"The Bronze Legacy" by Effie Lee Newsome

View this email on a browser Forward to a friend June 30, 2019   The Bronze Legacy   Effie Lee Newsome

(To a brown boy)   'Tis a noble gift to be brown, all brown,      Like the strongest things that make up this earth, Like the mountains grave and grand,      Even like the very land,      Even like the trunks of trees—      Even oaks, to be like these! God builds His strength in bronze.   To be brown like thrush and lark!      Like the subtle wren so dark! Nay, the king of beasts wears brown;      Eagles are of this same hue. I thank God, then, I am brown.      Brown has mighty things to do.            This poem is in the public domain. Published in Poem-a-Day on June 30, 2019, by the Academy of American Poets. About This Poem   "The Bronze Legacy" was published in the October 1922 issue of The Crisis.   Effie Lee Newsome was born in 1885 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Primarily known to publish poems for children, she is the author of Gladiola Garden (The Associated Publishers, 1940). She died in 1979 in Wilberforce, Ohio. Poetry by Newsome   Wonders: The Best Children's Poems of Effie Lee Newsome (Wordsong, 1999) "Old Black Men" by Georgia Douglas Johnson "Crossing" by Jericho Brown "The Book of Genesis" by Morgan Parker June Guest Editor: Samiya Bashir   Thanks to Samiya Bashir, author of Field Theories (Nightboat Books, 2017), who curated Poem-a-Day for this month's weekdays. Read a Q&A with Bashir about her curatorial approach this month and find out more about our guest editors for the year. Thanks for being a part of the Academy of American Poets community. To learn about other programs, including National Poetry Month, Poem in Your Pocket Day, the annual Poets Forum, and more, visit Poets.org.   You are receiving this e-mail because you elected to subscribe to our mailing list. If you would like to unsubscribe, please click here.   © Academy of American Poets 75 Maiden Lane, Suite 901, New York, NY 10038