Friday, May 25, 2018

Poetry Friday: Pairing a Poem and a Book

Head over to Reflections on the Teche for this 
week's round-up of poetic goodness. Margaret Simon
is hosting this week. She kicks off our Friday fun
with a sonnet inspired by Molly's photo as part of a
recent geographic photo/poetry exchange.
Thanks, Margaret for hosting our gathering this week.

Sometimes the best laid plans get changed. And that's what happened to this Poetry Friday post. I had planned to share a book that I discovered last month in the poetry section at the middle school where I used to teach. But when I opened today's Poem-A-Day to  discover "My Love is Black" by DéLana R. A. Dameron, I knew I had to share this poem. Here are a few lines from the poem that juxtapose a lovely evening with ever present fear:

                       " ...But
here we are: walking
hand in hand
in our parkas down
the avenues & he pulls away
from me. I might be
in some dreamy place,
thinking of the roast chicken
we just had, the coconut peas
& rice he just cooked,
& how the food has filled
our bellies with delight. How
many times can I speak
about black men
& an officer enters the scene?
..."

This poem immediately reminded me of Ghost Boys, a book by Jewell Parker Rhodes I recently finished that continues to stay with me. If you haven't read it, put it on your summer reading list and tuck this poem into the book.

9 comments:

  1. Wow....that is intense and powerful. I haven't gone back to some of the poems from the Daily Poem. I missed reading this one. So glad I can see it here. And, Ghost Boys, huh? I will have to take a look at that. Thank you.

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  2. It makes me so upset that this happens. Yes, like Ghost boys, terrible. Thanks for changing your post and sharing this one, Ramona.

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  3. A gripping and poignant poem ... Yes, it pairs with GHOST BOYS. I've been reading parts of THE WARMTH OF OTHER SUNS again, and viewing/reading Rena Finder's stories online ... Evil prevails where there is anger, fear, hatred, and indifference.

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  4. I've heard so much about Ghost Boys. It's on reserve from the library as I write. This poem got to me, too. The way ordinary life is interrupted constantly by the fear of a police officer who makes assumptions and doesn't get enough information.

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  5. Oh. This poem brought tears to my eyes. So powerful. Wow. Thanks for sharing.

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  6. Thank you for sharing this powerful poem. Maybe, if enough of us speak up, we can change the injustice that still exists.

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  7. Ramona, life is so uncertain but this poem punctuates the evils of bigotry. Thanks for sharing.

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  8. Best laid plans... Here I am catching up on posts I should've read. I heard a podcast about Ghost Boys and have put it on my summer reading list. Thanks for posting this poem. Happy Summer!

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  9. Such a powerfully strong poem–and what a horribly sad commentary on our times, thanks for sharing it and "
    Ghost Boys" too.

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