The Whipping Song

Chapters in this book

1. Front Matter i
2. Contents vii
3. Dedication xi
4. From Another Black Voice:A Different Drummer(1988)
5. The Black Man Speaks of Rivers, Part 2: A Tribute to Langston Hughes 2
6. Acquaintances 3
7. The Black Madonna 4
8. The Anniversary 5
9. The Country Preacher’s Folk Prayer 6
10. God’s Gender 8
11. The Mansion 9
12. By the Side of the Road 10
13. Race 11
14. Elegy for Therman B. O’Daniel 12
15. From the Beauty of Blackness(1989)
16. The Beauty of Blackness 14
17. Transition 16
18. Sleepless Now 18
19. Cat 19
20. When I Heard from the Tax Man 20
21. A Child’s Play 21
22. A Black Man’s Song 22
23. Spring 23
24. To an Apostle of Peace 24
25. From I Fly Like a Bird(1992)
26. Birds 26
27. Black Woman 27
28. His Professor 28
29. Overcharged 29
30. Drinking 30
31. And Want No More 32
32. Garden Party 34
33. What Are You, Life? 35
34. Grief 36
35. We Mourn a Sweet Soul 37
36. From The Whipping Song (1993)
37. The Whipping Song 40
38. Peace Will Come 41
39. For My Forefathers 42
40. The Street Man 43
41. Love Should Grow, Not Wither 44
42. Rain 45
43. A Plea For Peace 46
44. Before the Death of Dad 47
45. Winds of Change 48
46. From for the Love of Freedom (2000)
47. For the Love of Freedom 50
48. The Black Hair 51
49. Why Are You Laughing? 52
50. The Saint 53
51. A Song for the Black Woman 54
52. From Vintage (1995)
53. There Will Be Blacks in Heaven 56
54. Strangers 57
55. From Pure Light (1996)
56. Pure Light 60
57. Calling All Black Men 61
58. Words 62
59. Your Life Is Over for You If 63
60. Sunrise 64
61. In Praise of Shoeshines 65
62. So Happy 66
63. Innocence in Black and White 67
64. Budget Cuts 68
65. I Fly Away 69
66. How Great You Are 70
67. From Neglecting the Flowers(1997)
68. Black and Beautiful 72
69. Rapping My Way Home from an English Conference at Hunter College on March 22, 1997 73
70. Reverend Hotair 74
71. Neglecting the Flowers 75
72. Like Douglass 76
73. Bury Yourself Now 77
74. On the Death of Mothers 78
75. Tongue 79
76. Burp 80
77. To Mephistopheles 81
78. Come, Prince of Peace 82
79. Good Manners 83
80. Love 84
81. From Lilacs in Spring (1998)
82. I Came, I Saw, I Dreamed 86
83. The Country Club in the Academy 87
84. Lilacs in Spring 88
85. Song for a Beautiful Lady 89
86. Boss Hogg 90
87. Thank You, Abe! 91
88. From Elisabeth and Other Poems (1999)
89. The Good Queen Bess 94
90. Mother Africa 95
91. Working on the Farm in 1947 96
92. Marry This Poem 98
93. Departure 99
94. Embden Pond 100
95. Robert Lewis (Our Samoyed) 101
96. From Jazz After Dinner (2007)
97. Jazz After Dinner 104
98. And When I Die 105
99. I Am a Black Man 106
100. Black Philosophy 107
101. Morning After Morning 108
102. Forgiveness 109
103. New Poems(2008)
104. Heifer 112
105. Picnic 113
106. What I Need is 114
107. I Want to Live While You Love Me 115
108. Highway to Love 116
109. I Do Love You 117
110. Brothers 118
111. Characteristics 119
112. Claudia, Back Home 120
113. Elegy for Emmanuel 121
114. Grapes 122
115. Today 123
116. Deacon 124
117. The Vision of America 126
118. The Geese 127
119. God’s Glory 129
120. The Thought 130
121. I Shall Pray 131
122. Acknowledgments 133
123. About the Author 135