Amanda Takes the Stage
Happy National Poetry Month, everyone. In honor of this celebration of the craft, I present a poem I wrote in 2021, then revised and published in 2023. A poem about a poet! A panegyric. Perhaps a poem about a poem and a poet and a moment. Apropos, I think.
Today (April 12, 2026), I had the honor of sharing "Amanda Takes the Stage" at Page158 in Wake Forest, North Carolina, joined by other area poets in celebration of the day.
Amanda Takes the Stage
She arrives resplendent.
Her coat a radiant yellow,
a beacon of light promising solace after a time of darkness and sorrow.
Her hair, a tower of braids bound by a bold band of red,
a conduit for youthful energy linking the heavens to the Earth.
Amanda takes the stage.
A waif of a girl, yet intimidating,
imposing but for eyes radiating intelligence and kindness.
Quietly, she inhales.
We wait—our breath bated.
She speaks.
Her words flow with a subtle rhythm,
like a warm breeze meandering between the trees.
She speaks of danger,
but dangers averted.
She speaks of failure,
but failures acknowledged, illuminating a new path forward.
She speaks of division,
but divisions reparable.
She speaks of despair,
but despair relegated to a dark corner by a floodlight of hope.
With these words,
she lifts a nation reeling from years of lost optimism.
With these words,
this cynic . . .
believes her.
—
On January 20, 2021, Amanda Gorman lit up the nation with her spoken-word poem, "The Hill We Climb," written and recited for the inauguration of the 46th president of the United States, Joe Biden (Washington, DC). Let's get that hope back, folks. This cynic still believes her.
Copyright © 2021 Todd Warner
Published April 12, 2026 / Updated April 13, 2026
Photo credit: Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from Washington D.C, United States, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Cropping and effects by Todd Warner via GIMP.
