6 Poems by Amanda Gorman you must read this Women’s History Month (and beyond!)

3. “We Rise”
Amanda recited this poem at Variety’s Power of Women event in 2021, where she was an honoree. The resounding message of the poem is to encourage women to use their voices to speak out about the injustices they face. Considering that the 2023 Women’s History Month theme is “Celebrating Women Who Tell Our Stories,” this one is on point. It’s an ode to both the powerful and the vulnerable, calling for women to lift each other up. And we love that!
Our favorite part:
- We push on and act on
Our responsibility to bring visibility
To the most vulnerable:
To bring freedom to those who didn’t have a choice,
To bring volume to those who are using their voice.
We clear a woman’s way,
We don’t fear the day
She steps into the light
Because we are with her
Every step of the fight.
4. “Earthrise”
Another thoughtful piece about climate justice, Amanda’s “Earthrise” is a shorter, punchier poem that shares her hope for a greener future. She read the poem for the environmental advocacy organization, The Climate Reality Project, in 2018. The idea riffed off the famous Earthrise photo from Apollo 8, where you can see the Earth rising over the surface of the moon. In the poem, she describes seeing the Earth from the vantage point of the moon, just a pale blue dot, and how we must protect it at all costs.
Our favorite part:
- And while this is a training,
in sustaining the future of our planet,
There is no rehearsal. The time is
Now
Now
Now,
Because the reversal of harm,
And protection of a future so universal
Should be anything but controversial.
So, earth, pale blue dot
We will fail you not.
5. “Chorus of the Captains”
Since 2021, Amanda can now write “performing at the Superbowl” on her resume. Pretty sweet! The poem “Chorus of the Captains” honors the three frontline workers chosen to be the game’s honorary captains: Florida nurse manager Suzie Dorner, LA educator Trimaine Davis, and Marine veteran James Martin. Amanda’s tremendous words of praise not only recognized the three honorees but extended to all frontline workers who held the country up during the pandemic.
Our favorite part:
- Let us walk with these warriors,
Charge on with these champions,
And carry forth the call of our captains!
We celebrate them by acting
With courage and compassion,
By doing what is right and just.
For while we honor them today,
It is them who every day honor us
6. “In This Place (An American Lyric)”
Written for the inaugural reading of the US Poet Laureate Tracy K. Smith, this poem takes listeners on a journey from the Library of Congress to America herself. The poem goes from Washington, D.C., to Boston, Charlottesville, Lake Michigan, California, and Florida, dropping prose on stories of tragedy, resistance, and hope. The poem closes with a stanza on what it means to “rewrite the nation,” calling on us all to tell our stories and use our voices for change. In this piece, Amanda is personifying the act claiming our democracy in a way that we stan 100%.
Our favorite part:
- There’s a poem in this place—
a poem in America
a poet in every American
who rewrites this nation, who tells
a story worthy of being told on this minnow of an earth
to breathe hope into a palimpsest of time—
a poet in every American
who sees that our poem penned
doesn’t mean our poem’s end.
Notice a theme? Amanda never skips a beat on transforming anguish into action. Although she’s been in the game for years already, there’s no stopping Amanda’s brilliant mind from creating more inspiring work. Her poems resonate with anyone whose heart is set on seeing the world change for the better, and I can’t wait to read her books when they come out. Keep up with Amanda Gorman on her website to see what she’s doing next!
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