The following transcript is provided for accessibility only. Layout, formatting, and typography of poems may differ from the original text. We recommend referring to the original, published works when possible to experience the poems as intended by their authors.
[Music intro]
LYNNE THOMPSON: Hello! My name is Lynne Thompson, Poet Laureate for the City of Los Angeles and I’m so happy to welcome listeners to this installment of Poems on Air, a podcast supported by the Los Angeles Public Library. Every week, I’ll present the work of poets I admire, poets who you should know, and poets who have made a substantial and inimitable contribution to the art and craft of poetry.
LYNNE THOMPSON: In a continuing celebration of Black History Month, Poems on Air honors the poet Jaki Shelton Green, the first African American and ninth Poet Laureate of North Carolina. The recipient of numerous awards including an Academy of American Poets Laureate Fellowship, Green is the author of six collections of poetry and in 2020, she released her first poetry album, The River Speaks of Thirst.
LYNNE THOMPSON: Today’s poem is "i know the grandmother one had hands" by Jaki Shelton Green.
i know the grandmother one had hands
i know the grandmother one had hands but they were always in bowls folding, pinching, rolling the dough making the bread i know the grandmother one had hands but they were always under water sifting rice bluing clothes starching lives i know the grandmother one had hands but they were always in the earth planting seeds removing weeds growing knives burying sons i know the grandmother one had hands but there were always under the cloth pushing it along helping it birth into skirt dress curtains to lock out night i know the grandmother one had hands but they were always inside the hair parting plaiting twisting it into rainbows i know the grandmother one had hands but they were always inside pockets holding the knots counting the twisted veins holding onto herself to let her hands disappear into sky i know the grandmother one had hands but they were always inside the clouds poking holes for the rain to fall.
LYNNE THOMPSON: The Los Angeles Poet Laureate was created as a joint program between the City’s Department of Cultural Affairs and the Los Angeles Public Library and this podcast is available wherever you get your podcasts. Thanks for listening!
[Music outro]
- Back to Poems on Air: Episode 46
DISCLAIMER: This is NOT a certified or verbatim transcript, but rather represents only the context of the class or meeting, subject to the inherent limitations of real-time captioning. The primary focus of real-time captioning is general communication access and as such this document is not suitable, acceptable, nor is it intended for use in any type of legal proceeding. Transcript provided by the author.