CHOICES
by Nikki Giovanni
If i can’t do
what i want to do
then my job is to not
do what i don’t want
to do
It’s not the same thing
but it’s the best i can
do
If i can’t have
what i want . . . then
my job is to want
what i’ve got
and be satisfied
that at least there
is something more to want
Since i can’t go
where i need
to go . . . then i must . . . go
where the signs point
through always understanding
parallel movement
isn’t lateral
When i can’t express
what i really feel
i practice feeling
what i can express
and none of it is equal
I know
but that’s why mankind
alone among the animals
learns to cry
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Helen-Louise, “Cotton Candy on a Rainy Day” always makes me think of you. Like so many other things. Love you, woman. And miss you, too.
By: heatherinparadise on August 13, 2008
at 11:34 pm
I heard Nikki Giovanni speak in 1987. She was great, speaking to an audience of college freshmen during an orientation.
Ask me about it in December, it is too long to write about after a tad enough Shiraz, you know
By: Ron on August 14, 2008
at 10:16 pm
Ron, I saw her speak at a Barnes and Noble in Chicago a number of years ago and it was amazing, even despite the number of oblivious people shopping for pop-up books around us. I had a book signed for a friend, one for myself, and one for my friend’s child and she didn’t miss a beat. I love Nikki Giovanni.
By: heatherinparadise on August 14, 2008
at 11:18 pm
My daughter goes to Virginia Tech and was there for the awful shootings in ’07. Man, Nicki Giovanni saved those kids with her “We are Tech, We will Prevail.” Freaking awesome. She’s a genius.
By: elliott on August 15, 2008
at 9:02 pm