A conversation with I AM WOMAN contributor, Abena Amoah. “I’m not telling you that you have to tell your story. I’m telling you that you can.” ~ Abena Amoah
Tag Archives: Poetry
Poem: Bury Me in a Free Land by Frances Harper
Frances Ellen Watkins Harper Make me a grave where’er you will, In a lowly plain, or a lofty hill; Make it among earth’s humblest graves, But not in a land where men are slaves. I could not rest if around my grave I heard the steps of a trembling slave; His shadow above my silentContinueContinue reading “Poem: Bury Me in a Free Land by Frances Harper”
Thoughts from the Road: Created in Violence
We are created in violenceBirthed in painOur only constantsConflict and struggleWhat can we possibly Ever know of nonviolenceWhen even our peace is achievedWithin storms turbulentEnough to alterThe landscape of our lives
POEM: I Am from…
I am LaShawnda, sister of Kim and Nicolette. We are daughters of Terry Ann, the daughter of Bessie Mae, The daughter of Lizzie, the daughter of Mae Emma, the daughter of Many Unknowns. I am from coconut oil and bergamot grease From pinto beans and bananas. I am from the light. From home-cooked meals andContinueContinue reading “POEM: I Am from…”
POEM: Elegy: Cousin Tish – Baby Woman Mother
Elegy: Cousin Tish – Baby Woman Mother Playing house is different with baby cousins, lil’ brothers and sisters and the mannish boys in the neighborhood. Who needs a fake baby with real baby cousins in reach? Tish was a chubby, curly-haired infant, rosy-cheeked girly-girl toddler adorable, rambunctious, loved. Rolling over, pushing up learning to walk,ContinueContinue reading “POEM: Elegy: Cousin Tish – Baby Woman Mother”
IG Live Reading @UrbanExpo
The poems read were selected from Clichés: A Life in Verse, Desert of Solitude: Refreshed by Grace, and I AM Woman: Experiences of Black Womanhood. All the books are available for order in my store and on Amazon.com (quicker with discounts).
Poem: Sister, Sister II
She avoided me for eleven years. Whatever her reasons, no rejection has ever hurt more. Most of those absent years she called me on my birthday to let me know she was still alive. Quite honestly, her voice was the best present every time. **Read full post.**
Poem: Be Anything
I had such bright hopes and dreams when I believed I could be anything I tried strived over-achieved if thoughts manifest reality the American Dream wouldn’t be unreachable and life would be different all I truly wanted was freedom to be me without threat, violence shame or compromise how tragic being me proved to beContinueContinue reading “Poem: Be Anything”
Poem: Trauma of the unseen by LaShawnda Jones
Impossible to know if the
Traumatized have no awareness of their state
One revels in solitude because loneliness
has become a way of life
** Follow link to read in full. **
Poem: Death is passive. Killing is not.
Poem: Death is passive, killing is not. by LaShawnda Jones
Breathing is active.
Breath is sacred.
Air is life.
We are all created beings
with the same Right to Life
and unhindered breathing.
Access to air should not depend on
Assumptions, opinions, political views,
Occupation, wealth, social status,
Skin color, mood, hatred of fellow humans
or self-hatred. Access to air should
not require legislation.
Yet here we are.