Poets Laureate/Youth Poet Laureate/Giovanni/Crimmins/Coletti/

 The following are  the more recent Poets Laureate of the United States

Kay Ryan, WS Merwin, Philip Levine, Natasha Trethewey, Charles Wright,

Juan Felipe Herrera, Tracy K Smith, and Joy Harjo

A symptom of my age (77) is that when I think of Poets Laureate of the United States,I picture the then to

me ancient hero Robert Frost

reading "The Gift Outright" at the John F. Kennedy inaugural January 21st 1961.  The poem was nowhere near to being the 4-time Pulitzer Prize winner and 31 time Nobel Prize nominee's greatest work, but, specifically requested by JFK, it was an excellent poem of occasion delivered rather poorly from his memory due to the strong wind and sun. 

Youth Poet Laureate Amanda Gorman did an outstanding job at the January 20, 2020 Biden inaugural with her poem of occasion "The Hill We Climb." The following passage demonstrates Gorman's genuine poetic promise:

And no one shall make them afraid.

If we’re to live up to our own time,

then victory won’t lie in the blade

but in all the bridges we’ve made.

That is the promise to glade

the hill we climb

if only we dare it.

Because being American is more than a pride we inherit.

It’s the past we step into

and how we repair it.

Joy Harjo

, (born May 9, 1951,Tulsa, Oklahoma, U.S.),

American poet, writer, academic, musician, and Native American activist whose poems featured Indian symbolism, imagery, history, and ideas set within a universal context. Her poetry also dealt with social and personal issues notably feminism, and with music notably jazz.                    

Here is one example of Harjo's notable poetry;

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BY JOY HARJO

To pray you open your whole self

To sky, to earth, to sun, to moon

To one whole voice that is you.

And know there is more

That you can’t see, can’t hear;

Can’t know except in moments

Steadily growing, and in languages

That aren’t always sound but other

Circles of motion.

Like eagle that Sunday morning

Over Salt River. Circled in blue sky

In wind, swept our hearts clean

With sacred wings.

We see you, see ourselves and know

That we must take the utmost care

And kindness in all things.

Breathe in, knowing we are made of

All this, and breathe, knowing

We are truly blessed because we

Were born, and die soon within a

True circle of motion,

Like eagle rounding out the morning

Inside us.

We pray that it will be done

In beauty.

In beauty.

NIKKI GIOVANNI

I thought 50 years ago that I could make a big difference in the world. What I know now is that I won't allow the world to make a big difference in me. That's what's incredibly important. I'm not going to let the fact that I live in a nation with a bunch of fools make a fool out of me. 
- Nikki Giovanni

Poem for a Lady Whose Voice I Like

so he said: you ain’t got no talent
if you didn’t have a face
you wouldn’t be nobody

and she said: god created heaven and earth
and all that’s Black within them

so he said: you ain’t really no hot shit
they tell me plenty sisters
take care better business than you

and she said: on the third day he made chitterlings
and all good things to eat
and said: “that’s good”

so he said: if the white folks hadn’t been under
yo skirt and been giving you the big play
you’d a had to come on uptown like everybody else

and she replied: then he took a big Black greasy rib
from adam and said we will call this woeman and her
name will be sapphire and she will divide into four parts
that simone may sing a song

and he said: you pretty full of yourself ain’t chu

so she replied: show me someone not full of herself
and i’ll show you a hungry person

Love Is

Some people forget that love is
tucking you in and kissing you
'Good night'
no matter how young or old you are
Some people don't remember that
love is
listening and laughing and asking
questions
no matter what your age
Few recognize that love is
commitment, responsibility
no fun at all
unless

Love is
You and me

Comment or Read Comments Here  on any of the above or below. If you do not have a Google account, then log in by checking "Name/URL," (it's easy). Just the name (don't worry about the URL). Actual name is best, but use what you like. Or email me at edjcoletti(AT)gmail.com, and I can post it.

Read Three Times and Call Me in the Morning  - Ed Coletti

Command yourself

to read a poem

three times

at each single session

to understand how much

it can offer you and

other readers over time

Notice that this is how

one rare poem

will call to attention

the restless soul from

marking time at ease

                                       

Several By Jack Crimmins

Sneaking This Poem In On You

the way the river bends
or her spooning body
lost and found 
you misplaced distance 
that afternoon of shadows
sold your busted canoe
to the true hippie there
waiting near the avenue
she couldn't say the words
so I'm sneaking this poem
in on you even though
you say trust the moon
I just heard your slant rhymes 
your chants against 
the government and yet
as it was said in that old blues 
no one spoke up they had
money to lose even Republican 
politicians may bemoan 
their fate soon
and make excuses
for the last four years 
all power corrupts 
except individual truth
highway towns
and woods of faith
lead the way 
this grave of mine 
dug years ago
no fortune not a way
forward in the dark
except in the book
a few stars
if I add in dreams
you'll see 
a regular glory
hawks and buzzards
a plan again for leaving 
just after I sneak this 
poem in and say
hello America
goodbye forgotten songs
Republicans with heart
are voting blue and
here's your remedy
downhearted 
lift your eyes
to the light the sky
	- Jack Crimmins

 

 WHY THE POEMS OF AUTUMN DARK DON'T TELL OF SPRING

angles and designs 

depth of knowledge 

how the redwoods 

are standing when

the park is closed 

after fire reached 

the edge of things 

and you ask about 

the dark poems of 

autumn wherein 

you know people

who are alone now 

and afraid maybe 

without enough of

true warmth in the 

house at midnight 

with shadows and 

cold weather as a

symbol of fear and 

you're waiting for 

the poem to give 

heart or sustenance 

this is where stars

come in from away 

I have however

nothing to say 

about the moon

and the hunger 

in America before 

we even get to

winter let alone

that hope that

poems can heal

and yet with luck 

some healing oh

heading your way 

this way that way

round about now

buzzards circle 

as a good sign

this vibrant land 

you are also key

to the bright wild

landscape here

and we go on

sustained in

autumn with 

the winds and

maybe even rain

let your life oh

shine like the day 

after fog burns off

our true low sun

a bit of warmth 

after all even

     

      -- Jack Crimmins