Nina Simone was born February 21, 1933, so today we celebrate what would have been her 80th birthday.
The Nina Simone website provides information about her extraordinary life and provides an opportunity to listen to some of her music. In reading her biography, I was most surprised to learn that she did not start out as a singer. Rather, she was a child prodigy on piano. Once she did raise her voice, she did so not only in song, but to fight for freedom and equality.
The following poem was inspired by a quote from her, which is included as the epigram:
Remember
There’s no excuse for the young people not knowing who the heroes and heroines are or were.-Nina Simone
In a perfect world,
you would remember
each of us by name.
But, the world isn’t
perfect, is it?
In fact, it was an
imperfect world
that drove us to
our place in history.
We marched and
sat where it was forbidden.
Felt the force of
the hoses and insults
and the impact of
the beatings and bombings.
We fought for change and
new opportunities.
Maybe you will do the same.
If you do, we hope someone
remembers your name.
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Thursday, February 21, 2013
Remembering Nina Simone
Labels:
Michelle Pond,
Nina Simone,
Poetry
I am a poet and photographer who likes sports, jazz and art inspired by other art. I served in the U.S. Marine Corps during the early 1970's and was assigned to the Computer Sciences School in Quantico, VA. I have published a chapbook of grief poems, I Keep You with Me. My work also has appeared in publications such as Thorny Locust Magazine, core. zine,The Enigmatist, Veterans' Voices and Kansas Time + Place An Anthology of Heartland Poetry. My visual art pieces combine poetry and photographs, and have been most recently displayed at InterUrban ArtHouse, Johnson County Arts & Heritage Center, Buttonwood Art Space, and The Smalter Gallery.
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