On This Day, Yesterday, a Poetic Merge of Memories and Storying. Almost There Poets...27 Poems and Counting...Re-Encountering.

The task was to revisit a moment, to render a memory for another angle, to re-encounter a world we once knew. At first, I was stuck on what to focus on, so I went back through 15 years of blogging and chose moments from April 27th over the years. I combined them into a single poem to see what would result. To be honest, if I could have a career of ordering books for kids, delivering them, and pulling together for discussion, I would. I don't believe there's more joy than that.  

Nor do I believe there's anything better than Dr. Tonya Perry, Birmingham, Alabama. She's always been a tremendous gift to my world.

On This Day, April 27

     ~b.r.crandall

there were storms

& i missed Kentucky’s

bluegrass.

That bunny

continued to

lead me down

those rabbit holes 

in search of time. 

But Ms. Leigh's 4th graders earned a pizza party

(best readers in the school) and I didn’t mind becoming an Amazon truck,

delivering wind-up toys & books to applaud them.

Kwame helped, after all.

Becoming Muhammad Ali with him and James.

Don’t count the days; make the days count.

So, more Woodson to IRIS.

more Black Boy Joy to Harding.

Tonya brought me to Birmingham twice

and brought history out of textbooks

into our collective memory,

learning lessons

of youth movements

& the struggle for  human rights.

I walked with Emmanuel Jal,

listened to him sing his child-soldier story,

& knew I had to find more

Hope for the Flowers.

the legacy of transatlantic slave trades,

the lynchings, codified segregation,

the incarcerations & racial terror.

The National Memorial for Peace & Justice.

When they write me to say they only need 30 copies of

When Stars Are Scattered (to learn more of this world)

I find a way.