A Poem for langston hughes, By Nikki Giovanni

diamonds are mined . . . oil is discovered

gold is found . . . but thoughts are uncovered

wool is sheared . . . silk is spun

weaving is hard . . . but words are fun

highways span . . . bridges connect

country roads ramble . . . but I suspect

if i took a rainbow ride

i could be there by your side

metaphor has its point of view

allusion and illusion . . . too

meter . . . verse . . . classical . . . free

poems are what you do to me

let’s look at this one more time

since i’ve put this rap to rhyme

when i take my rainbow ride

you’ll be right there by my side

hey bop hey bop hey re re

From “The Selected Poems of Nikki Giovanni” (Morrow: $20; 292 pp.)

Copyright 1995 Reprinted by permission.