Rhonda Massengill "Poems" by Nikki Giovanni’s

Nikki-Rosa
I really liked this poem because it reminds me of my childhood. No I’m not black but I was raised in a very poor home. I remember how some people felt sorry for us because we didn’t have much growing up. I remember feeling the opposite of how others felt about our life. I felt blessed because we had each other. We were happier when it was just us then when we had money. We had to rely on God to put food on the table because my dad didn’t make enough money to put food on the table. He is a very hard working timber cutter. Still to this day he works as a saw miller. If it wasn’t for God providing us with cloths, food, and ability to make it financially we would have starved to death. At this time family stuck together. We would combine all our food and feed the family. There were many of times my parents went without to feed us kids. We were blessed even though some would call it cursed.

I’m Not Lonely
T his story reminds me of the loneness that a sibling has when their brother or sister leaves the nest. I have a younger sister and there are six years between us. I remember how lonely it was for her when I and my older sister got married. There were times when she felt all alone and had no one to talk to. When you are use to someone being there it is hard to live life by yourself.

Poem For Black Boys
I know this poem is based on the history of what the African American children went through but I found it hard to read. It is hard to read stories based on the abuse the African American people went through. It talks about the white police men how the African American men had to hide to prevent them from being abused. Then there was the comment which was based on the Revolutionary war. It was a game called burn baby to where black men were being lynched. This term alone gave me chills to think young men were being burned because they chose to protect their family. I couldn’t help but to cry when they mentioned burn baby. Last he talks about black people killing each other in gangs to become the leader. This is still going on today to where people are killing each other so they can be recognized as the top dog.