A Poem by Patricia Spears Jones

Here is a poem by Patricia Spears Jones, whose work I have admired ever since reading her piece in the 1994 anthology Aloud: Voices from the Nuyorican Poets Café. This one is called "Comedy with Flutes," and it was first published in 2023. The Poetry Foundation link includes audio. Do take a listen! I'm adding "Comedy with Flutes" to my own "Resistance" collection. It begins,

Enough of this foolishness—caution gone

She opined

We need a comedy with flutes

Happy Black History Month, happy Valentine's Day, happy Poetry Friday. The roundup is at the blog TeacherDance. 

Photo by Susan Thomsen, 2019.  @ellestreetart mural, part of the @streetartmankind project. New Rochelle, New York.

Comments

[Irene Latham]

A comedy with FLUTES! I immediately want to write after reading this line. Thank you!

[Susan T.]

Irene, I know, right? Awesome line.

[Linda Baie]

I love that "lashing the brute with words" - we can't stop! And, "the bombs making men rich" - she tells truth! Thanks, Susan!

[Susan T.]

Yes, she does tell the truth! You're right, Linda. I liked that about this poem.

[Tracey Kiff-Judson]

This poem I packed with powerful phrases: The hard crunch fun of fighting back!

[Cathy Stenquist]

Powerful words. the
"Voice is our greatest magic." Yes! I need to post this over my desk.

[Susan T.]

Tracey and Cathy, aren't those great!

[Mary Lee]

That's a SUPERB resistance poem! So many great lines. I'm feeling the

cauterize(d) souls
weaken verve—we need
Our nerve back.

Huzzah for the power of the VOICE and for "lashing the brute with verbs."

[Susan T.]

Yesss! So glad you like it, too, Mary Lee. Looking for poems to add to the collection is a fun little project.

[Rose Cappelli]

Hooray for powerful poems! Thank you for sharing this one, Susan.

[Susan T.]

Absolutely! You're so welcome, Rose.

[Janice Scully]

Love: “ The hard crunch fun of fighting back” which I could feel in my bones. Great poem! Thanks Susan!

[Linda]

Wow! This poem gave me a lot to think about. Some very powerful lines!

[Laura Purdie Salas]

Thank you for sharing this, Susan.

These drums been beating for ages
And we can’t decipher the signals—
Once the drum became a machine
The ghost in the skins was lost.

The timeless power of poetry that feels like it was written this very moment.

[Susan T.]

Janice, Linda, and Laura, I'm glad to hear these lines spoke to you, too. Thank you for stopping by!

[Denise Krebs]

Susan, thank you for sharing Jones' poem. It is a lovely part of a Resistance collection.
"Lift our souls up and out
Of this brutal banality."

[Robyn Hood Black]

Timely and powerful, Susan - Thanks so much for sharing this week.

[Susan T.]

Denise and Robin, you're so welcome. Jones's words were ones I needed to hear!

[Karen Edmisten]

Oh, I LOVE this, Susan! Thank you.

[Susan T.]

Karen, I’m glad to hear you like it, too! I need to get this whole collection & read it.