August 24, 2006: Knoxville, Tennessee

I love this poem by Nikki Giovanni. It's such a simple slice of life. I discovered it years ago in the form of a children's book. Today Laurel read to a resident at a local senior's assisted living facility, and I was so touched to see that she'd picked out this poem to read. I hadn't read it to her in years; it was just in one of her poetry books. Knoxville, Tennessee

I always like summer Best you can eat fresh corn From daddy's garden And okra And greens And cabbage And lots of Barbeque And buttermilk And homemade ice-cream At the church picnic And listen to Gospel music Outside At the church Homecoming And go to the mountains with Your grandmother And go barefooted And be warm All the time Not only when you go to bed And sleep Nikki Giovanni