A Poet's Call
it has always been easy
to get to my heart.
there is no other way of stating it.
the best poets are lovers,
are receptacles for pain,
joy, injustice
and the innocent smiles of children.
we trust too early and easily,
we read potential in the countless
faces
of evil,
we carry many, many wounds
we are often crippled yet some
heal quickly
only to open their hearts
to stories our
children can see through.
the right words can send us on
unlimited journeys.
the hurt in children's eyes
releases fury
in our souls and fists,
Black girls' mistreated hair
bring tears.
I do not wish it to always
be this way
to care too much can damage
one's spirit yet,
the secret to the longevity of
significant poets is:
we never give up on love,
poetry and
the smiles of the young.
- HAKI R. MADHUBUTI
Reprinted from Tough Notes: A Healing Call,
published by Third World Press
it has always been easy
to get to my heart.
there is no other way of stating it.
the best poets are lovers,
are receptacles for pain,
joy, injustice
and the innocent smiles of children.
we trust too early and easily,
we read potential in the countless
faces
of evil,
we carry many, many wounds
we are often crippled yet some
heal quickly
only to open their hearts
to stories our
children can see through.
the right words can send us on
unlimited journeys.
the hurt in children's eyes
releases fury
in our souls and fists,
Black girls' mistreated hair
bring tears.
I do not wish it to always
be this way
to care too much can damage
one's spirit yet,
the secret to the longevity of
significant poets is:
we never give up on love,
poetry and
the smiles of the young.
- HAKI R. MADHUBUTI
Reprinted from Tough Notes: A Healing Call,
published by Third World Press
