Blink Your Eyes
I picked up a new edition of a textbook I'm using in a fall creative writing class and came across Sekou Sundiata's poem, "Blink Your Eyes." I haven't read the poem in a while, even longer since I thought about Sekou's passing. A lovely man--such as loss.
In light of the Trayvon Martin verdict, and now stop and frisk laws in the news, I was struck by how many of us (and by "us," I mean people of color) have poems about being presumed guilty. I have my own takes on the subject in each of my collections.
Here's video of Sekou's beautiful poem. Also, here's the text of the poem. You gain a real appreciation of his talent for performance when you look at the words vs. the video.
In light of the Trayvon Martin verdict, and now stop and frisk laws in the news, I was struck by how many of us (and by "us," I mean people of color) have poems about being presumed guilty. I have my own takes on the subject in each of my collections.
Here's video of Sekou's beautiful poem. Also, here's the text of the poem. You gain a real appreciation of his talent for performance when you look at the words vs. the video.
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