Thematic Poetry

3 Original Thematic Poems 

By H. Neibert

                            

We Got Our Own Store

We got our own store.
It’s got things we all need.
It don't carry white man’s things,
but good tobacco weed.

Owner’s got a wife -
most beautiful of girls.
Not yellow, red, or straightened hair,
But ebony and curls.

Our store has a porch,
where gossip and jokes play.
We might not speak so properly,
But laughter fills the day.

Brown skin fills our store,
with diverse shape and tone.
Some stores want to keep us all out,
but this store is all our own.

The Tree

A seed was planted
when I was born
in the backyard
by the wooden fence.

Together we grew
made memories
when life was loose
and when it was tense.

In place was the tree;
I moved about.
But the tree knew,
things out of my ken.

Deep roots in the ground,
absorbed knowledge.
I knew nothing -
especially of men.

I got too cur’ious -
got married off.
No love was found,
Like that in the tree.

When I got the chance,
I clung to him,
to feel what that
tree had taught to me.

Everything Is Nothing

Everything is nothing,
      but they never tell you this:
You can own your own farm
      but your husband will claim its his.

You can be an angel,
      have looks too good for working.
but when you believe them
       you get harassed for shirking.

You could be a widow
      with no master over you
but men with selfish goals
     will imply what you should do.

You find your true love,
      a man who nurtures your voice
but he will quickly leave
      Whether or not it is his choice.

Everything is nothing.
      It matters how you use it.
Take care of what you have.
      For you could quickly lose it.