There’s a poem in Los Angeles
yawning wide as the Pacific tide
where a single mother swelters
in a windowless classroom, teaching
black and brown students in Watts
to spell out their thoughts
so her daughter might write
this poem for you.
From “In This Place (An American Lyric)” by Amanda Gorman
“The Tired Worker” by Claude McKay
O whisper, O my soul! The afternoon...
“Reveille” by Lola Ridge
Come forth, you workers! ...
“There was earth inside them” by Paul Celan
There was earth inside them, and...
“who will be the messenger of this land” by Jaki Shelton Green
who will be the messenger of this land...
“In This Place (An American Lyric)” by Amanda Gorman
There’s a poem in this place—...
“Nurse” by Dorianne Laux
My mother went to work each day...
“My People” by Langston Hughes
Dream-singers,...
“After Striving” by Corrie Lynn White
I think of my father’s one-room woodshop...
“from Be Recorder” by Carmen Giménez Smith
they work their fingers...
“Maid Poem #7: HR” by Jan-Henry Gray
At the Maid Museum we honor the many who have cooked meals...
“Many Asked Me Not to Forget Them” by Naomi Shihab Nye
Where do you keep all these people?...
“The Teacher” by Leslie Pinckney Hill
Lord, who am I to teach the way...
“Moving Men” by John Warner Smith
Men of the moving company arrive...
“To a No. 2 Yellow Pencil on May 1, 2020” by Kimiko Hahn
To see you is to smell...