Richard Blanco: The first openly gay (and youngest) inauguration poet ever

Here's the poem he read (and wrote). I wish I could have seen this, but I don't watch television. So I had to make do with what I was able to discover on the internet. He seems to be a remarkable dude (in more ways than one). And I think his poem is awesome. :sunny:



One Today

One sun rose on us today, kindled over our shores,
peeking over the Smokies, greeting the faces
of the Great Lakes, spreading a simple truth
across the Great Plains, then charging across the Rockies.
One light, waking up rooftops, under each one, a story
told by our silent gestures moving behind windows.

My face, your face, millions of faces in morning's mirrors,
each one yawning to life, crescendoing into our day:
pencil-yellow school buses, the rhythm of traffic lights,
fruit stands: apples, limes, and oranges arrayed like rainbows
begging our praise. Silver trucks heavy with oil or paper—
bricks or milk, teeming over highways alongside us,
on our way to clean tables, read ledgers, or save lives—
to teach geometry, or ring-up groceries as my mother did
for twenty years, so I could write this poem.

All of us as vital as the one light we move through,
the same light on blackboards with lessons for the day:
equations to solve, history to question, or atoms imagined,
the "I have a dream" we keep dreaming,
or the impossible vocabulary of sorrow that won't explain
the empty desks of twenty children marked absent
today, and forever. Many prayers, but one light
breathing color into stained glass windows,
life into the faces of bronze statues, warmth
onto the steps of our museums and park benches
as mothers watch children slide into the day.

One ground. Our ground, rooting us to every stalk
of corn, every head of wheat sown by sweat
and hands, hands gleaning coal or planting windmills
in deserts and hilltops that keep us warm, hands
digging trenches, routing pipes and cables, hands
as worn as my father's cutting sugarcane
so my brother and I could have books and shoes.

The dust of farms and deserts, cities and plains
mingled by one wind—our breath. Breathe. Hear it
through the day's gorgeous din of honking cabs,
buses launching down avenues, the symphony
of footsteps, guitars, and screeching subways,
the unexpected song bird on your clothes line.

Hear: squeaky playground swings, trains whistling,
or whispers across café tables, Hear: the doors we open
for each other all day, saying: hello, shalom,
buon giorno, howdy, namaste, or buenos días
in the language my mother taught me—in every language
spoken into one wind carrying our lives
without prejudice, as these words break from my lips.

One sky: since the Appalachians and Sierras claimed
their majesty, and the Mississippi and Colorado worked
their way to the sea. Thank the work of our hands:
weaving steel into bridges, finishing one more report
for the boss on time, stitching another wound
or uniform, the first brush stroke on a portrait,
or the last floor on the Freedom Tower
jutting into a sky that yields to our resilience.

One sky, toward which we sometimes lift our eyes
tired from work: some days guessing at the weather
of our lives, some days giving thanks for a love
that loves you back, sometimes praising a mother
who knew how to give, or forgiving a father
who couldn't give what you wanted.

We head home: through the gloss of rain or weight
of snow, or the plum blush of dusk, but always—home,
always under one sky, our sky. And always one moon
like a silent drum tapping on every rooftop
and every window, of one country—all of us—
facing the stars
hope—a new constellation
waiting for us to map it,
waiting for us to name it—together.

- Richard Blanco

 

I like it.A nice celebration of the quotidian.

 

I also like it. In fact, I wish I had taken the time to read it sooner (just read it today). I like how he manages to focus on both the political and the personal - and with such mastery of language.

QP

 

These two stanzas are good examples of how his poem manages to be both personal and political, and I think that's why the poem will endure (unlike so many other inaugural poems that fail to stand the test of time). It was a smart move on his part. People like poems that speak to them deep down on a personal level. At least I know I do. :sunny:

QP

P.S. Here's a much better pic of him...

 

It's some nice work but it didn't captivate me when he read it.

 

I missed the reading (on television), so I can only judge by his words. The poem is a bit long (IMO), and so I can see how some folks might easily become distracted (or bored). Also, many poets are not good when it comes to reading their work before an audience. Did he seem especially nervous or confident? Allen Ginsberg was like a rock star when it came to poetry readings. But he was the exception.

QP

 

he didn't seem nerves. He just had no style.

 

You can watch it, QP:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1mDrk8AC4G4"]Inauguration 2013: Richard Blanco's Poetry Pays Homage to American Experience - YouTube

 

I find it very pretentious and it doesn't even rhyme. Thumbs down.

 

I wish I could, Maelstrom. But my antique computer won't let me do it. Anyway, I appreciate your kindness. I'll just have to wait until it's available on DVD.

QP

 

I think it is the opposite of an academic poem (perfect rhyme and meter), so I'm not so sure I would call it pretentious. Ginsberg's "Howl" does not rhyme, yet it is one of the most respected poems in the English language. You say thumbs down. I say two thumbs up. :2thumbsup:

QP

 

I am not an aficionado of poetry - and yet I have written a few poems over a lifetime. This one was long, but a few stanzas I liked (the same two that QP quoted).

Poetry is quite personal, both in the telling and the hearing. My own verse has always been for ME, but I have shared it and sometimes someone else can relate to my personal experience. And, it makes us feel good that we are not alone in our experience.

This particular piece and selection of poet is perhaps to appeal to the electoral base of this president, the several minorities that were neglected by the Repugnicants who are now figuring out how to feign inclusion for the next election. (sneaky bastards).

 

I agree. The poem could have been MUCH shorter. But there are at least 4 stanzas that are quite good (IMO).

I think that's why the poem is ultimately so memorable: Blanco speaks about the importance of his relationship with his parents, and how even when they disappoint or neglect us - we should do our best to forgive them.

I didn't even think of that. Very insightful. Plus he might have been told to write a poem that will take more than 30 seconds to read. (Unlike the very short inaugural poem Robert Frost wrote and read for JFK. I don't think that was longer than 10-12 lines...)

QP

 

Holy, he takes six minutes to read that. Rat Bastard!!

I don't find the poem itself to be too long. The writing is really strong on the page but his performance is weak. If you had a spoken word poet reading that, it would have been four minutes and knocked you on your ass.

Great writing though. Speak your truth, dude!

 

That's the funny thing about poets and poetry: Some poets totally suck at poetry readings, but their words are awesome on the page. It sort of makes you wonder how Walt Whitman and Emily Dickinson would have come across while reading their work before an audience: She was a recluse, and he was thought of as obscene by most critics.

Sylvia Plath read her work especially well (and her poetry is strong on the page). Yet I'm told Auden never connected with an audience - and pretty much just mumbled on the stage. I guess Ginsberg really is that rare thing: A poet whose work is strong on the page and even stronger on the stage.

QP

 

I had a response typed about about Ginsbergian poets and rarity, but I hit a button and lost it.

So, I'm just gonna do this:

Cubly Andre with Gay Indian Chief (The Betty White poem before it is pretty funny too)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JfXttfaQ5us?t=4m11s
(The jump to time thing is screwing up the link - so goto 4m11s for the poem)

Bearish Jake with Waiting for Colour
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zPC_xA-2E6o?t=2m22s
(The jump to time thing is screwing up the link - so goto 2m33s for the poem)

Olympic Shane with Shut up and Say Something.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dyXuugpbckw"]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dyXuugpbckw

I could do this for days...

 

I hate when that happens. Would have liked to read your response.

Thanks for the really cool links. I'm a big fan of spoken word artists. :sunny:

QP

 

he might well have sounded quite a lot like this: http://www.openculture.com/2013/02/...irst_four_lines_of_his_poem_america_1890.html (depending on who you believe)

 

Blanco is yet another one where the concept of 'openly' gay is puzzling.

Closet or not, homo is obvious

 

Yeah, there's really no way to prove (100%) that's actually him. Some literary critics say it is Whitman, while others seem to think it's too good to be true. But that hasn't stopped folks from making a huge profit from the recording: It's often included in poetry anthologies on tape and CD. I'm still waiting for someone to say they found a "lost" recording of Emily Dickinson reciting her own poetry.

Anyway, thanks for the awesome link.

QP