Cotton Candy on a Rainy Day
This poem describes hardships the speaker is facing regarding her identity in society. With an intensely melancholic tone, the speaker talks about fading away into life’s dullness and darkness - characterized as “gray of my mornings” and “blues of every night.” She tries to minimize her problems by metaphorically saying her broken nails and foot corn may be the reason behind her struggles. Yet she expresses that problems keep intruding her life, making it more difficult to cope. The speaker describes herself as being “more difficult to hold” and uneasy to want. She ends the poem by saying the decade will be known for loneliness, which is emphasized by a multi-disciplinary perspective.
Ego Tripping
The speaker goes on an ego trip in this poem. What’s refreshing is she describes going on a trip across the continent on Africa. She describes herself as a person of power engrossed in the different African cultures, during different time periods. For example, she says that her oldest daughter is Nefertiti and her tears from birth pain created the Nile River. Furthermore, she describes the beauty of Africa’s natural environment, such as the Fertile Crescent and the Sahara Desert. This is a confidence-boosting poem that celebrates the magnificence of Africa, while empowering the soul of the speaker. It’s an ego trip of a lifetime.
Knoxville, Tennessee
This is an easy-going poem in which the speaker talks about the simple pleasures of the summer season, in Knoxville, Tennessee. The pleasures are so intense that she says summer is the best season. She describes eating fresh produce and absorbing its life-giving energy. She incorporates church culture into the verses, such as listening to gospel music and going to the church homecoming. This descriptive poem is strongly appealing to the senses, bringing to mind tasty food and the serenity of nature. Yet it possesses spiritual qualities that reveal warmth and wholesomeness in life.
