P O E T I C --- P A I N T I N G S


"Painting is poetry that is seen rather than felt, and poetry is painting that is felt rather than seen" -- da Vinci

To write poetry, you must read and, read some more -- Me





Jan 24, 2009

Renaissance: Portrait of a Son -- [My tribute to] Langston Hughes


Langston Hughes


My tribute to Langston Hughes
by Deborah White





He always wrote
with the strength & endurance
of noir silk

and sometimes, he'd die
on the same page --

he too, was America;


the darker
brother who scribed of rivers;

he'd known rivers,
he'd known the deep
onward movement
of Congo currents.

If you crack open
a binder you'd find

him sitting
in Harlem's Cotton Club
or Savoy's Ballroom track
at a table under

puffs and swirls
from the continent without cold;

and he'd jot
to the struck wired
strings, of Ellington,

scribble along
with Calloway's
chest rolled
hi-de-hi's,
ho-de-ho's.

Then, you'd notice
his soul
would meander
back to the rivers --

look close,

watch him drink
from Euphrates' mouth
handfuls of Black-men hopes,

listen,

hear him sip
from Nile's lip
cocao and coffee dreams --

it would be then,

that you'd know
he'd known those rivers,

he'd known

the slow,

slow,

trickles
of wearied ink;


Negro rivers.

No comments: