Category Archives: Poetry

Most of the poetry you see here is from my days as an undergraduate at Hollins University, although some of it is more recent. As a creative writing minor, I took five fiction and poetry workshops, three of which were at the advanced level. I also took an advanced expository writing course. The bulk of my poetry portfolio is included on this page.

House of My Heart

I wrote this poem two years after my mother died. Because I went straight back to school after she passed away, I did not give myself a chance to grieve and it took a long time before I was finally able to process the experience. Continue reading

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Carolina Evening; Weaving History

I wrote this poem after visiting a friend in Charleston, South Carolina during the summer of 2004. My friend was from an old Southern family and her parents were quite wealthy, owning eleven houses. Yet, they liked to point out that their money was from law and business. Their ancestors did not own slaves. When my friend took me downtown to go shopping, I was mesmerized by the quiet, self assured black women who were weaving sweet grass baskets, some of which sold for several hundred dollars. My friend explained that this was a tradition dating back to the antebellum era and even today, only black Gullah women know the secrets of how to make these baskets. My experience in Charleston showed me how much has changed since those times and how much progress still needs to be made. During my trip, I purchased one of the smaller baskets as a keepsake. I display it on my bureau at home. Continue reading

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Tobacco Sky

As a child, I grew up listening to my father’s stories of growing up on a tobacco farm in Danville, Virginia. At the dinner table, he often shared his memories of pulling tobacco and plowing behind a mule as the sun went down. This poem profiles his experiences including the race relations that were present in the South at the time. Continue reading

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