Poetry is one of the most romantic ways of expressing love, and many other sentiments as well. For being the shortest-month-of the year, February packs a lot into it's 28 days.
And it's all worth celebrating, pondering, and even debating. After all, not all chocolates in the Valentine box are palatable...
I found a wonderful poem by Countee Cullen in Caroline Kennedy's The Best-Loved Poems of Jaqueline Kennedy-Onassis that combines brotherly love and Black History.
Tableau
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| photo credit letterpile.com |
The black boy and the white,
The golden splendor of the day,
The sable pride of night.
From lowered blinds the dark folk stare,
And here the fair folk talk,
Indignant that these two should dare
In unison to walk.
Oblivious to look and word
They pass, and see no wonder
That lightning brilliant as a sword
Should blaze the path of thunder
And another by Lanston Hughs, born 1902 and a pioneer of Jazz Poetry:
Merry Go-Round
Where is the Jim Crow section
On this merry-go-round,
Mister, cause I want to ride?
Down South where I come from
White and colored
Can't sit side by side.
Down South on the train
There's a Jim Crow car
On the bus we're put in the back--
But there ain't no back
To a merry-go-round!
Where's the horse
For a kid that's black?
Each of these two poets deserve more print the the above. Pick up their books and you'll be enriched.
Yes, February is the month of love, presidents, and Black history. May we spend each of the 28 days and beyond, honoring from the heart, all three.
Yes, February is the month of love, presidents, and Black history. May we spend each of the 28 days and beyond, honoring from the heart, all three.
1 comment:
I read the Kennedy collections to my son at times as a bedtime reading. Enjoy reading your posts my lovely friend.
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