Poet Amanda Gorman: 'There Is Always Light If We're Brave Enough to See'
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- Опубликовано: 10 сен 2024
- In one of the inauguration’s most talked about moments, poet Amanda Gorman summoned images dire and triumphant Wednesday as she called out to the world “even as we grieved, we grew.”
The 22-year-old Gorman referenced everything from Biblical scripture and “Hamilton,” and at times echoed the oratory of John F. Kennedy and the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. With urgency and assertion she began by asking “Where can we find light/In this never-ending shade?” and used her own poetry and life story as an answer. The poem’s very title, “The Hill We Climb,” suggested both labor and transcendence.
“We did not feel prepared to be the heirs
Of such a terrifying hour.
But within it we’ve found the power
To author a new chapter,
To offer hope and laughter to ourselves.”
It was an extraordinary task for Gorman, the youngest by far of the poets who have read at presidential inaugurations since Kennedy invited Robert Frost in 1961, with other predecessors including Maya Angelou and Elizabeth Alexander. Mindful of the past, she wore earrings and a caged bird ring - a tribute to Angelou’s classic memoir “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings” - given to her by Orpah Winfrey, a close friend of the late writer.
“I have never been prouder to see another young woman rise! Brava Brava, @TheAmandaGorman! Maya Angelou is cheering-and so am I,” Winfrey tweeted. Gorman was also praised by “Hamilton” playwright Lin-Manuel Miranda, who tweeted “YES @TheAmandaGorman!!!” Gorman, soon responded: “Thx @Lin_Manuel! Did you catch the 2 @HamiltonMusical references in the inaugural poem? I couldn’t help myself!”
Among the “Hamilton” inspirations in her poem: “History has its eyes on us,” a variation of the “Hamilton” song “History Has Its Eyes On You.”
Gorman, a native and resident of Los Angeles and the country’s first National Youth Poet Laureate, Gorman told The Associated Press last week that she planned to combine a message of hope for President Joseph Biden’s inaugural without ignoring “the evidence of discord and division.” She had completed a little more than half of “The Hill We Climb” before Jan. 6 and the siege of the U.S. Capitol by supporters of then-President Donald Trump,
“That day gave me a second wave of energy to finish the poem,” Gorman told the AP. She had said that she would not mention Jan. 6 specifically, but her reference was unmistakable:
“We’ve seen a force that would shatter our nation rather than share it,
Would destroy our country if it meant delaying democracy.
And this effort very nearly succeeded.
But while democracy can be periodically delayed,
It can never be permanently defeated.”
Frost’s appearance at the Kennedy inaugural was a kind of valedictory - he was 86 and died two years later. Gorman’s career is just beginning. Her first two books come out in September - the picture story “Change Things” and a bound edition of her inaugural poem, along with other works. Ceremonial odes often are quickly forgotten, but Angelou’s “On the Pulse Of the Morning,” which she read at the 1993 inaugural of President Clinton, went on to sell more than 1 million copies as a book.
Invited to the inaugural late last month by first lady Jill Biden, Gorman has read at official occasions before - including a July 4 celebration when she was backed by the Boston Pops Orchestra. She has also made clear her desire to appear at a future inaugural, in a much greater capacity, an ambition she stated firmly in her poem.
“We, the successors of a country and a time,
Where a skinny black girl,
Descended from slaves and raised by a single mother,
Can dream of becoming president,
Only to find herself reciting for one.”
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“For there is always light,if only we are brave enough to see it, if only we are brave enough to be it”
“When day comes we ask ourselves, where can we find light in this never-ending shade? The loss we carry, a sea we must wade. We’ve braved the belly of the beast. We’ve learned that quiet isn’t always peace. In the norms and notions of what just is isn’t always justice.
And yet, the dawn is ours before we knew it. Somehow, we do it. Somehow, we’ve weathered and witnessed a nation that isn’t broken, but simply unfinished. We, the successors of a country and a time where a skinny Black girl descended from slaves and raised by a single mother can dream of becoming president, only to find herself reciting for one.
And yes, we are far from polished, far from pristine, but that doesn’t mean we are striving to form a union that is perfect. We are striving to forge our union with purpose, to compose a country committed to all cultures, colors, characters and conditions of man.
And so, we lift our gazes not to what stands between us, but what stands before us. We close the divide because we know, to put our future first, we must first put our differences aside. We lay down our arms so we can reach out our arms to one another. We seek harm to none and harmony for all. Let the globe, if nothing else, say this is true. That even as we grieved, we grew. That even as we hurt, we hoped; that even as we tired, we tried; that we’ll forever be tied together, victorious. Not because we will never again know defeat, but because we will never again sow division.
Scripture tells us to envision that everyone shall sit under their own vine and fig tree, and no one shall make them afraid. If we’re to live up to our own time, then victory won’t lie in the blade, but in all the bridges we’ve made. That is the promise to glade, the hill we climb if only we dare it. Because being American is more than a pride we inherit; it’s the past we step into and how we repair it. We’ve seen a forest that would shatter our nation rather than share it, would destroy our country if it meant delaying democracy. And this effort very nearly succeeded.
But while democracy can be periodically delayed, it can never be permanently defeated. In this truth, in this faith we trust, for while we have our eyes on the future, history has its eyes on us. This is the era of just redemption. We feared it at its inception. We did not feel prepared to be the heirs of such a terrifying hour, but within it, we found the power to author a new chapter, to offer hope and laughter to ourselves.
So, while once we asked: “How could we possibly prevail over catastrophe?” Now we assert, “How could catastrophe possibly prevail over us?”
We will not march back to what was, but move to what shall be: a country that is bruised, but whole; benevolent, but bold; fierce and free. We will not be turned around or interrupted by intimidation, because we know our inaction and inertia will be the inheritance of the next generation. Our blunders become their burdens. But one thing is certain, if we merge mercy with might, and might with right, then love becomes our legacy, and change our children’s birthright.
So, let us leave behind a country better than one we were left. With every breath from my bronze-pounded chest, we will raise this wounded world into a wondrous one. We will rise from the gold-limned hills of the West. We will rise from the wind-swept Northeast where our forefathers first realized revolution. We will rise from the lake-rimmed cities of the Midwestern states. We will rise from the sun-baked South. We will rebuild, reconcile and recover in every known nook of our nation, in every corner called our country our people diverse and beautiful will emerge battered and beautiful.
When day comes, we step out of the shade aflame and unafraid. The new dawn blooms as we free it. For there is always light. If only we’re brave enough to see it. If only we’re brave enough to be it.”
Wow thank you for recording this. Would I be too forward in asking if you would kindly email this to me please? Most grateful 💕 Carol@carolsorganickitchen.com
@@CarolFraserNutritionist wrong link im pretty sure
this was so beautifully inspirational. such a queen!
This young Harvard poet, is one to watch. Inspirational, brilliant and honest. Bravo !!
Very Beautifully Spoken and presented. I pray for peace among us and may love prevail and may healing grow and may we be the instrument of peace.🙏🏽❤
Omg, that was so inspirational 👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽🙏🏽🙏🏽💐💐💐💐💐
Excellent!!! These words of wisdom should be inscribed at capital hill.
Wonderful word's I live it
Very well delivered, wow
Fantastic. I have goosebumps. So proud for her.
this gave me chills
Absolutely BEAUTIFUL poem. Very relevant and put so well.
Amanda Gorman brilliant
Outstanding!!!!!
This is a great day. Congrats Joe and good luck in the future
So well done...dress words and on and on
Such a beautiful poem and amazing delivery 👏💞💗
Awesome!
Wow!!! just wow.
Outstanding.
Brillant and beautiful
Pretty articulate black woman
May God continue to be your light you are just simply amazing. Beautiful poem..
Do you think they chose her because she’s black?
Do you think you could ask a less demeaning question?
Why would you say that?
@@tiffany6067 They chose her because she's brilliant!
@@maureenoconnor1266 exactly
I sense racism in some of these comments 🤚🏽👎🏾
Who's from tiktok drumming guy?
Great way to kickoff bidens presidency
The unwieldy editor virtually dry because milk unexpectedly level before a witty ear. frequent, prickly flame
We just started the race to the bottom 🥴.
I disagree. The bottom was reached when Putin and his crew sat around the fire and congratulated themselves on how well their boy had learned the "truth". If you don't get it, maybe reach out to Michael Flynn.
@@bluejay3945 How crooked the system is? Well the game is the same, what changes are the players.🤔🥴
Typical.
Platitudes for sheep.
Good to see you received your pardon too! Congrats! Hope to see you with Flynn or Bannon down at the watering hole.
Bahhhhhh to you!
Not bigly inspirational like from the orange traitor, huh? Well don’t lose hope - you can still see his MAGA vomit on Parler.
Blah, blah, blah.
Good Luck to America's new president!
Joke 🤣
Bruh this is not a joke-
Perhaps you are referring to Trump's speech at Andrews? That was a real tear jerker...."I'm the best....stock market....the wall....etc" The only joke was the Trump's walking arm in arm into the plane. Maybe he had to help balance her because the $75000 hand bag was causing her to tip off her French designer shoes. I was hoping someone would check that bag to see whether she was hiding 10000 mail in ballots for Florida.