*Grateful for the artists, the writers, the singers and all who create (all of us, I guess?!!) and inspire me, make my life infinitely richer, including the glorious voice of Paul Robeson – if you’ve never heard it – do! (it’s linked below, it always gives me chills, although again, creaky with age, and badly staged, imo) This poem from Gwendolyn Brooks is more than just a celebration of Robeson, but if and when you hear him, you’ll get this on a deeper level. He’s featured in the 1936 version of Show Boat singing ‘Old Man River’, a creaky but gorgeous musical from Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein. More on Brooks at https://poets.org/poet/gwendolyn-brooks
That time
we all heard it,
cool and clear,
cutting across the hot grit of the day.
The major Voice.
The adult Voice
forgoing Rolling River,
forgoing tearful tale of bale and barge
and other symptoms of an old despond.
Warning, in music-words
devout and large,
that we are each other’s
harvest:
we are each other’s
business:
we are each other’s
magnitude and bond.
*FYI – Walmart the worlds largest retailer, has decided to stop tracking any inclusivity or diversity hires or issues in its stores due to conservative pressure.I don’t shop there but – please don’t. They, and this decision, suck.