Check out this powerful spoken word performance from Jasmine Mans of her poem “Dear FLOTUS.” The text of the poem is in the YouTube video information listing.

This poem was originally titled “Dear First Lady” and is now published as “Dear FLOTUS.” Written in honor of one of our most excellent first ladies of the US, it elucidates so much of what is powerful about having role models worthy of being looked up to. It also echoes a lot of what I was feeling and couldn’t adequately put into words for my son, who couldn’t fully grasp the enormity of what was happening, around my eyes-full-to-bursting, ear-swallowing grin the night of November 7, 2020 as I listened to Kamala Harris’ speech on the radio.

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Jasmine Mans is a Black American poet, artist from Newark, New Jersey. She graduated from the University of Wisconsin Madison, with a B.A. in African American Studies. Her debut collection of poetry, Chalk Outlines of Snow Angels, was published in 2012. Mans is the resident poet at the Newark Public Library. She was a member of The Strivers Row Collective. (This information is respectfully quoted from Ms. Mans’ website, www.jasminemans.com.)