Remembering Poet Nikki Giovanni (1943-2024)

      I much admire the work of Nikki Giovanni -- a poet who spoke both fearlessly and eloquently.  As she deserved, her life was big news in the Washington Post  -- I learned of her passing (on December 9) in a front-page article that celebrated her work and her person.  Another informative Post  tribute to Giovanni is available here -- and a rich sampling of her poetry is available here at PoetryFoundation.org.

     Giovanni has not included math ideas in many of her poems but I did find some counting in "The Way I Feel" -- sampled in this blog at this link -- and I offer below a few lines from "Balances";  Giovaanni's complete poem is available here. 

     Balances       by Nikki Giovanni

          In life
          one is always
          balancing
          like we juggle our mothers
          against our fathers
          or one teacher
          against another
          (only to balance our grade average)
          3 grains of salt
          to one ounce truth . . .

For Giovanni's complete "Balances,"  follow this link.

Here is a link to a list of Nikki Giovanni's many published poetry collections;  and this link leads to a list of her books of children's poetry.