Category Archives: Poetry

Portrait of an Artist as a Woman

Posted on March 19, 2022 by William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters

Artists have an antenna, a radar of sorts, where we can detect another artist in our midst.  It’s a look in and from their eyes, as if they aren’t there, while at the same time being everywhere.  I know, because … Continue reading →

Posted in Lest We Forget, Poetry, Sonny's Blues | Tagged , | 1 Comment

My Pandora

Posted on March 15, 2022 by William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters

Hope remains! (Disclaimer: Ladies, women, womenfolk, and girls, I know that a man wrote the myth about Pandora, blaming women, as the writer of the Hebrew Bible also blamed a woman, Eve, for all the evils let loose in the … Continue reading →

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Ida B. Wells: The Black Woman Crusader Against White Knights

Posted on March 4, 2022 by William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters

Ida B. Wells was born into slavery on July 16, 1862.  She was “freed” by presidential proclamation and executive order (the Emancipation Proclamation) issued by President Abraham Lincoln on September 22, 1862, during the American Civil War. Ida B. Wells … Continue reading →

Posted in Black Shadows and Through the White Looking Glass, Lest We Forget, Poetry, Politics & Public Affairs, Race, History & American Society, raising black boys, Religion, Slavery | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

“My Lord, What a Morning”

Posted on March 2, 2022 by William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters

On the penultimate day of Black History Month, I participated in a Black History Month Celebration at my church, St. Michael-St. Malachy.  I was asked to recite a poem.  A number of youth were present at the celebration, and even … Continue reading →

Posted in Black patriotism, Black Shadows and Through the White Looking Glass, Lest We Forget, Poetry, Religion, Slavery | Leave a comment

All Jazz is not Improvised!

Posted on February 25, 2022 by William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters

Toni Morrison is a conductor, a composer of language so melodious her prose jumps off the sheet, dances in the streets and sings to a music you feel is meant just for you.  Only one other author, James Baldwin, has … Continue reading →

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The Weary Blues Redux

Posted on February 15, 2022 by William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters

In 1926 Langston Hughes published his collection of poetry, The Weary Blues.  That same year my father was born in the segregated South.  Carl Van Vechten’s book, Nigger Heaven, was also published that year. My father was born on this … Continue reading →

Posted in James Baldwin, Lest We Forget, Poetry, Sonny's Blues | Tagged | Leave a comment

Almost Sonnets

Posted on February 9, 2022 by William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters

Today I have a bonus book recommendation.  I confess it’s a bit of self-promotion, since it is my book.  In fact, I began Black History Month by recommending my award-winning book, Black Shadows and Through the White Looking Glass: Remembrance … Continue reading →

Posted in Books & Writing Projects, Poetry | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

“Final” Touches on The Black Blood of Poetry

Posted on August 19, 2020 by William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters

Early this morning I put the “final” touches on my title poem, “The Black Blood of Poetry.” I wasn’t going to post it, but it is timely, and I’d rather not wait until the collection is published to put this … Continue reading →

Posted in Black Shadows and Through the White Looking Glass, James Baldwin, Lest We Forget, Malcolm X, Martin Luther King, Murder, Nation of Islam, Poetry, Politics & Public Affairs, raising black boys, Revolution, Sometimes Blue Knights Wear Black Hats, Sonny's Blues, Streets of Rage | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

The Black Blood of Poetry

Posted on August 17, 2020 by William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters

Over the weekend I got some good work done on my title poem, “The Black Blood of Poetry.” A little more than twenty years ago, a poet-friend, Rachel Wetzsteon, who committed suicide in December 2009, perhaps because she felt too … Continue reading →

Posted in being a teenager, Black Shadows and Through the White Looking Glass, Lest We Forget, Poetry, raising black boys, Relationships, Streets of Rage | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

“The Man Who Cried I Am!”: Celebrating Fifty Years of Life

Posted on August 6, 2020 by William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters

It seems like only yesterday when I wrote this piece as I approached a milestone birthday, but it’s been nearly ten years. As I approach another milestone birthday, I am looking to complete my fourth collection of poetry, entitled, The … Continue reading →

Posted in being a teenager, Black patriotism, Black Shadows and Through the White Looking Glass, Growing Up, juveniles, Patriotism, Poetry, raising black boys, Relationships, Sometimes Blue Knights Wear Black Hats, Streets of Rage, Urban Impact | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment