*poetry inspired by Giovanni*

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
 Barbeque
 And buttermilk
 And homemade ice-cream
 At the church picnic
 And listen to
 Gospel music
 Outside
 At the church
 Homecoming
 And 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

Denver, Colorado
By Lindsey Hume
 

I always like winter
Best
when it snows
you can play outside
all day
and sled down the hill
and make perfect snow angels
and ice skate
and have snowball fights
and drink hot cocoa
with whipped cream on your nose
by the fire
in your pajamas
and eat melted grilled cheese
for every meal
and at night
go to sleep
bundled in goose-feathered blankets
and wake up the next morning
at the birth of day
to the sight of fresh snow
outside your bedroom window
falling down from the sky
Never seeming to end

November
By Nikki Giovanni
 

snowflakes waltz around my ears
I twirl in rhythm to the dance
of peppermint dreams
and mistletoe

kissing you

snowflakes ballet in my heart
warming me to crystal dreams
of dancing to that midnight sun

kissing you

snowflakes laugh and go away
taking dance and crystal dreams
leaving me alone with you
to falalalalalalalala

July
By Lindsey Hume

the sunshine’s rays beat down on the sand
as our feet jump and dance
off of the earth

kissing you

sunshine glistens upon your cheeks
as we waltz along the water’s edge
our hearts beating together in a rhythmic song

kissing you

sunshine grins and winks goodbye
leaving us alone together
as the sun sets into the starry midnight sky

kissing you