Animating Inanimate Objects through Black Persona Poems

 During the Honors program poetry conference led by Dr. Benson, I learned about the artistry and creative process in writing Black persona poems. A crucial love element in Black persona poems transcends the current misfortune or hardship the African American community faces. This was best illustrated in Dr. Benson’s Dear Moses Grandy, …Love, the Great Dismal Swamp, a love story to Moses written from the perspective of the swamp, which offers protection and a safe haven for Grandy and other enslaved Africans. This love was reciprocated by the African Americans who inhabited the swamp because it proved to be comfortable and safe despite its unbearable, marshy, and dismal conditions. 

Later in the session, we were encouraged to create our own Black persona poem. I chose to make my poem from the perspective of the comb in the first story in the poem book. 

Scritch, Scratch

Torn through the kinks, coils, 

Dryness and tangles of your hair

I brought you tears and screams 

of discomfort, and whimpers in angst to 

Other black children, almost as if 

I am the precursor to the anxiety

You will endure at stuffy, 

Events for people beyond your years. 

But on this day there were no tears, 

Minimal screams, and quieted whimpers 

In angst. Because on this day 

Rather than irksomely bending your 

Head in different directions, Aunt Notrie

Was talking about survival. Your

Thoughts were consumed with bigger

Worries than the tightness of

Your hair and dress for church 

Today. 

Scritch, Scratch

Aunt Notrie’s words tore 

Through your veil of innocence

And naivety. Because life can 

Present greater pains Than the 

dryness and tangles of your hair. 

Through this exercise, I discovered how writing from an object’s perspective can reveal the deeper history and character in Black experiences.

By Sabrina Addo