Tag: black history month

#BlaPoWriMo: Persistent prayer

pregnant woman in light blue dress that is open in the center, revealing her stomach
~ Nortina S. ~ Leave a comment

I pray that when my daughter grows up, she
will live in a world where she owns her body,

where she can lift her voice and sing praises
to a God above without fear of machine gun fire,

where her choice of spouse is not dictated by how
many seats are occupied in the Supreme Court,

where she will be challenged because of her mind
and not because of the kinks and coils atop her head,

where she will never have to unload funeral caskets from yellow
buses, where she can send her children to school and expect

them to be taught the same histories she learned as I:
I have a dream; let freedom ring; we shall overcome.

I pray my daughter will grow up to live in a world where
she will be free at last from a history doomed to repeat.

© 2023 Nortina Simmons

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#BlaPoWriMo: Rest

abendstimmung agriculture back light cereal
~ Nortina S. ~ 1 Comment

A Black History Month Senryu

Beat me til I’m stiff
In the ground, I lay my soul
To rest, finally.

© 2023 Nortina Simmons

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#BlaPoWriMo: I asked ChatGPT to write a poem for Black History Month…

black man in a fedora standing on stage in front of a microphone; image created in Canva
~ Nortina S. ~ Leave a comment

Despite my apprehension about ChatGPT “creating art” for us, I found this poem to be inspirational, so I decided to share it with you…

In honor of Black History Month,
Let us remember and recount
The struggles and triumphs of those who came before,
Who fought for justice and so much more.

From slavery and oppression
To freedom and expression,
The journey has been long and hard,
But still, Black excellence has shone like a star.

We celebrate the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr.
And the words he spoke that still stir.
We honor the bravery of Rosa Parks,
Whose simple act sparked a movement that left its marks.

From Maya Angelou to Langston Hughes,
The power of Black literature still ensues,
And music that moves our souls,
From jazz to hip hop, Black culture truly knows.

We remember the Tuskegee Airmen
And the bravery that they did stem
And the path that they paved
For all those who have come after and stayed.

Black History Month is a time to reflect
And remember the stories that intersect
With our shared human history
And celebrate the richness of diversity.

—Nortina

Feature image created in Canva’s text-to-image generator.

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#BlaPoWriMo: 90th Birthday Revisited

~ Nortina S. ~ Leave a comment 
Not quite a century,
but a lifetime of memories.
Just turned 90,
but living like he’s 60.
A daughter, a son,
four grandchildren,
and two great-grand heirs,
all responsible for every one
of his gray hairs.
What makes a birthday
memorable when you’ve
celebrated eighty-nine?
Thanking God 
for the blessing of time.
Time to spend with cherished 
loved ones and friends,
never worrying
about when it will end.
Because a life like this 
is one that will last,
in our hearts, in our minds,
in reminiscing the past.
So many happy returns, CM dear, 
cheers to another fulfilling year.
Make a wish,
blow out the candles.
Hey, pop the cork— 
you’re old enough—
and enjoy this birthday
celebration from all of us.

© 2019-2023 Nortina Simmons

Originally written for my Granddaddy’s 90th birthday. He’ll be 94 next month. Do you think if I change a couple words (“a great-grand heir” became “two great-grand heirs” in 2021) and send it to him again, he’ll remember?

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#BlaPoWriMo: I wash my hair in his lap

woman with dreadlocks lying on the floor
~ Nortina S. ~ Leave a comment

I wash my hair in his lap.
Squeeze out the excess water
and lay me down to dry.
My locs stretch across the carpet
like fingers. They marry and
divide as branches of a family tree,
and our naked bodies are the trunk.

© 2023 Nortina Simmons

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#BlaPoWriMo: Farewell

~ Nortina S. ~ Leave a comment

Squeeze my finger one last time,
your stubby digits enclosed around
my knuckles. You look just like
your father before they disfigured
his face with iron muzzle, bit
down his tongue on rusted metal.

I will always remember the way your
eyes slowly open, adjusting to the
morning sun, how you upchuck just
a little on my breast from nursing
too hurriedly. Let that hunger for
your mother never go away—

Even when you can no longer hear my
voice, when my touch is cool, faint
from the distance, when they beat
you ’til your back blisters open and
your muslin shirt irritates the
wounds my hands cannot heal.

Your cries will echo forever, and
one day when this system crumbles
on its head, and our chains are
broken free, I’ll follow them North,
like the brightest stars in the sky,
’til my embrace calms you once more.

© 2016-2023 Nortina Simmons

Originally published February 17, 2016.

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#BlaPoWriMo: A lullaby

~ Nortina S. ~ Leave a comment

I watch your eyelashes
when you sleep, jealous
of how far they extend,
curling like decorative
wrought iron gates. What
do you dream when you
lay your head on my
breasts rising and
falling with the rhythm
of our synchronized
breathing? Your lashes
flutter with every exhale,
and I imagine it is me
you see in your visions.
I remember you once
threatened to cut them,
and I met you with glue
over my eyes—that
I could see what you see,
dream what you dream. I
caress your short curls
behind your ear. Cast
your burdens onto me, dear
love. The world cares not
about us, our desires, our
hopes, our pain, but together,
ascension is possible. So
dream on, and let me blow
on your lashes and watch
them shiver in the night.

© 2017-2023 Nortina Simmons

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#BlaPoWriMo: Gaslighting history

~ Nortina S. ~ Leave a comment

I’m tired
of being made to remember

how I was snatched
from my motherland,

chained and beaten,
whipped into subjection,

forced to build up
the country they now call

the richest in the land—

only for my oppressors
to be offended.

© 2023 Nortina Simmons

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#BlaPoWriMo: Under the night’s sky

~ Nortina S. ~ Leave a comment

Love Tanka #19

My love's skin is as
Black as the night's sky. I count
the stars in freckles,
the constellations in stripes—
his back a map to freedom.

© 2023 Nortina Simmons

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#BlaPoWriMo: Door of No Return

~ Nortina S. ~ Leave a comment

Door overlooking
the ocean, you are my last
memory of home—

before

chains and bodies and sweat
stored in the hull of a ship,

and then

chains and bodies and sweat
tilling the land under the hot sun.

© 2023 Nortina Simmons

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