Summer springs, ever green, Southern Live Oak… Sprouts literate themes of the cranium— Reclines in shadow’s breeze perched book in tote; Stratolith—My Bondage and My Freedom. Upward bound the foliage vorticity! Mattress grass a comfort earned by labor— Lie turning printed page with constancy, He taught those to read who were not able, But I read today, since I was a lass, Now, Frederick Douglas brought me to the shade To teach in shadow—public place amass: A quilted place, a picnic, lemonade— The interception of rays—summer days Deep rooted, durable and strong—ablaze!
This marvelous poem is reminiscent of some by Emily Dickinson, with (almost) rhyming couplets, and a far bigger theme than the spare treatment suggests.