Important Poems
If you know me, you know that one of my favorite things to do is read poetry and listen to poetry being performed. I wanted to be sure this resource guide included a few poems that lit fire in my soul, so here I present to you, just that.
This will be a working list of poems and videos that I will continue to add to as I go through the flagged poems and bookmarks in my library. If you have any you’d like to share, I welcome them in my comments.
I also found a few cool online libraries that you can visit and explore:
https://poets.org/anthology/black-lives-matter
https://wordpress.com/discover-wordpress/2020/06/10/black-lives-matter-six-poems/
https://buttonpoetry.com/tag/black-lives-matter/
ALSO LITERALLY ANY POEM BY MY FAVORITE POET, MAYA ANGELOU.
“never
trust anyone
who says
they do not see color.
this means
to them,
you are invisible.”
― Nayyirah WaheedRudy Francisco, “Adrenaline Rush” (Click here to listen) [I had the honor of watching him perform this live, and think of his words and my privilege often when I’m doing my extreme outdoors activities]
DIASPORA #1, KHALYPSO (Click here for more)
my joy is a dead language.
cherubs sob when i pass them by
as if my fingers carry the wilt
of baby’s breath. i lie in bed & suddenly
i’m closer to my ghosts.
another boy tells me he loves me &
i cannot look him in the eye. another
mother says, “smile, child,” & the clouds
open up to swallow me whole.the last time i loved, the words died in my belly.
the sparks quit next, & then the boy.
i say i cannot carry another day & the shadows
rejoice. i say i’m going to love me today
& i can hear laughter.worry about me. i am not well. a child
has gone missing within me & left
not even detritus. all the things in this world
set to kill me encroach upon
the one smile i can offer a new day.
i have said it once & if i do not say
it again, the tigers clawing the insides
of my brain will never sleep: home is nowhere
when you are a stolen thing. an heirloom of haint
& hate.
T. Miller, “Ten Things You Sound Like When You Say AllLivesMatter in Response to BlackLivesMatter” (Button Poetry)
Click here for the video
Still I Rise, By Maya Angelou
You may write me down in history
With your bitter, twisted lies,
You may tread me in the very dirt
But still, like dust, I’ll rise.Does my sassiness upset you?
Why are you beset with gloom?
‘Cause I walk like I’ve got oil wells
Pumping in my living room.Just like moons and like suns,
With the certainty of tides,
Just like hopes springing high,
Still I’ll rise.Did you want to see me broken?
Bowed head and lowered eyes?
Shoulders falling down like teardrops.
Weakened by my soulful cries.Does my haughtiness offend you?
Don’t you take it awful hard
‘Cause I laugh like I’ve got gold mines
Diggin’ in my own back yard.You may shoot me with your words,
You may cut me with your eyes,
You may kill me with your hatefulness,
But still, like air, I’ll rise.Does my sexiness upset you?
Does it come as a surprise
That I dance like I’ve got diamonds
At the meeting of my thighs?Out of the huts of history’s shame
I rise
Up from a past that’s rooted in pain
I rise
I’m a black ocean, leaping and wide,
Welling and swelling I bear in the tide.
Leaving behind nights of terror and fear
I rise
Into a daybreak that’s wondrously clear
I rise
Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave,
I am the dream and the hope of the slave.
I rise
I rise
I rise.Literally any poem (also writing) by James Baldwin too, but I’ll put one below
Lord,
when you send the rain,
think about it, please,
a little?
Do
not get carried away
by the sound of falling water,
the marvelous light
on the falling water.
I
am beneath that water.
It falls with great force
and the light
Blinds
me to the light.
— Untitled
*these are only a few I will be adding more
