One of my favorite poetry books is Patricia Smith’s Blood Dazzler, which reflects on and embodies the horrors of Hurricane Katrina. In our most recent session at Hyde Park, the poetry club learned about the persona poem using this master text. After reading Smith’s poem “8 A.M., SUNDAY, AUGUST 28, 2005” we discussed what it means to embody something non-human, like a hurricane. This discussion inspired a writing prompt asking poets to explore and become something non-human, giving it a voice, a life, and a path.
Ms. Ghoulston
“The PC” Poetry Club
“The Plague”
by Tai’Shaun A.
I am the darkness that creeps
in the unseen, the whisper in the
crowded streets, the unseen hand that
reshapes history. So many fear me but
can’t escape me. And if you dare
think I discriminate, I touch the
mighty and the weak alike. Prayers
rise against me but I choose not to
hear. They say I’m cruel, they say
I’m kind but I’m truly inevitable.
I might be a curse but I’m
just nature’s reckoning. You can fear
me, you can fight me, but I will
always come back.
“Blinded by the Light”
by Oluwafeyiseke A.
after helping myself to a patch of
grass I lifted my head to see
a running river, I walked over
to take a sip of water and all
of the sudden I heard rustling in
some bushes nearby to see a
long silver barrel, I took off
as fast as I could, not taking
a breath I ran towards a bright
light standing in the middle of
the road, a loud honking noise
and all of a sudden it went black.
“I See It“
by Corey O.
People don’t know
Of the true nature
Of which they are
But I do
People don’t think
Of the observer
When they act
They think they are
Not able to be seen
But I see
They hide their most
Vicious fantasies
In the deepest belows
Of their souls thinking
Nobody hears them
But I hear it
That face you make
When you lie to
Your own mother
The sounds you so
desperately try to
Stifle at night
When you tiptoe
Past her bedroom
Just to come back
To stare at me
