Rooting Interest for My Grandparents
After the Giants and Dodgers left New York,
Taking away the teams of Jackie Robinson,
Don Newcombe, Monte Irvin, and Hank Thompson,
My Westchester grandparents didn’t root for the Yankees;
They just rooted for Elston Howard.
…..
Blues Poem Before There Were Blues
Well, they don’t listen to poor and black
Speech or screams or tears or cries or shouts
Or prayers or nothin’ anyway,
So at this point, why not try singin’?
…..
Wendell Smith and Claire Smith on Assignment
Exhausted after hammering away at baseball
For its lack of integration in his columns,
And being denied access of the men’s locker room
After knocking at the door in order to do her job as a reporter,
Wendell Smith and Claire Smith fall into a deep asleep,
And are visited by Ida B. Wells,
Who commends them for their strength and truth in prose,
And Rube Foster, who shows them both
How to choke up on the bat in order to smash glass ceilings
Into a million pieces with no say…
…..
Poetry © Matthew Johnson
Image: Copilot remixed