Summers, growing up in the South, were the best of times. Nikki Giovanni described them well in this poem.
Knoxville, Tennessee
by Nikki Giovanni
I always like summer
best
you can eat fresh corn
from daddy's garden
and okra
and greens
and cabbage
and lots of
barbecue
and buttermilk
and homemade ice-cream
at the church picnic
and listen to
gospel music
outside
at the church
homecoming
and you go to the mountains with
your grandmother
and go barefooted
and be warm
all the time
not only when you go to bed
and sleep
That is a lovely celebration of summer and childhood - innocence and joy.
ReplyDeleteIt certainly evokes fond memories of summers past.
DeleteGoing barefoot then was a mark of happiness. Today it denotes poverty. Times have changed!
ReplyDeleteWell, for me, it was both happiness and poverty!
DeleteSuch a picture she paints! Love it. :D
ReplyDeleteI particularly love the picture of the garden - gardens that I remember so well.
DeleteMy childhood was way different. I never could have gone barefoot on the hot pavements of New York City. I was never in a vegetable garden until I was 17 years old. No church picnics. In fact, no picnics. And yet, I could imagine the childhood of the poet and the painting she drew with words.
ReplyDeleteYour childhood may have been different from the one the poet describes, but no doubt it contained its own happy and memorable moments.
DeleteI like her imagery ... and can picture her summer well. Perhaps there's nothing like a Southern summer!
ReplyDeleteHer imagery is certainly evocative of those Southern summers that I remember.
DeleteThis poem just feels like summer, doesn't it? Nikki Giovanni really nails that nostalgic, warm, and delicious vibe of growing up in the South. Fresh corn, barbecue, homemade ice cream, gospel music – it's all so vivid and lovely. Thanks for sharing this.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.melodyjacob.com/
She describes it perfectly and poetically.
DeleteHey, I like okra! I didn't when I was a kid but now that I know how nutritious they are, I buy them when I see them.
ReplyDeleteI love fried okra or gumbo featuring okra. Yummy!
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