIVESMATTER
Poems from Poets.org
Table of Contents
- Table of Contents
- Some Call It God – Jabari Asim
- Love is a Flame – George Marion McClellan
- A New National Anthem – Ada Limón
- Shedding Skin – Harryette Mullen
- Singularity – Marissa Davis
- Yesterday and To-morrow – Paul Laurence Dunbar
- Those Winter Sundays – Robert Hayden
- Langston Blue – Jericho Brown
- Summer Haibun – Aimee Nezhukumatathil
- The Blue Dress- Saeed Jones
- A Way of Seeing – Kwame Dawes
- Afterward but not Afterword – A. Van Jordan
- I Never Figured How to Get Free – Donika Kelly
- And Now Upon My Head the Crown – Phillip B. Williams
- Every Verb is a Lesson in Longing or Dread – April Freely
- A Short Note to My Very Critical and Well-Beloved Friends and Comrades – June Jordan
- If You Should Go – Countee Cullen
- Notebook of a Return to the Native Land [excerpt] – Aimé Césaire
- praise poets and their pens – JP Howard
- Hattie McDaniel Arrives at the Coconut Grove – Rita Dove
- Inheritance – Camille Rankine
- Designer Kisses – Major Jackson
- For Black Children at the End of the World—and the Beginning – Roger Reeves
- Hello – Sean Hill
- After a Reading of “Darkwater” – Elizabeth Curtis Holman
- Brotherhood – Georgia Douglas Johnson
- We Drink at the Attenuation Well – Porsha Olayiwola
- p r i d e – A. H. Jerriod Avant
- When Fannie Lou Hamer Said – Mahogany L. Browne
- litany – Mahogany L. Browne
- Family Reunion – Rita Dove
- from Citizen, IV – Claudia Rankine
- I Can’t Breathe – Pamela Sneed
- What I Mean When I Say Harmony (I) – Geffrey Davis
- America – Claude McKay
- Appendix – List of URLS
Some Call It God – Jabari Asim
Love is a Flame – George Marion McClellan
This poem is in the public domain
A New National Anthem – Ada Limón
Shedding Skin – Harryette Mullen
Singularity – Marissa Davis
Yesterday and To-morrow – Paul Laurence Dunbar
This poem is in the public domain
Those Winter Sundays – Robert Hayden
Langston Blue – Jericho Brown
Summer Haibun – Aimee Nezhukumatathil
The Blue Dress- Saeed Jones
A Way of Seeing – Kwame Dawes
Afterward but not Afterword – A. Van Jordan
I Never Figured How to Get Free – Donika Kelly
And Now Upon My Head the Crown – Phillip B. Williams
Every Verb is a Lesson in Longing or Dread – April Freely
A Short Note to My Very Critical and Well-Beloved Friends and Comrades – June Jordan
If You Should Go – Countee Cullen
This poem is in the public domain
Notebook of a Return to the Native Land [excerpt] – Aimé Césaire
praise poets and their pens – JP Howard
Hattie McDaniel Arrives at the Coconut Grove – Rita Dove
Inheritance – Camille Rankine
Designer Kisses – Major Jackson
For Black Children at the End of the World—and the Beginning – Roger Reeves
Hello – Sean Hill
After a Reading of “Darkwater” – Elizabeth Curtis Holman
This poem is in the public domain
Brotherhood – Georgia Douglas Johnson
This poem is in the public domain
We Drink at the Attenuation Well – Porsha Olayiwola
p r i d e – A. H. Jerriod Avant
When Fannie Lou Hamer Said – Mahogany L. Browne
litany – Mahogany L. Browne
Family Reunion – Rita Dove
from Citizen, IV – Claudia Rankine
I Can’t Breathe – Pamela Sneed
What I Mean When I Say Harmony (I) – Geffrey Davis
America – Claude McKay
This poem is in the public domain
Appendix – List of URLS
For easy saving or reference, here is a list of the URLs for each of the poems:
- https://poets.org/poem/some-call-it-god
- https://poets.org/poem/love-flame
- https://poets.org/poem/new-national-anthem
- https://poets.org/poem/shedding-skin
- https://poets.org/poem/singularity-0
- https://poets.org/poem/yesterday-and-morrow
- https://poets.org/poem/those-winter-sundays
- https://poets.org/poem/langston-blue
- https://poets.org/poem/summer-haibun
- https://poets.org/poem/blue-dress
- https://poets.org/poem/way-seeing
- https://poets.org/poem/afterward-not-afterword
- https://poets.org/poem/i-never-figured-how-get-free
- https://poets.org/poem/and-now-upon-my-head-crown
- https://poets.org/poem/every-verb-lesson-longing-or-dread
- https://poets.org/poem/short-note-my-very-critical-and-well-beloved-friends-and-comrades
- https://poets.org/poem/if-you-should-go
- https://poets.org/poem/notebook-return-native-land-excerpt
- https://poets.org/poem/praise-poets-and-their-pens
- https://poets.org/poem/hattie-mcdaniel-arrives-coconut-grove
- https://poets.org/poem/inheritance-2
- https://poets.org/poem/designer-kisses
- https://poets.org/poem/black-children-end-world-and-beginning
- https://poets.org/poem/hello
- https://poets.org/poem/after-reading-darkwater
- https://poets.org/poem/brotherhood
- https://poets.org/poem/we-drink-attenuation-well
- https://poets.org/poem/p-r-i-d-e
- https://poets.org/poem/when-fannie-lou-hamer-said
- https://poets.org/poem/litany-1
- https://poets.org/poem/family-reunion-0
- https://poets.org/poem/citizen-iv
- https://poets.org/poem/i-cant-breathe
- https://poets.org/poem/what-i-mean-when-i-say-harmony-i
- https://poets.org/poem/america-2
