"Poetry is a call to action, and it also is action." - Juan Felipe Herrera
I have been writing poetry for almost 40 years. I wrote my first poem when I was in fifth grade, but that was after years of reading poetry that inspired me. We owned a giant green book called The Best Loved Poems of the American People, and I would flip to my favorite, Rags, over and over again…and cry every time.
April is National Poetry Month and I thought it would be the perfect time to discuss the special role poetry plays in inspiring people to action. Poetry has long played a special role in fighting revolutions. It provides the needed human feeling that strategy alone cannot achieve. Poetry makes an emotional connection, which motivates people to make change happen.
Here are six purpose-driven poems to inspire changemakers:
Let America Be America Again
by Langston Hughes
The Border: A Double Sonnet
by Albert Ríos
The Hill We Climb
by Amanda Gorman
Watts Bleeds
by Luis J. Rodríguez
Watts bleeds
on vacant lots
and burned-out buildings–
temples desolated by a people’s rage.
Where fear is a deep river.
Where hate is an overgrown weed.
- Luis J. Rodríguez
This poem serves as a reminder. It is a cautionary tale of what happens when we don’t address hate and fear and negativity in this world, so that we don’t allow history to repeat itself.
And Still I Rise
by Maya Angelou
Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave,
I am the dream and the hope of the slave.
I rise
I rise
I rise.
- Maya Angelou
This poem inspires me. Every time I read it I am filled with inspiration,, and the knowledge that human resilience will always have the power to rise above whatever challenges we face.
What can a poem do?
by Darius V. Daughtry
These poems and poets are but a few that I read or listen to on repeat to inspire myself to keep making a difference. I hope they will give you all the inspiration you need to keep taking purpose-driven action.