George Washington Carver

tribute to a famous man

a set of books at the age of ten

with biographies of famous men

was my favorite Christmas present

and it was well worth every cent

 

Franklin, Edison, and Albert Einstein, 

and others became friends of mine

but among these boyhood heros was

one that always gave me pause

 

George Washington Carver was unique

the only black man, the rest were pink

I’d never met a black man and found

reading of him left me spellbound

 

born into slavery 2 years before

the 13th amendment made a roar

by outlawing the inhumane, unsavory

and awful practice of slavery

 

as an infant he was traded for a horse

no mother or father to guide his course

he was an orphan at a time in history

when hatred and prejudice was no mystery

 

all alone moving from school to school

he knew education could be the tool

that would lead to a life of satisfaction

and to one that he could fill with action

 

often the only black in his class

he still found it easy to pass

and showed he was no fool

when he graduated from high school

 

he was rejected because he was black

but persistence he did not lack

as the second black in Simpson College

he filled his mind with lots of knowledge

 

of whooping cough he’d almost died

for all his life it slowed his stride 

along the way many took a stand

and offered him their helping hand

 

as a singer, a poet, and an artist

in a group, he was often the smartest

but as a lover of plants his mission was found

to help poor blacks with a love of the ground

 

he found he could assimilate

as the first black student to graduate 

from the University at Iowa State

he was destined to become great

 

he got his Masters degree

and moved to Tuskegee

to lead the department of agriculture

on a forty seven year adventure

 

many blacks had farms in the south

and were living from hand to mouth

the Boll Weevil was eating cotton 

and the market for cotton was rotten

 

with depleted soil, they needed education

Carver taught them crop rotation

his agricultural extension program

proved to Alabamians he was no sham

 

he wrote many papers for free distribution

proposing alternative crops a solution

peanuts, sweet potatoes, and soybeans

gave many poor families a survival means

 

produce that could be sold as well as eaten

for practicality couldn’t be beaten

fixing nitrogen in the soil 

brought value and purpose to their toil

 

Carver was never personally greedy

he worked only to help the needy

he raised the value of their produce

suggesting uses such as oil and juice 

 

commercial products raised the need

for produce raised by those just freed

peanut milk, peanut oil, and peanut butter 

almost enough to make one stutter

 

an honorary doctorate degree was given

his racial harmony speeches were driven

his syndicated column was well read

and in the 40’s his fame was widely spread

 

in this month to favor famous blacks

I offer this tribute to one that stacks

achievement on achievement when

few could see past the color of skin

Reviews

[The Archangel Gabriel]

I always like tributes to great people. GW Carver was truly an inspirational figure. People did not understand how devestating cotton is to, I think, nitrogen in the soil and how years of the same crop can destroy the fields.

I think that one of his great contributions to society was his mobile college where he took his message to the people instead of waiting for them to find him.

Very nice write!

-Gabe

[DarkAngelWriter]

Wow. This is a very powerful poem, yet relatively simple. Your rhyming flows naturally and still all pulls together to make perfect sense. You gave me a respect for Carver that I had never had before. I had never known his story or why he was so famous, and frankly didn't care, but you, in a regular length poem, have taught me something very interesting without my permission... I don't know whether to be angry (lol) or whether to say great job. So I'm going to go with the latter... Great write! =)