Poetry Friday-Golden Shovel/Speak Out

I’m taken by the high school students continued activism, walk-outs, and marching that are happening here in the U.S. My poems for Poetry Friday this week come from these thoughts. This first poem is from the prompt that Michelle Heidenrich Barnes shared with us on her blog, Today’s Little Ditty. The prompt comes from Nikki Grimes, and she challenged us to write a golden shovel poem from the poems that Michelle shared that day.  The poem that spoke to me, and that I chose a line from is “blurred lines.” It was originally written in a workshop that Michelle lead for boys 11-19 who were in a “juvenile residential facility.”   “blurred lines was written by the student who’s pen name is Lil Fijjii, and I decided to follow the grammatical style of this poet. I’m also sharing a few additional politically inspired poems.

stroke another’s back
from “blurred lines” by Lil Fijjii

i wanna get you thinkin’, i
wanna get you outside of yourself. i’ve been
inside out and upside down, looking through
all different windows drenched in storms
of other’s pains cryin’ for rains
of joy. i’m fed up with this status quo hell
of inequality, it’s gotta go–i ain’t just watchin’, and
doin’ nothin’, how ‘bout you, wheels gotta move forward, not turn time back!

©2018 Michelle Kogan

 

BEAT BEAT DRUMS!
By Walt Whitman

Beat! beat! drums!—blow! bugles! blow! 

Through the windows—through doors—burst like a ruthless force,

Into the solemn church, and scatter the congregation,

Into the school where the scholar is studying,

Leave not the bridegroom quiet—no happiness must he have now with his bride,

Nor the peaceful farmer any peace, ploughing his field or gathering his grain,

So fierce you whirr and pound you drums—so shrill you bugles blow.

Beat! beat! drums!—blow! bugles! blow!

Over the traffic of cities—over the rumble of wheels in the streets;

Are beds prepared for sleepers at night in the houses? no sleepers must sleep in those beds,

No bargainers’ bargains by day—no brokers or speculators—would they continue?

Would the talkers be talking? would the singer attempt to sing?

Would the lawyer rise in the court to state his case before the judge?

Then rattle quicker, heavier drums—you bugles wilder blow.

Read the rest of the poem at the Poetry Foundation

MAKING PEACE
By Denise Levertov  

                             

A voice from the dark called out,

             ‘The poets must give us

imagination of peace, to oust the intense, familiar

imagination of disaster. Peace, not only

the absence of war.’

                                   But peace, like a poem,

is not there ahead of itself,

can’t be imagined before it is made,

can’t be known except

in the words of its making,

grammar of justice,

syntax of mutual aid.

                                       A feeling towards it,

dimly sensing a rhythm, is all we have

until we begin to utter its metaphors,

learning them as we speak.

Read the rest of the poem at the Poetry Foundation.

Thanks Linda Baie for hosting this weeks Poetry Friday Round up on your blog Teacher Dance!