Ballad (Excerpt)
forgive me if i laugh
you are so sure of love
you are so young
and i too old to learn of love
the rain exploding
in the air is love
the grass excreting her
A Poem for Ella Fitzgerald (Excerpt)
when she came on the stage, this Ella
there were rumors of hurricanes and
over the rooftops of concert stages
the moon turned red in the sky,
it was Ella, Ella.
queen Ella had come
and words spilled out
leaving a trail of witnesses smiling
amen—amen—a woman—a woman.
she began
this three agèd woman
nightingales in her throat
and squads of horns came out
to greet her.
This Is Not a Small Voice (Excerpt)
This is not a small voice
you hear this is a large
voice coming out of these cities.
This is the voice of LaTanya.
Kadesha. Shaniqua. This
is the voice of Antoine.
Darryl. Shaquille.
Running over waters
navigating the hallways
of our schools spilling out
on the corners of our cities and
no epitaphs spill out of their river mouths.
- Sonia Sanchez
