Black Poets Archives - The Dewdrop

Jericho Brown's poem talks to the weight carried by black Americans who live under the constant threat of police violence and injustice.

Poetry

Marc Bamuthi Jospeh – You Have the Rite

May 5, 2021May 24, 2021 Vanessa Able

A poetic monologue about a father's fear and the rites of passage taken on by black youth emerging into a fraught world.

Poetry

Wanda Coleman – Nocturne

February 3, 2021February 3, 2021 Vanessa Able

Wanda Coleman's 'Nocturne' holds up the exertion born of necessity or stubbornness, and an awareness of the things—both internal and external—that impede momentum.

The Glimpse of Eternity – Martin Buber and Our Relationship With The Divine
One of the central themes of the work of the Jewish mystical philosopher Martin Buber was the question of understanding our relation to God.
The Expression of a Better World – Anaïs Nin on Transience and the Painful, Familiar Beauty of Music
Anaïs Nin on music, mortality, and what it is to glimpse a joyful vision of a land from which we came and which we have forgotten.
Outer and Inner Ecologies: Activist Satish Kumar on the Importance of Seeing Our Own Divinity
If we cannot see the fact of our own divinity and nurture that most immediate light, we can break down and burn out before we are able to effect any change.
Chris Abani on the Balance and Patience of West African Beauty
In West African thought, beauty surpasses the principles of symmetry and perspective and instead goes deep into the balance of being itself.
Letting the Old Thrills Die: C.S. Lewis on Being Alive to New Joy
Holding on to what is thrilling to us can be stifling and prevent us from paving the way for new experiences.

June Jordan – Poem for a Young Poet
A poem expressing the desire for love and connection, going deeper into the shared essence of being that underlies difference.
Marie Howe – Death, the last visit
Marie Howe's different, highly sexual vision of transitioning out of life through a double-take on 'la petite morte,' the experience of orgasm as 'a little death.'
John O’Donohue – Beannacht / Blessing
This beautiful poem by John O'Donohue, whose title means 'Goodbye', is addressed as a blessing for his mother, Josie.
Emily Dickinson – I Died for Beauty, But Was Scarce…
Emily Dickinson's allegorical reflection on the relationship between beauty and truth.
Tishani Doshi – Hope is the Thing
Tishani Doshi's poem pays homage to a twelve-year-old girl who died of exhaustion last year during the Covid-19 lockdown.