National Black Poetry Day

October 17th is National Black Poetry Day. I appreciate poetry and enjoy writing it, although I haven't done much poetry writing lately, because I've been too involved with my novel writing. However, today seems a perfect time to settle back and reflect on poetry. If you think you don't like poetry, think again. If you like any songs, you like poetry.

There are many wonderful poets, and the black poets have certainly made their mark. Almost everyone has heard of those like Langston Hughes and Maya Angelou and James Weldon Johnson and Paul Lawrence Dunbar to a lesser degree. There are many to consider.

A couple of years ago, right before my first novel was accepted to be published, I took a poetry class. I liked the class because it stretched me into writing types that I would not have otherwise tried. One such poem was a blues poem. Here's what I came up with:

Mama, She Don't Sang

     Mama, she don't sang to me;

     No, Mama won't sang to me.

     Mama didn't read to me.

     She way too busy workin'.

     Mama never did hug me,

    'Cause she tired from workin'.

     All da church ladies whisper

     Mama be shirkin.

     Mama she don't sang to me;

     No, Mama won't sang to me.

     Mama never sung no songs.

     Work done snatched 'em away.

     A heart can't sang songs

     When it has nothin' to say -

     When it knows what will never be

     And sees no good day.

     But Mama started to hum today, 

     So thangs may not stay dat way.

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