A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry, 1958
Name: ________________
Guide to Reading and Assignments
If found, please return to B-16
www.teacherweb.com/CT/TrumbullHS/Garcia
Tips:
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Read the stage directions (you know, those italicized parts); they’re part of the play, and they contain
important information about entrances and exits, actors’ movement, style of delivery, setting, scenery, etc.
Note: Depending on the book edition, the page numbers for the chapters may vary.
Due __________: Read, annotate, and write a one-page reflection on Langston
Hughes’ poem, “Harlem: A Dream Deferred” in this packet.
Due __________: Vocabulary Sheet for A Raisin in the Sun. Check off words
whose meaning you already know. (Be honest. If you check off a word and I ask you its
meaning, you must be able to define it on the spot in order to get homework credit.) Define
the rest on a separate piece of paper.
Due __________: Pre-reading Questions: Read and consider Pre-reading Questions / Activating
Prior Knowledge sheet. You don’t need to write out the answers, but be prepared to answer these
questions when asked.
Due __________: Raisin Act 1 Scene 1 Reading, Notes, & Dialectical Notebook, focusing notes on
setting, characterization (visualize them), mood, conflict, symbol, and foreshadowing. You may be
asked to discuss symbols.
Due __________: Raisin Act 1 Scene 2 Reading, Notes, & Dialectical Notebook, focusing notes on
characterization, conflict, and significance of character names. In class you may be asked to write
about a significant passage.
Due __________: Raisin Act 2 Scene 1 Reading, Notes, & Dialectical Notebook, focusing notes on
assimilation, conflict, and foreshadowing.
Due __________: Raisin Act 2 Scenes 2&3 Reading, Notes, & Dialectical Notebook, focusing notes
on verbal irony & symbol.
Due __________: Raisin Act 3 Reading, Notes, & Dialectical Notebook, focusing annotations on
symbol and character growth or change. Think ahead: In class you may be asked to write about a
significant passage.
Due ________: Writing Persona Poems: Examples to Read & Annotate (in 2nd half of this packet)
Due ________: Fishbowl Notes (upload to TurnItIn too) for discussions on _______ and _______
Due __________: Essay or paragraph to be announced. Upload to TurnItIn. Staple receipt on top,
then the outline, then the essay in middle, draft on bottom BEFORE arriving in class on due date.
Due __________: Persona Poem and Reflection. Directions and example of student work are at
the end of this packet. Upload to TurnItIn. Staple receipt on top, then the poem, then the reflection,
and drafts on the bottom BEFORE arriving in class on due date.
Page 1 of 28
Expectations for Homework
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Due dates will be updated (and possibly adjusted) as we progress through the unit. The best way to
know what is due is to listen in class, and write due dates on this sheet when they are announced. Don’t
rely solely on Teacher Web or the homework board. There may be assignments for this unit beyond
this packet. Late homework will be accepted up to two days late only if 1) you have an excused
absence or 2) we have not already discussed it or given out answers. Weekends count as two days
because, well, they are two days.
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Read actively: “Reading” always means reading actively and taking notes/annotating. I may check
your notes at any time. You don’t get credit for summarizing and being literal; you must show your
thinking by writing ideas that dig deeper into the text. You will need to be able to star  the parts of
your annotations that show insight, Q&A, connections, predictions, etc. To see how to take
meaningful notes, look in the Notes Tools Packet you were issued and the directions and examples for
a Dialectical Notebook. Read the book, not online summaries! USING SPARK NOTES OR ANY
SIMILAR SUMMARIES, WHETHER ON PAPER OR ONLINE IS ACADEMICALLY
DISHONEST. IT IS CHEATING. YOU ARE BETTER THAN THAT. HAVE PERSONAL
INTEGRITY.
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Quizzes: Any time that there is reading due, it is not only possible but also quite likely that you will
have a quiz on the reading.
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Be prepared: Some in-class writings may be open-notes/open-book. If you are always prepared with
your book and notebook, having kept up with the reading, you’re all set. There will be no locker
passes.
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Read assignment directions ahead of time, and ASK ME immediately if confused. “I didn’t
understand what to do” is a poor excuse for not having your homework. It’s better to make an attempt
that turns out to be incorrect, rather than showing no effort at all. Refer to the Alternative Homework
Assignment.
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“Going ahead”: This is high school, a place where budgeting your time is not only encouraged, it’s
expected. Therefore, feel free to “go ahead” on any assignments in a packet, or read ahead—as long as
you don’t reveal plot points and spoil it for other students.

Use pen: For homework and classwork, please use dark blue or black pen, not pencil—or feel free to
type minor assignments or homework if you’re more comfortable doing so. Major assignments must be
typed in MLA format.
Expectations for Classwork
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Much of what applies to homework applies to classwork as well.
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It goes without saying that each day you should
o participate, whether we are conducting as class discussion or doing a writing activity;
o take notes;
o and finish any uncompleted classwork at home.
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Quick-writes: In this particular writing exercise, you are given a passage from the text to analyze in
greater depth and discuss. These are about 15 minutes and are often open-book/open-notes. Then we
discuss. They may count as classwork or as a quiz.
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Vocabulary for A Raisin in the Sun
Directions: Check off words whose meaning you already know. (Be honest. If you check off a word
and I ask you its meaning, you must be able to define it on the spot in order to get homework credit.)
Define the rest on a separate piece of paper. You know that you use context clues to decipher a word’s
meaning; if you can’t, you need to consult a dictionary. Develop the good habit of having a dictionary
nearby when you read. Although I usually encourage you to ask questions, I am here to help you with
tasks that you can’t yet do by yourself; you are well capable of using a dictionary. Vocabulary
acquisition is an important part of becoming a more independent reader.
Poem
Act I
Act II
Act III
deferred
fester
assimilation
chauffeur
dejection
dungarees
forlornly
graft
grossing
heathenism
indignantly
ledger
mutilated
neurotic
permeated
raucous
reckon
tyrant
vengeance
assimilation
chariot
eccentric
exuberant
Garbo (Greta Garbo)
monologue
nonplussed
Pearl Bailey
Prometheus
sullen
taut
bassinet
bourgeois
elude
entrepreneur
gourd
hoodlum
ofay
penicillin
reverie
wrought
Page 3 of 28
Pre-reading Questions / Activating Prior Knowledge
Directions: You don’t need to write out the answers, but be prepared to answer these questions when
asked. If you don’t know the answer, look it up, but first, attempt to answer it on your own.
1. What do you know about theme versus motif versus symbolism?
2. What do you know about critical stance?
3. What do you know about the Civil Rights movement and/or the Civil Rights Act of 1964?
4. What is your definition of human dignity?
5. What is the purpose of dreams?—not the kind when you’re asleep. What is your dream/goal?
6. What do you know about sensitive, racist or biased language? (Warning: That is not an invitation to list
all the slurs that you know!)
7. What is assimilation?
8. What is the difference between prejudice and racism?
Brief Timeline
1951: Langston Hughes’ poem, “Harlem” (A Dream Deferred)
1958: Lorraine Hansberry’s play, A Raisin in the Sun, is published
1963: The Supreme Court rules Birmingham, Alabama’s segregation ordinances unconstitutional.
1963: Martin Luther King, Jr. delivers his famous “I Have a Dream” speech.
1964: President Lyndon B. Johnson signs the Civil Rights Act of 1964
1968: Martin Luther King, Jr. is assassinated
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Harlem: A Dream Deferred
NAME: ________________________
LANGSTON HUGHES (1902-1967)
1. Read and annotate Langston Hughes’ poem, “Harlem: A Dream Deferred.” (Note that the poem
was not written by the author of the play.)
2. If you cannot figure out the meanings of fester and deferred in context, look them up.
3. Write a full-page reflection on the back of this sheet in which you state what you think the poem
means. Also, based on this poem which appears before the introduction to the play, make
predictions about what you think the play will be about.
Harlem: A Dream Deferred
by Langston Hughes, 1951
What happens to a dream deferred?
Does it dry up
Like a raisin in the sun?
Or fester like a sore—
And then run?
Does it stink like rotten meat?
Or crust and sugar over—
Like a syrupy sweet?
Maybe it just sags
Like a heavy load.
Or does it explode?
Reflection on “Harlem: A Dream Deferred”
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Directions: Write your reflection on “Harlem: A Dream Deferred,” paying special
attention to the underlined section, as well as any poetic devices you notice. Based on
this poem from which Lorraine Hansberry borrows the title of her play, what do you
predict A Raisin in the Sun will be about? Support your ideas with textual examples.
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Possible Fishbowl and/or Essay Questions
You need to be considering these critical stance questions as you read,
not at the end. While you read, mark down pages/quotations that could
be used to support your point.
There is more to critical stance than simply asking “Is this good literature or not?” Readers must
consider and evaluate an author’s choices. All of the following questions require you to take a
critical stance, but notice how different they are. Although these questions do not merely ask, “Is
this good literature?” they do lead you to answer that question. By taking a firm stance on these
questions, you are actually evaluating whether the play as an effective work (“good” literature).
Fishbowl and essay rubrics may be found in a separate packet.
1. Author’s Communication of Theme: The author derives the title of her play from a line within
Langston Hughes’ poem. Now that you have read her play, evaluate to what degree Hansberry
answers Hughes’ question. According to Hansberry, what does happen to a dream deferred? How
do you know? What does the play reveal? So what? How does this tie in with the theme(s)?
(Remember that theme is a complete statement (a complete sentence), not merely a word or phrase.
It is also not a word of phrase tucked into another sentence, as in “The theme is the strength of
friendship” or “The theme is the art of war.” “Life” is not a theme, but “Life is a journey” could be
a theme. You get the picture.)
2. Author’s Choice of Ending: Why does Hansberry choose to end the play the way she does? Is this
effective? How does it tie in with the play’s overall theme(s)? (Remember that theme is a complete
statement (a complete sentence), not merely a word or phrase. It is also not a word of phrase tucked
into another sentence, as in “The theme is the strength of friendship” or “The theme is the art of
war.” “Life” is not a theme, but “Life is a journey” could be a theme. You get the picture.)
3. Author’s Choice of Words: Why does Hansberry choose to include the controversial “N word” a
few times in her play? Is it justified? How does it contribute to her purpose and intended theme(s)?
(You will need to examine the Mrs. Johnson scene closely.) (Remember that theme is a complete
statement (a complete sentence), not merely a word or phrase. It is also not a word of phrase tucked
into another sentence, as in “The theme is the strength of friendship” or “The theme is the art of
war.” “Life” is not a theme, but “Life is a journey” could be a theme. You get the picture.)
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Directions for Character Persona Poem and Reflection
The due date for poem and reflection is _______________.
Please upload them to TurnItIn.com as one document. Thanks!
1. Choose your favorite character from the novel/play/short story, ___________________________.
(We will evenly distribute the characters in class and verify that there are no more than a two or
three of each one.)
2. If there is more than one classmate adopting the persona of that character, meet with that classmate
to discuss what point in the character’s development you plan to express. In other words, are you in
the beginning, middle or end of the text? You could even choose to write from the perspective of
the character’s future self, after the text has ended.
3. Read about a dozen poems by established poets so that you can get a feel for what contemporary
poetry sounds like. Poets.org and Poetry 180 are reliable sites where you can begin looking. We
will allot one day of class time for you to browse these sites and books I will loan out in class.
4. Go home and write a poem in the voice of the character you selected. Aim to use some poetic
devices, such as imagery and figurative language (i.e. metaphor, simile).
a. Point of View and Persona: Content of the poem itself must convey (either directly or by
implication) which character is speaking. Not one size fits all.
b. Illumination & Relevance: Poem must illuminate an aspect of the character, a central
theme, or central question, and extend it beyond the existing play. It should not re-tell a
scene in the play.
c. Breadth & Depth: Poem must go beyond the literal, containing depth and figurative
meaning. The poem should be substantial (around 20 lines or more?), not too brief.
d. Form: The chosen form of the poem should be well suited to the character.
e. Creativity & Craft: The poem must show imagination, creativity and reflect your intelligent
choices as a poet. Must contain vivid and concrete sensory detail rather than abstractions.
5. Bring your poem to class on the day _______________ we are conducting Peer Workshop and
Teacher Review.
6. You and your classmates will decide the appropriate order in which the poems should be recited.
7. Using the directions on the reverse side, write a reflection about your writing process and the
meaning of your poem.
8. Rehearse and prepare to recite the poem as part of our class performance, which will be on
__________________.
continues on next page
Page 8 of 28
Directions for Character Persona Poem and Reflection (continued)
Written Reflection
Your reflection should be a minimum of two FULL pages.
At minimum, you will address three reflection questions.
Use paragraphs.
You must use text support (quotations from the play/story/novel)
Use standard MLA format.
Attach draft(s) of poems and reflection beneath.
Required Reflection Questions:
1. Meaning and Relevance: How does your poem significantly connect to ___________________
(play/story/novel) in terms of character development, theme, and/or a central question? You
must use adequate text support. Let’s say there is a two-quote minimum. If you discuss theme,
you must clearly state it as a complete sentence.
2. Imagery and Craft: What are the most memorable or vivid images in your poem? If you are
using poetic devices here, explain. In what way do they help convey meaning? Be specific.
3. Choose at least one of the additional questions below:
Additional Questions:
Highlights: What are you most proud of in this poem, and why? (This could be an opportunity to
discuss the best decision that you made.)
Challenges and Victories: What was the most difficult part about writing the poem? Why? How did
you solve this problem?
What did you think about in order to prepare to read this poem for the class?
If you would like to address other ideas in your reflection, you may add them, but not substitute them
for the above questions.
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Feedback on Persona Poem for Raisin
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Holistic Grade: ____
A Raisin the Sun Task-Specific Criteria
Point of View and Persona: Content of the poem itself must convey (either directly or by implication) which
character is speaking. Not one size fits all.
Illumination & Relevance: Poem must illuminate an aspect of the character, a central theme, or central
question, and extend it beyond the existing play. It should not re-tell a scene in the play.
Breadth & Depth: Poem must go beyond the literal, containing depth and figurative meaning. The poem
should be substantial (around 20 lines or more?), not too brief.
Form: The chosen form of the poem should be well suited to the character.
Creativity & Craft: The poem must show imagination, creativity and reflect your intelligent choices as a poet. Must contain
vivid and concrete sensory detail rather than abstractions.
Title
This poem needs a title.
Consider an alternate title to help “frame” the poem.
Poetic Devices and Sensory Detail
Show, don’t tell. Use more (or more varied) poetic devices to express your ideas.
Incorporate more imagery that appeals to the five senses.
This leans on abstractions a bit. You can minimize them by swapping them for concrete images.
Needs poetic devices in order to avoid sounding like a prose paragraph that has been broken into lines.
Diction (word choice) and Syntax (word order)
Incorporate fresh language and bold word choice. If you feel you’ve heard it somewhere before, chances are you have.
Use action rather than being verbs (am, are, is, was, were). Try unusual combinations of words.
Too many “–ing” words can distract. Use present or past tense instead (i.e. “waves crash” instead of “waves crashing”)
The poem uses some old-fashioned word choices. (i.e. thou, thy) or odd syntax (i.e. “A bicycle have I.”)
Tighten up the poem. Condense the images and eliminate all excess words.
Too many adjective-noun combinations can distract or create stilted rhythm. Some of the adj. can be trimmed.
Line Breaks and Stanza Breaks
Some line breaks seem random or choppy. Strategize to create more thoughtful line breaks.
Lines are very long. Consider breaking lines earlier.
Many lines are end-stopped. Consider enjambment (making a line wrap around to the next line).
Consider adding stanza breaks to help structure the poem and give it breathing room.
Content & Meaning
I notice some: beauty / cleverness / humor / depth / mood / originality / quirkiness / sadness / universality / vividness
Needs more unified focus and direction. Think about why you wrote the poem and what point you wanted to make.
Some parts seem to state your point directly instead of making it subtly, through poetic devices.
Good start, but the poem feels unfinished. The reader wants to know more! Consider adding.
Good start, but a bit vague and general, as if holding back. Some meaning emerges, but still hazy or confusing in parts.
I’m not quite sure what this poem is about. Is it _______________________________________________?
Some parts don’t “ring true” in terms of logistics or sentiment.
Descriptive, but a bit literal. Try adding another dimension so that there is more room for interpretation.
Needs a different ending or more closure. The current ending doesn’t do justice to a poem that is strong elsewhere.
Rhythm, Rhyme, and Sound Devices
There is some fun/interesting/clever rhythm/rhyme here. 
Other than rhythm or rhyme, try to add some sound devices such as alliteration, onomatopoeia, etc.
The rhyme becomes a little distracting and/or sounds forced in some spots.
Editing and Form (especially capitalization & punctuation)
Please proofread. Even on drafts, careless errors are inconsiderate of your readers.
If you use nonstandard English or abandon punctuation, have a justifiable reason, and stay consistent.
Add punctuation (commas, for example) to clarify your meaning.
Consider whether you want to capitalize the first letter of each line or not, but choose one and stay consistent.
Use12-point font, Times New Roman or Arial only.)
Left-hand justify the poem instead of centering it.
Single-space a poem. Double-space between stanzas, but single-space within stanzas.
Page 10 of 28
Writing Persona Poems: First Person Point of View
Examples to Read and Annotate
Writing a strong poem requires many skills; however, we will concentrate on the two
that will most quickly affect your persona poem.
 Voice and Point of View
 Concrete sensory detail (avoiding abstractions)
Directions:
Read the ten poems in this packet, answering the following questions for each in your
annotations. Draw arrows or highlight to show the evidence that supports your ideas.
1. Who is the speaker of this poem? (Think about gender, age, job, etc.) How do you
know? Show and explain the evidence.
2. How would you describe his/her/its voice? (Think about attitude.) For “mistress
stella speaks,” you can’t just say “Stella” is speaking.
3. What makes this speaker sound effective and convincing?
A final question to answer on the back:
4. Apply what you wrote for question #3 to the character you selected for your
persona poem assignment. In other words, how you can use these
devices/strategies to make your persona poem effective as well?
Brainstorm here!
Page 11 of 28
mistress stella speaks
TYEHIMBA JESS
you think i’m his property
’cause he paid cash
to grab me by the neck,
swing me ‘cross his knee
and stroke the living song from my hips.
you think he is master of all
my twelve tongues, spreading notes
thick as starless night, strangling spine
till my voice is a jungle of chords.
the truth is that i owned him
since the word love first blessed his lips
since hurt and flight and free
carved their way into the cotton
fused bones of his fretting hand,
since he learned how pleading men hunt
for my face in the well of their throats
till their tongues are soaked with want.
yes, each day he comes back
home from the fields,
from chain gang fury,
from the smell of sometime women
who borrow his body. he bends
his weight around me
like a wilting weed
drinking in my kiss
of fretboard across fingertip
’til he can stand up straight again,
aching from what he left behind,
rising sure as dawn.
Page 12 of 28
Monologue for an Onion
SUJI KWOCK KIM
I don't mean to make you cry.
I mean nothing, but this has not kept you
From peeling away my body, layer by layer,
The tears clouding your eyes as the table fills
With husks, cut flesh, all the debris of pursuit.
Poor deluded human: you seek my heart.
Hunt all you want. Beneath each skin of mine
Lies another skin: I am pure onion--pure union
Of outside and in, surface and secret core.
Look at you, chopping and weeping. Idiot.
Is this the way you go through life, your mind
A stopless knife, driven by your fantasy of truth,
Of lasting union--slashing away skin after skin
From things, ruin and tears your only signs
Of progress? Enough is enough.
You must not grieve that the world is glimpsed
Through veils. How else can it be seen?
How will you rip away the veil of the eye, the veil
That you are, you who want to grasp the heart
Of things, hungry to know where meaning
Lies. Taste what you hold in your hands: onion-juice,
Yellow peels, my stinging shreds. You are the one
In pieces. Whatever you meant to love, in meaning to
You changed yourself: you are not who you are,
Your soul cut moment to moment by a blade
Of fresh desire, the ground sown with abandoned skins.
And at your inmost circle, what? A core that is
Not one. Poor fool, you are divided at the heart,
Lost in its maze of chambers, blood, and love,
A heart that will one day beat you to death.
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A Child Explains Dying
ROBERT CRUM
First you close your eyes.
Then you hold your breath.
Then, when it gets too heavy to hold,
you let it go. And it drops to the floor
like a stone. But without a sound.
And then your mother comes to the door
and calls you, saying,
“Come out here this instant!
Your breakfast is getting cold.”
And then your father comes to the door
and calls you, saying,
“No son of mine is going to lie
in bed all day. No son of mine
Is going to be late for school”
And then they shake you,
and when you don’t move
they see the mistake they made
and they cry and cry and cry.
And then they comb your hair
and brush your teeth
and dress you in a suit and tie
just like for Sunday School
And then they bury you in the dirt.
And your teacher gives your desk to someone else.
And your brothers wear your clothes
that you’ll never need again
because you’re a little lamb at the feet
of Jesus in Heaven—you’re a little wooly thing
up in the clouds, going baaa, baaa.
1984. From The Ploughshares Poetry Anthology (1987)
Page 14 of 28
What Every Soldier Should Know
To yield force to is an act of necessity, not of will;
it is at best an act of prudence.
—Jean-Jacques Rousseau
If you hear gunfire on a Thursday afternoon,
it could be for a wedding, or it could be for you.
Always enter a home with your right foot;
the left is for cemeteries and unclean places.
O-guf! Tera armeek is rarely useful.
It means Stop! Or I’ll shoot.
Sabah el khair is effective.
It means Good morning.
Inshallah means Allah be willing.
Listen well when it is spoken.
You will hear the RPG coming for you.
Not so the roadside bomb.
There are bombs under the overpasses,
in trashpiles, in bricks, in cars.
There are shopping carts with clothes soaked
in foogas, a sticky gel of homemade napalm.
Parachute bombs and artillery shells
sewn into the carcasses of dead farm animals.
Graffiti sprayed onto the overpasses:
I will kell you, American.
Men wearing vests rigged with explosives
walk up, raise their arms and say Inshallah.
There are men who earn eighty dollars
to attack you, five thousand to kill.
Small children who will play with you,
old men with their talk, women who offer chai—
and any one of them
may dance over your body tomorrow.
from p. 9 of Here Bullet
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The Way of the World
KIM ADDONIZIO (1954- ) She was born in Bethesda, MD and now lives in California.
We know the ugly hate the beautiful,
and the bitter losers are all seething
over bad coffee, washed in the sleazy fluorescence
of fast-food restaurants. We know
the wheelchairs hate the shoes,
and the medicines envy the vitamins,
which is why sometimes a whole bottle
of sleeping pills will gather like a wave
and rush down someone’s throat to drown
in the sour ocean of the stomach.
And let’s not even mention the poor,
since hardly anyone does.
It’s the way of the world—
the sorrowful versus the happy,
and the stupid against everyone,
especially themselves. So don’t pretend
you’re glad when your old friends
get lucky in work, or love,
while you’re still drifting through life
like a lobster in a restaurant tank. Go on
admit it: you’d claw them to death
if you could. But you’re helpless,
knocking futilely against clear glass you can’t
break through. They’re opening champagne,
oblivious of you, just as you don’t notice
how many backs you’ve scrambled over
to get this far, you black eyes glittering,
your slow limbs grimly and steadily working.
From pp. 73-74 of What Is This Thing Called Love, 2004
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Melissa Quits School
LUCILE BURT has taught high school in Arlington, MA since 1970.
I’m not going down into that cave anymore,
that room under everything
where they stick us freaks
surrounded by storage rooms
and one hundred years of dust
caking little windows near the ceiling.
We’re buried under the weight
of all those rooms above us,
regular rooms with regular kids,
buried where we won’t be a bad influence.
Mrs. Miller says I’ll be sorry,
but I don’t care. I can’t think
down there. It’s hard to breathe
underground.
If school’s so great for my future,
what’s Mrs. Miller doing buried here
like some sad dead bird
teaching freaks
and smelling like booze every morning?
I may be stupid, but I know this:
outside there’ll be light and air
and I won’t feel like I’m dying.
Outside, someone will pay when I work,
give me a coffee break when I can smoke.
No one will say “where’s your pass?”
Sandy and Tina won’t dance away from me,
sidestepping like I’m poison ivy,
and boys won’t try to pry me open.
Steve won’t be hanging on me,
wanting me
to take a couple of hits before class,
wanting me
to cut class to make love,
even though it’s really screwing
and he calls it “making love”
so I’ll do it and he can brag later.
I may be stupid, but I know this:
even just a little light and air
can save your life.
That shark Steve thinks he owns me,
but I know this:
(stanza continues)
Page 17 of 28
(continued from p. 7)
when we cruise in his car
so he can show off his Chevy and me
him looking out the window all the time,
going nowhere, just cruising,
I’m there ‘cause we’re moving,
I’m there alone with Tori Amos,
singing her sad true songs,
leaning my head back,
watching the streetlights come and go,
each flash lighting my face
for a minute in the dark.
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You So Woman
RUTH FORMAN
lady
when ya purple heels hit concrete
afros swing
cool jazz hot baby
strollin by cry amen
so holy
preachas stutta
thighs so righteous
pews jump up n catch the spirit n
hymns speak in tongues
so sweet
bees leave the daffodils behind
for honey you make table sugar taste sour n
Mrs. Butterworth sho can't find a damn thing to say
when you aroun
lookin so good
cockroaches ask you to step on em
sos they can see heaven
befo
and after they die n
you love ya people so much
if you was on pilgrimage
the Sahara Desert would run to the Atlantic
jus to make sure you don't get thirsty n
camels would kiss you for choosin they back
but Africa don't got you
we do n glad too
so girl
you jus keep on
makin the sunset procrastinate n
givin the rainbows a complex
you a silk earthquake
you a velvet hurricane
n girl you so woman
i be damn
if you don't put a full moon to shame.
from pp. 66-67 of We Are the Young Magicians, 1993.
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Quilts
NIKKI GIOVANNI (1943- )
(for Sally Sellers)
Like a fading piece of cloth
I am a failure
No longer do I cover tables filled with food and laughter
My seams are frayed my hems falling my strength no longer able
To hold the hot and cold
I wish for those first days
When just woven I could keep water
From seeping through
Repelled stains with the tightness of my weave
Dazzled the sunlight with my
Reflection
I grow old though pleased with my memories
The tasks I can no longer complete
Are balanced by the love of the tasks gone past
I offer no apology only
this plea:
When I am frayed and strained and drizzle at the end
Please someone cut a square and put me in a quilt
That I might keep some child warm
And some old person with no one else to talk to
Will hear my whispers
And cuddle
near
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Bike Ride with Older Boys
LAURA KASISCHKE
The one I didn't go on.
I was thirteen,
and they were older.
I'd met them at the public pool. I must
have given them my number. I'm sure
I'd given them my number,
knowing the girl I was. . .
It was summer. My afternoons
were made of time and vinyl.
My mother worked,
but I had a bike. They wanted
to go for a ride.
Just me and them. I said
okay fine, I'd
meet them at the Stop-n-Go
at four o'clock.
And then I didn't show.
I have been given a little gift—
something sweet
and inexpensive, something
I never worked or asked or said
thank you for, most
days not aware
of what I have been given, or what I missed—
because it's that, too, isn't it?
I never saw those boys again.
I'm not as dumb
as they think I am
but neither am I wise. Perhaps
it is the best
afternoon of my life. Two
cute and older boys
pedaling beside me—respectful, awed. When we
turn down my street, the other girls see me ...
Everything as I imagined it would be.
Or, I am in a vacant field. When I
stand up again, there are bits of glass and gravel
ground into my knees.
I will never love myself again.
Who knew then
that someday I would be
Page 21 of 28
thirty-seven, wiping
crumbs off the kitchen table with a sponge, remembering
them, thinking
of this—
those boys still waiting
outside the Stop-n-Go, smoking
cigarettes, growing older.
From Dance and Disappear, 2002
Page 22 of 28
Saturday at the Canal
GARY SOTO
I was hoping to be happy by seventeen.
School was a sharp check mark in the roll book,
An obnoxious tuba playing at noon because our team
Was going to win at night. The teachers were
Too close to dying to understand. The hallways
Stank of poor grades and unwashed hair. Thus,
A friend and I sat watching the water on Saturday,
Neither of us talking much, just warming ourselves
By hurling large rocks at the dusty ground
And feeling awful because San Francisco was a postcard
On a bedroom wall. We wanted to go there,
Hitchhike under the last migrating birds
And be with people who knew more than three chords
On a guitar. We didn’t drink or smoke,
But our hair was shoulder length, wild when
The wind picked up and the shadows of
This loneliness gripped loose dirt. By bus or car,
By the sway of train over a long bridge,
We wanted to get out. The years froze
As we sat on the bank. Our eyes followed the water,
White-tipped but dark underneath, racing out of town.
From p. 229 of Poetry 180: A Turning Back to Poetry (2003), edited by Billy Collins.
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