Nate Marshall | Praise Song
b'
In this week's episode of the Get Lit Minute, your weekly poetry podcast, we spotlight Nate Marshall, an award-winning author, editor, poet, playwright, performer, educator, speaker, and rapper. Interested in learning more about poetry or bringing our spoken word curriculum into a school near you? Visit https://www.getlit.org/\\xa0for more info.\\xa0
"Praise Song"
praise the Hennessy, the brown
shine, the dull burn. praise
the dare, the take it, the no face
you\\u2019re supposed to make.
praise the house, its many rooms,
hardwood and butter leather couches;
its richness. praise the rich, their friendship.
praise the friends: the child of the well off,
the child of the well off, the child of well,
the child of welfare, the child of welfare.
praise the diversity but praise the Hennessy,
and again,\\xa0 \\xa0 \\xa0 \\xa0 \\xa0 \\xa0and again.\\xa0 \\xa0 \\xa0 \\xa0 \\xa0 \\xa0praise
the new year upon us. praise my stumble,
the shaky eye, the fluid arm, but the steady
hand. praise my hand, the burning it has.
praise the dive into the gut of a friend; the dousing
of my hand in his ribs. praise the softness of skin,
the way it always gives.
praise the pulling, the calming down.
Read the full poem here.\\xa0