On the occasion that would have been my sister’s birthday…posted 1/29/2016
Today would have been my sister Lisa’s birthday. I wanted to offer three short Langston Hughes poems that evoked Lisa to me in different ways.
Luck
Sometimes a crumb falls
From the tables of joy,
Sometimes a bone
Is flung.
To some people
Love is given,
To others
Only heaven.
Shame on You
If you’re great enough
and clever enough
the government might honor you.
But the people will forget —
Except on holidays
A movie house in Harlem named after Lincoln,
Nothing at all named after John Brown.
Black people don’t remember
any better than white.
If you are not alive and kicking,
shame on you!
Lonely Nocturne
When dawn lights the sky
And day and night meet,
I climb my stairs high
Above the grey street.
I lift my window
To look at the sky
Where moon kisses star
Goodbye.
When dawn lights the sky
I seek my lonely room.
The halls as I go by
Echo like a tomb.
And I wonder why
As I take out my key,
There is nobody there
But me —
When dawn lights the sky.
Jonathan P. Baird 
You are a sweet and thoughtful man. Your sister clearly helped you get there. She was a rare and beautiful person. Thanks for sharing the poetry.
Love. S
Sent from my iPhone