February is Black History Month. All the public domain poems I’m sharing this month are by black poets.

Choosing to share a Gwendolyn Bennett poem wasn’t difficult; choosing which one to share was. Several of her poems deal with issues about identity and connection to one’s ancestors. Because of how chattel slavery and colonization tore black families apart, her longing to reconnect with her ancestors makes sense. In this poem, the speaker seems to reach out to great black French writer Alexander (or Alexandre) Dumas.

When blood family isn’t accessible/is cut off/is stolen, we are left to find symbolic, spiritual, or artistic family. Us queer folks often have to do that, too.

Here is Bennett’s poets.org bio, which also has links to more poems by her.

The poem is below, followed by my video reading.

💜Miranda📚

Cemeteries are places for departed soulsAnd bones interred, Or hearts with shattered loves. A woman with lips made warm for laughter Would find grey stones and roving spiritsToo chill for living, moving pulses . . .And thou, great spirit, wouldst shiver in thy granite shroud Should idle mirth or empty talk Disturb thy tranquil sleeping. A cemetery is a place for shattered lovesAnd broken hearts . . . . Bowed before the crystal chalice of thy soul,I find the multi-colored fragrances of thy mindHas lost itself in Death’s transparency. Oh, stir the lucid waters of thy sleep And coin for me a tale Of happy loves and gems and joyous limbsAnd hearts where love is sweet! A cemetery is a place for broken hearts And silent thought . . . And silence never moves, Nor speaks nor sings.