"mali Evans, 12, Student"

This short, simple poem follows "Clara Brown's Testimony" and describes how the young character wants to be like the elderly Mrs. Purvis when she herself is an old woman, with "her gray / Hair like a halo around her black face / She says it's her crown, her tiara." This image of the dignified queen in her kingdom is juxtaposed—or placed in such a way for the purpose of creating comparison—with the "winos" who "smile and bow / Or raise their hands in greeting." Mali, whose name recalls both the ancient African kingdom and the modern African nation, says she would like to be "an ancient lady / Tree-tough and deep-rooted / In the rich soil of my dark / Foreverness / And the only thing white I would wear / Is the crown about my / Sweet black face." Opposite the poem is a turn-of-the-century photograph of a girl, dressed all in...