Words not dead
Posted By Ing on July 24, 2010
By chance tonight, I read these two poems one after the other, randomly leafing through a little book (”30 Timeless Poems”) I found on the Young Lad’s nightstand.
—————
A word is dead
When it is said,
Some say.
I say it just
Begins to live
That day.
Emily Dickinson, “A Word Is Dead”
—————
I, too, sing America.
I am the darker brother.
They send me to eat in the kitchen
When company comes,
But I laugh,
And eat well,
And grow strong.
Tomorrow,
I’ll be at the table
When company comes.
Nobody’ll dare
Say to me,
“Eat in the kitchen,”
Then.
Besides,
They’ll see how beautiful I am
And be ashamed–
I, too, am America.
Langston Hughes, “I, Too, Sing America”
—————
I was going to write some sort of essay or manifesto (your standard bloated blog post) about poetry and the power of words in general; but these poems don’t need me.
I need them.
Love that this book was on your boy’s nightstand. Love those poems. Love you for sharing them. :)
Those are great poems. It is amazing how much power a few words can have when they are strung together in a particular order.
R.