By Sonia Sanchez

This is not a small voice
you hear     this is a large
voice coming out of these cities.
This is the voice of LaTanya.
Kadesha. Shaniqua. This
is the voice of Antoine.
Darryl. Shaquille.
Running over waters
navigating the hallways
of our schools spilling out
on the corners of our cities and
no epitaphs spill out of their river
mouths.

This is not a small love
you hear       this is a large
love, a passion for kissing learning
on its face.
This is a love that crowns the feet
with hands
that nourishes, conceives, feels the
water sails
mends the children,
folds   them    inside   our    history
where they
toast more than the flesh
where they suck the bones of the
alphabet
and spit out closed vowels.
This is a love colored with iron
and lace.
This is a love initialed Black
Genius.

This is not a small voice
you hear.

• Social Commentaries

Poet Bio

Active in the Black Arts Movement, Sonia Sanchez often writes about the situation of urban African-Americans. An advocate for African Americans, Sanchez has been a champion of Black Studies and created the department at San Francisco State University. The author of sixteen books, she has received the Robert Frost Medal and the Robert Creeley Award. See More By This Poet

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