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
DollsBy Toi Derricotte To be born woman is to know— Although they do not speak of it at school- Women must labor to be beautiful. -...LivingThe BodyThe MindMemory & NostalgiaRelationshipsFamily & AncestorsTechniquesEpigraphTypes/ModesSeries/SequenceAngerBlame + 5 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
p1Dialogues (Against Literature)By Jennifer ChangYears later I will remember this terrible time as not only about myself Or not only that to punish my...RelationshipsFamily & AncestorsAnger
Black Momma MathBy Kimberly JaeIf a jar of jelly is $2.98 & a loaf of Hawaiian bread is $4 Then how much bail money will I need when...Social CommentariesMoney & EconomicsRace & EthnicityLivingDeathParenthoodRelationshipsFamily & AncestorsActivitiesEating & DrinkingStanza FormsMixedMetersFree VerseTechniquesImageryAngerGrief + 11 more
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
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
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
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