To the Ones Who Bear Witness” – Latorial Faison, Blood at the Root

By Dr. Brenda M. Greene

Poet laureate and scholar, Dr. Latorial Faison, expands the concept of nursery rhymes, those colorful poems and songs that use repetitive rhythmic language in the passing of cultural traditions, lessons, and legends, in her collection of poems, Nursery Rhymes in Black (U. of Alaska Press, 2025).  The resounding message in this collection is a tribute to the value of Black southern mothers and grandmothers in our lives, the roles they play, the traditions they uphold, their place in the community, and the ways in which they embody the essence of motherhood and womanhood across generations.  

Nursery Rhymes in Black opens with “Mama was a Spiritual Negro.”  Negro spirituals, created by enslaved Black people prior to the Civil War, were couched in religious themes and captured the state of bondage, meditations on plans for liberation, and ways to survive the ongoing suffering and oppression faced by enslaved people.  The speaker dedicates “Mama was a Spiritual Negro” to Black matriarchs.  

She was a goodnight prayer, a moon that shined down through my bedroom window.  She was the alphabet, a Sunday school verse, a third Sunday gospel song to rehearse, a mostly misunderstood exchange of power, responsibility, & command.

She was a Ridley Road scholar, a kitchen where cooking got done & well; she

was Ms. Shirley, the lunch lady, bus driver, Sammy’s wife, giver of too much 

self. Mama was a Negro spiritual, a hymn hummed from inside a Baptist Hymnal, in an old rocking chair from a corner of our living room.

Mama is teacher, cook, religious leader, bus driver, and giver.  She is selfless. 

In Faison’s poem, “When a Monarch Dies,” the speaker underscores the powerful symbol of the Southern Black men and women.  They embody the history of the Southern Black; their presence is an historical rendering of colonization, slavery, oppression, spirituals, and the blues.  This excerpt from the poem represents the significance of the Monarch.

When a monarch dies, Black & Brown responses reveal a truth unrelenting. . .

The evils of colonization, the chains of slavery, systemic oppression, be wounds that never heal…We witness all the sadness, sing all the blues seeking sanctity, sovereignty, & savior.

When a monarch, a Black man, a Black woman, a Black boy, a Black girl dies

The whole world is forced to bear a nobler truth: a greatest lie ever told,

a love that never wins. 

Those who witness the death of a Monarch are exposed to great leaders. 

The poems in Faison’s Blood at the Root (Flushing Line Press, 2025) portray the multiple ways in which the lives of Black men, women, and children in America demonstrate resilience in the face of racism, poverty, tragedy, lynchings, and death.  The speaker calls on the tradition of the poet Claude McKay in “If We Must Die”, for Claude McKay.

If we still must die

like roadkill

on each side of the Mason Dixon Line

like a Till whistle

blown through a southern breeze 

like a young buck

black & running

fighting

killing

writing for our lives. . . . 

Faison’s poem accentuates the word “still.” This poem is still relevant, for Black boys are still dying.  The image of the Till whistle reminds the reader of the horrific murder of Emmett Till and more recently, the unresolved death of Nolan Wells.

“A Eulogy for America’s Black Boy” by Faison speaks to all Black boys who have been murdered, who continue to be murdered, and who remain invisible.  The poem reads:

Every night I bury him in a casket like Michael’s

Because he is a prince the world neither knows nor understands

his genius undiscovered

his beauty not yet born

his blackness all too familiar

his brothers alive yet invisible

his mom, Black feminism refuted

 his father, another red flag saluted.

The poem “Birthing Blackness” continues the theme of the experience of Blacks in America through a religious theme.  

It’s biblical-

We’re a Van Gogh

Painted over by Jacob Lawrence

On a Sunday morning,

A rapture where

Two souls come to find more

Than rest from generational curses. 

“America,” the closing poem, from Blood at the Root, epitomizes the theme of Black men, women, and children. “There’s so much hell here, Black lives, Black tears, Black matters, White falling from sky.”

Faison’s poems conjure up memories of grief, thoughts of loved ones, and images of those who have been harmed.  Her lyrical language, interspersed with religious themes, and her social and political commentary on the lives of Black Americans depict a poet who is passionate about using language to convey how Blacks navigate these United States of America.

An accomplished poet, educator, and literary scholar, Dr. Latorial Faison is Poet Laureate of Virginia. Her acclaimed poetry collection, Nursery Rhymes in Black, was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize in Poetry.  Her most recent collection, Blood at the Root, was published by Finishing Line Press (November 2025).  For more information, visit LatorialFaison.com and view her video, https://youtu.be/gM1XxN7TM_E?si=YZRC9Tda2UiYKmGo

Dr. Brenda M. Greene is an Author, Professor Emerita, and Founder and Executive Director Emerita of the Center for Black Literature at Medgar Evers College, CUNY. For more information, visit https://www.drbrendamgreene.com