Poetry Sunday: The Laws of Motion by Nikki Giovanni

From her profile in Poetry Foundation magazine: "Nikki Giovanni is one of the best-known African-American poets who reached prominence during the late 1960s and early 1970s. Her unique and insightful poetry testifies to her own evolving awareness and experiences: from child to young woman, from naive college freshman to seasoned civil rights activist, from daughter to mother. Frequently anthologized, Giovanni’s poetry expresses strong racial pride and respect for family. Her informal style makes her work accessible to both adults and children."

Here's something completely different from what is usually featured here, but I would agree with the Poetry Foundation assessment that it is unique and insightful, as well as accessible. Enjoy!

The Laws of Motion

by Nikki Giovanni

(for Harlem Magic)

The laws of science teach us a pound of gold weighs as   

much as a pound of flour though if dropped from any   

undetermined height in their natural state one would

reach bottom and one would fly away

Laws of motion tell us an inert object is more difficult to   

propel than an object heading in the wrong direction is to   

turn around. Motion being energy—inertia—apathy.   

Apathy equals hostility. Hostility—violence. Violence   

being energy is its own virtue. Laws of motion teach us

Black people are no less confused because of our   

Blackness than we are diffused because of our

powerlessness. Man we are told is the only animal who   

smiles with his lips. The eyes however are the mirror of

the soul

The problem with love is not what we feel but what we   

wish we felt when we began to feel we should feel

something. Just as publicity is not production: seduction

is not seductive

If I could make a wish I’d wish for all the knowledge of all   

the world. Black may be beautiful Professor Micheau

says but knowledge is power. Any desirable object is

bought and sold—any neglected object declines in value.   

It is against man’s nature to be in either category

If white defines Black and good defines evil then men

define women or women scientifically speaking describe

men. If sweet is the opposite of sour and heat the

absence of cold then love is the contradiction of pain and

beauty is in the eye of the beheld

Sometimes I want to touch you and be touched in   

return. But you think I’m grabbing and I think you’re   

shirking and Mama always said to look out for men like   

you

So I go to the streets with my lips painted red and my   

eyes carefully shielded to seduce the world my reluctant   

lover

And you go to your men slapping fives feeling good   

posing as a man because you know as long as you sit   

very very still the laws of motion will be in effect