Poetry Sisters Talk Back to a Poem

This month, our challenge was to talk back to a poem, specifically the poem "Talk to Me Poem, I Think I Got the Blues" by Nikki Giovanni. (Note that this link is to the only written version I could find, and it is incomplete and has a few errors.) Since this poem was performed at a Def Poetry Jam, you really must hear it, not just read it.

There's so much I love about this poem and this performance. I love how poem is a metaphor that stands in for a person, or a people. I love how sassy Giovanni is in her writing and delivery. That's the cue I took in thinking about my own poem. I'm not sure I've talked back to this poem as much as modeled mine on its form, but I had fun trying.

Let's Talk, Poem

Alone? I’ve always have company—

a choir of crickets,

a half-broke heart that won’t quit singing

and every secret I've never said out loud.

Jail? I ran the cellblock.

I etched myself on the walls,

traded verses for cigarettes,

made guards hum my lines

when they thought no one was listening.

Lost? I don’t get lost.

I wander.

I slip out the back door

hide in alleys of memory,

show up on a porch swing

when the singing begins.

Neglected? Maybe, but

I don’t sulk.

I'm aging like vinyl—

a bit scratched and dusty,

but drop the needle

and I still spin fine.

Plans? I don’t do plans.

I happen.

I crash parties,

steal the spotlight,

turn silence into fireworks.

Miss home? I am home,

whenever a tongue

dares to roll me out loud, 

So don’t come crying, baby.

You got the blues? 

I taught the blues how to swing.

Poem ©Tricia Stohr-Hunt, 2025. All rights reserved.

You can read the poems my Poetry Sisters have written at the links below. A few folks are traveling this month, but they may pop up later with a poem.

• Tanita Davis
• Mary Lee Hahn
• Sara Lewis Holmes
• Laura Purdie Salas
• Liz Garton Scanlon

Would you like to try the next challenge? We will be writing tritina. The tritina is composed of 3 tercets and a final line (envoi) that stands alone. Similar to a sestina, though shorter, it uses a set of 3 alternating end words instead of six. The form is: ABC / CAB / BCA / A, B, and C (final line/envoi). We are continuing to write poems around the theme of "in conversation." You’ve got a month to craft your creation(s), then share your offering with the rest of us on September 26th in a post and/or on social media with the tag #PoetryPals. We look forward to reading your poems! 

I hope you'll take some time to check out all the wonderful poetic things being shared and collected today by Karen Edmisten. Happy poetry Friday all!