Poetry for Juneteenth

When I Rise Up

Georgia Douglas Johnson

When I rise up above the earth, And look down on the things that fetter me, I beat my wings upon the air, Or tranquil lie, Surge after surge of potent strength Like incense comes to me When I rise up above the earth And look down upon the things that fetter me. This poem is in the public domain.

Georgia Douglas Johnson was born in Atlanta, Georgia, in the late nineteenth century. A member of the Harlem Renaissance, her poetry collections include Bronze: A Book of Verses (B.J. Brimmer Company, 1922) and The Heart of a Woman and Other Poems (The Cornhill Company, 1918). She died in 1966.

Celebrate and honor the important contributions of Black poets with this round-up of poems from poets.org: 

“Alone” by Maya Angelou
“The Dawn’s Awake!” by Otto Leland Bohanan
“litany” by Mahogany L. Browne 
“Family Reunion” by Rita Dove
“To America” by James Weldon Johnson
“These Poems” by June Jordan 
“Eve Remembering” by Toni Morrison
“Mercy, Mercy, Me” by John Murillo
“The Bronze Legacy” by Effie Lee Newsome
“Everything That Ever Was” by Tracy K. Smith