From Dart: sewage worker ["It's a rush"]By Alice OswaldIt's a rush, a sploosh of sewage, twenty thousand cubic metres being pumped in, stirred and settled …NatureSeas, Rivers, & StreamsSocial CommentariesCities & Urban LifeTown & Country LifeTechniquesPersonaTypes/ModesDramatic Monologue + 2 more
The Bug WranglerBy He was jailed for cruelty to insects, and his agent wasn’t answering the phone, so he stayed awake in…NatureAnimalsSocial CommentariesCrime & PunishmentLivingLife ChoicesActivitiesJobs & WorkingArts & SciencesPhotography & FilmTechniquesImageryMetaphorPersonaTypes/ModesProse PoemAnxiety & InsecurityBlame + 11 more
Self-Portrait as David LynchBy David RoderickI wear a flower in my lapel. I like the sweetness of its lie in my nose. A carnation, the fool’s flower…Social CommentariesPopular CultureLivingThe MindActivitiesJobs & WorkingArts & SciencesPhotography & FilmStanza FormsTercetMetersFree VerseTechniquesImageryMetaphorPersonaTypes/ModesDramatic MonologueJoy & Contentment + 12 more
p1What the Moon Said to MichaelBy Michael FrazierBeen called sickle, scythe. I know weaponized. Look at your lineup, your mind: so sharp, no wonder…TechniquesPersona
p1Michael Receives Advice from Marceline the Vampire, the Queen of the Deadbeat Daddy Issues, on How to Cope with an Absent FatherBy Michael FrazierJust cause he’s your blood you can’t expect him to stay. The wet red of men will abandon a body if …LivingRelationshipsFamily & AncestorsTechniquesPersona
p1At Church, I Tell My Mom She’s Singing Off-Key and She Says,By Michael FrazierI ain’t off-key. I just stepped out the key so when I return, you can understand the key a little bit…TechniquesPersona
Variations on a Black Cinema Treasure: Broken EarthBy Terrance HayesBroken EarthYear of Release: 1939Running Time: 11 minutesCast: Clarence Muse and unidentified boyI am…Social CommentariesRace & EthnicityReligionThe SpiritualLivingHealth & IllnessRelationshipsFamily & AncestorsActivitiesJobs & WorkingArts & SciencesPhotography & FilmStanza FormsMixedMetersFree VerseTechniquesImageryMetaphorPersona + 13 more
Poisonwell Diaries: The GhostBy Shanta LeeMama birthed me, Papa sold me in the land of weeping willows Traces of sin trail miles across skin, …Social CommentariesClassRace & EthnicityLivingDeathSorrow & GrievingRelationshipsFamily & AncestorsMythology & FolkloreGhosts & the SupernaturalTechniquesPersonaAngerBlameGriefMelancholy & Despair + 9 more
Linnaeus in LaplandBy Lorine NiedeckerNothing worth noting except an Andromeda with quadrangular shoots— the boots of the people wet inside…NatureActivitiesSchool & LearningTravels & JourneysTechniquesPersonaTypes/ModesDramatic MonologueDisappointment + 2 more
The Song Is YouBy Marilyn NelsonMusical instruments sleep in the dark for several hours a day: the folks we belong to aren't always …LoveLivingLife ChoicesRelationshipsActivitiesArts & SciencesMusicTechniquesPersona + 2 more
Unknown Girl in the Maternity WardBy Anne SextonChild, the current of your breath is six days long. You lie, a small knuckle on my white bed; lie,…LivingParenthoodStanza FormsRhymed StanzaTechniquesPersonaTypes/ModesDramatic Monologue
The Moss of His SkinBy Anne SextonIt was only important to smile and hold still, to lie down beside him and to rest awhile, to be folded…RelationshipsFamily & AncestorsTechniquesConfessionalPersonaTypes/ModesDramatic Monologue
p1Marcus Garvey Sits for a BustBy Marilyn Nelson The United Negro Improvement Association, he says, his little bloodshot eyes looking out of the dark…LoveDesire & PassionSocial CommentariesRace & EthnicityHistory & PoliticsLivingThe MindArts & SciencesPainting & SculptureTechniquesPersonaTypes/ModesConcrete or Pattern PoetryGratitudeOptimism + 8 more
ErinnaBy Letitia Elizabeth LandonMy hand is on the lyre which never more With its sweet commerce, like a bosom friend, Will share the…LivingLife ChoicesThe MindDoubt & ContemplationRelationshipsFriends & EnemiesArts & SciencesPoetry & PoetsMythology & FolkloreGreek & Roman MythologyTechniquesPersonaDisappointmentGrief + 7 more
p1KitesBy Stephanie BurtComplete in ourselves, we look like scraps of paper anyway: left alone, we could tell our mothers and…NatureWeatherActivitiesSchool & LearningSports & Outdoor ActivitiesMetersFree VerseTechniquesPersonaDisappointment + 3 more
p1English MoleBy Anna Maria HongTo push and push with raw pink claws like hands of shin. To tunnel my love through wet earth, wet stars…NatureAnimalsLivingDeathLife ChoicesThe BodyVerse FormsSonnetTechniquesPersonaMelancholy & Despair + 4 more
Theme for English BBy Langston HughesThe instructor said, Go home and write a page tonight. And let that page come out of you— Then, it…Social CommentariesCities & Urban LifeRace & EthnicityLivingComing of AgeActivitiesSchool & LearningArts & SciencesPhilosophyStanza FormsCoupletMixedMetersFree VerseTechniquesPersonaBeing OneselfSchool + 11 more
Madam’s Past HistoryBy Langston HughesMy name is Johnson— Madam Alberta K. The Madam stands for business. I’m smart that way. I had a HAIR…Social CommentariesCities & Urban LifeMoney & EconomicsRace & EthnicityActivitiesJobs & WorkingStanza FormsRhymed StanzaTechniquesPersonaTypes/ModesDramatic Monologue + 5 more
From the Unwritten Letters of Joseph FreemanBy Camille T. Dungy (February, 1841) Melinda, I've been preparing to write. That peculiar girl named Molly, who has …Social CommentariesRace & EthnicityHistory & PoliticsLivingSorrow & GrievingTechniquesPersonaTypes/ModesSeries/Sequence + 2 more
p1Sissieretta JonesBy Tyehimba JessI sing this body ad libitum, Europe scraped raw between my teeth until, presto, “Ave Maria” floats to…LoveDesire & PassionSocial CommentariesRace & EthnicityLivingThe BodyArts & SciencesMusicTheater & DanceTechniquesPersonaTypes/ModesProse PoemAngerGrief + 8 more