Tula [“City life is a whirl of poetry readings”]
City life is a whirl of poetry readings
and forbidden tertulias, gatherings
where young and old, rich and poor,
male and female, dark and light—
runaway slaves and freed ones,
former masters and former
servants—all take turns
sharing secret verses
rooted in startling
new ideas.
Each evening, I go home
with a mind that glows
in the light of words,
which leap
like flames...
Copyright Credit: Margarita Engle, "Tula [”City life is a whirl of poetry readings”]" from The Lightning Dreamer. Copyright © 2013 by Margarita Engle. Reprinted by permission of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
Source: The Lightning Dreamer (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2013)