Anna goes to see the Affrilachian Poets

the words in quotation belong to Mr. Norman Jordan. I hope someday this grows up and becomes something.

The mighty poet

stood tall at the front of the room

grinning a little to himself.

He remembers some of his poems--

doesn't need a paper copy to share them here.

"Kuumba" is the title.

And somehow with his words

 a tree grew before our eyes.

Branches spread reaching to the sky

until there was a forest.

And there was rain

to quench our creative thirst.

We listened intently

as he spoke

"Life is"

and we leaned a little closer

spellbound

"creative force"

senses tingled with anticipation.

Birds lit on branches

and cocked their heads

to better hear the words

"in motion"

and everyone was still--

breathless

and he leaned in closer

and that one last word

"MOVE!!!"

shattered walls.

Anna took the wise man

at his very word.

Jumped straight up

from her perch on my lap.

The good man apologized

for frightening the child.

Maybe little girls

need to learn

that a word is a living thing

with the power

to make us move.

Author's Note

he said, "
Putting aside my bloated ego.
Emily, your beautifully crafted poem
definitely keeps the spirit of
the daily write alive!
Now, you have me itching
to scratch on paper.

Please say hello to Sarah and Anna
for me.

Norman"

Reviews

[Collect-Eye]

wow..this is so beautiful I almost cried Emily..IDK what to say either

I teared up..this is absolutely powerful and sincere and incredible

I'm in awe of your words right now..I'm not just flattering you..
you know I don't do that..

you really captured and expressed a child's wonder and imagination here

you are great for taking her there and for expressing this..

I absolutely know they will love this..yes!

[Shellie]

This is fantastic writing, added to my favourites it was! great work

[Scott Free]

Wow. Bravo, Emily, bravo!
I read it, then I read it again. Now I'm going to go read it again.
OK, this is just great. Some of my favorite lines were;
"And there was rain
to quench our creative thirst."
And
"Birds lit on branches
and cocked their heads
to better hear the words"
Loved this poem! Definitely going in my favorites, definitely.
I had one or two suggestions; The word 'mic' right at the beginning is somewhat of a harsh word for such a flowing poem. Microphone might be better, or something different even. Just a small suggestion.
And...that is all, really.
Wonderful, you are an amazing poet. Simply amazing.

Scott

[Luna Tique Fringe]

Thanks for sharing this experience, I envy you this day :)

The last lines are my favorite..you are so right..words do have power..and these words were a powerful way to end this piece.

Just a side note here..
I've felt a little sad that poetry seems to be at the bottom of the list theses days. It's so wonderful to hear that you are passing the love of poetry on to your daughter. I hope more will do the same.

and.. yay for the Affrilachian Poets and their tour!! Wouldn't it be wonderful to see more of these groups of travelling poets?

[Belator Books]

I liked the line 'he remembered some of his poems'... an honest line that. Not all of us remember all our stuff, just the pieces that matter most. You painted a good scene, with the dimly lit feel well played as one card tossed after another on a smoky poker table. The child's reaction was an unexpected touch. Nicely done.

[Tony]

say nothing, your poem has spoken for you, its presentation masterful, the way you brought out the meaning of his few words and lit a firecracker beneath our feet. This is both clever and sends a powerful meesage.

Tony

[Fabian G. Franklin]

I love it. The ending moral was worth the wait too, this "moved" me.

[Collect-Eye]

this kind of looks like a totem..the shape of it..nice..[=
kind of apropos, I think

I see you changed a couple words.I do that quite a bit..glad to see you did it your way, though

very frank sinatra-esque

man, I'm just making up words left and right today aren't I?

[Raef C. Boylan]

"He remembers some of his poems--
didn't need a paper copy of this one."

suggest re-wording, along the lines of
He'd memorised some of his poems/had them off by heart

...or maybe not. I am both lazy and picky today, doesn't make for good reviewing.

This is truly excellent Emily, and yet another new style from you. I like how you've broken up the recital with the audience's reactions. Also, great answer from you [is it a true story?]

I saw the tree as well, via your words :-)

[Phibby Venable]

emily, this is different. the wonderful shape and movement of it.
I love the ending and anna! it is excellent work..very strong!