Effie Lee Newsome (1885–1979)
Exodus
Rank fennel and broom
Grow wanly beside
The cottage and room
We once occupied,
But sold for the snows!
The dahoon berry weeps in blood,
I know,
Watched by the crow--
I've seen both grow
In those weird wastes of Dixie!
Effie Lee Newsome (1885–1979) was a leading Harlem Renaissance poet who published poems and essays in The Crisis and other leading journals of the era. Much of her poetry was written and published for children. This poem was published in The Crisis in 1925 reflecting on The Great Migration.
Selected by Amy Frykholm: amy@journeywithjesus.net
