for those who came before me

this is for those who came before me
from Phyllis Wheatley to Nikki Giovanni
and everyone in between
my heartfelt thank you for breathing
soul into a beast that was uncaring

to James Weldon Johnson who taught us all
to lift every voice and sing to Paul Laurence Dunbar
who taught everyone true genius has color
to Maya Angelou and Langston Hughes
because elegance in words and life has meaning

I say thank you because those who
came before me are the reason
you are reading this right now
and those who will come after me
will give you reason to read on