The PBS Blog

When the Truth is Stranger than Fiction

poetic

September 20, 2019

She Is

She is Neo-Soul And conscious rap Negro Spirituals And Motown She is a jagged edge And digital underground Stokely Carmichael And Steve Cokely She is Luther Vandross and Jaheim Destiny’s Child and SWV She is smooth like Joe, political like Kweli And rules like Deborah under the palm tree She is no newborn But… Continue reading

Poetry

blog, blogger, blogging, custom, different, Neo Soul, new school, old school, old souls, poems, poet, poetic, set-apart, soul, spoken word, unique, wordpress
September 1, 2019

Addict

Your scent lingers long after you’ve gone I breathe you Intoxicated by the integrity of your soul You leave and I lay in bed inhaling your spirit anxious for a whiff of your mind hungry for a sip of your wisdom dazed by the intellect of the lyrics you spew so effortlessly I’m an addict… Continue reading

Poetry

#SundayBlogShare, addict, addiction, blog, blogger, blogging, communication, intimacy, love, love poems, poetic, relationships, spoken word, wordpress
August 7, 2019

To Be Loved

Every living thing wants to be loved We need it like the lyrics in our throats when the beat drops on our favorite song like the natural way our bones jump and our legs twitch and our hands move about and we dance Every living thing needs to be loved like dandelions in a field… Continue reading

Poetry

#BeWritingOnWednesday, #Wednesdayblogs, #WWWblogs, blog, blogger, blogging, compassion, genuine, kindness, love, poet, poetic, spoken word, wordpress
July 28, 2019

Social Media and the Spread of Black History

If you have not already, please be sure to head on over to this post and check out Fiza Pathan’s touching review of I am Soul. I’ll be quoting her review throughout this post but reading it in full will help you add context to what I say here (there is also an audio version… Continue reading

Articles

african american, black, Black American, black history, blog, blogger, blogging, historical, history, light, poems, poetic, Review, social media, spoken word, truth, wordpress
July 14, 2019

A Poem is Born

Not all poems are conceived in light Some of them are buried in darkness Surrounded by dirt and soil gritted teeth and clenched fists. Sometimes the lyric is a resurrection of rage a fire that is only quenched through spilled ink on blank pages. Sometimes poems are tears because not all compositions are conceived in… Continue reading

Poetry

#amwriting, #SundayBlogShare, blog, blogger, blogging, darkness, growth, light, pain, poems, poetic, rooted, spoken word, therapy, writers, writing therapy
June 29, 2019

We Are Not Your Negroes

Negroes are born without name without record they are boys despite age Uncles Johns Negroes are sign language using symbols to communicate their existence born without land without placement without ownership what King referred to as “a degeneration of nobodyness” they are sojourners wandering from person to person in search of themselves Negroes are… Continue reading

Poetry

#Saturdayshares, african american, authors, black, black history, blog, blogger, blogging, bywords, freedom, I am Not Your Negro, indie, james baldwin, mockery, poems, poetic, Soulful, spoken word, truth, wordpress, write, writers, writing
June 19, 2019

I Want My Stuff

I want my truth before slavery. I want customs and traditions without being conditioned I want unconditioned hair. I want my stuff. I want my Kings and Queens my silver and my gold I want my laws and commandments and my stories retold. I want do-overs for how we’ve been done over I want my… Continue reading

Poetry

#BeWritingOnWednesday, #WWWblogs, belongings, black history, Customs, freedom, historical, history, identity, Juneteenth, nationality, poems, poetic, spoken word, traditions, truth, wordpress

About Me

My name is Yecheilyah (e-see-li-yah), and my work confronts historical erasure and advocates for a more inclusive understanding of Black history. Through book reviews and poetry contests, I uncover and preserve the rich, often underrepresented stories of African Americans.