Poetry has always been an artistic expression. From declarations of love to contemplating the meaning of life, poetry has a way of putting the human experience into words. It’s also an effective way to take a political stance or spark compassion for others’ cultures and ways of life. Here are 10 poetry collections that delve into the experience of Black bisexual, lesbian, and queer writers.
And I knew when I entered her I was high wind in her forests hollow fingers whispering sound honey flowed from the split cup impaled on a lance of tongues -Audre Lorde “Love Poem”
& your sounds drift down oh god! oh jesus! and i think here it is, some dude’s getting credit for what a woman has done again. -Pat Parker “For Willyce”
Although I’d cream my jeans touching your breast, sweetheart, it isn’t lust; it’s all the rest of what I want with you that scares me shitless. -Marilyn Hacker “[Didn’t Sappho say her guts clutched up like this?]”
creatures of ecstasy, we have risen drenched from our own wet grasses, reeds, sea. turned out, turned inside out, beside ourselves, we are the tide swelling, we are the continent draining, deep and forever into each other. -Daphne Marlatt “Houseless”
My ingenious fingers wait when they have found The petal flesh beneath the robe they part. How curious, complex, the touch, this subtle art– As the dream of fragrance, the miracle of sound. -Renée Vivien “The Touch”
[image description: a Pat Parker poem titled “For Willyce.” It reads: “When i make love to you / i try / with each stroke of my tongue/ to say i love you / to tease i love you / to hammer i love you / to melt i love you // & your sounds drift down / oh god! / oh jesus! / and I think - / here it is, some dude’s / getting credit for what / a woman / has done, / again.”]
