Yesterday, When I Was Young

By Frances Winfield Miles

The collection of poems was written when the author, now a senior citizen, was a young woman. The poems are about racism, the civil rights era, sex, love, self-introspection, youthful struggles, and Black America. At once eloquent, noble, and majestic, as well as hip, sassy, and earthy, the poems embody and reveal the authors versatility in speaking and writing in many voices.

The book of poems is for everyoneevery race, class, and ageand for every mood. The poems reveal the authors ability to speak in a voice as majestic as great poets as seen in In the Garden and God Bless the Child, and as earthy as blues singers as seen in Go on, Man, and Git. The provocative poem You Will Rise One Morning gives a unique and poetic insight into the creation of Black and White youth. The eloquently sensual poem First Love is rich in language and imagery.

The author describes the early days of the silent protest of the men and women of all walks of life who marched for human rights during the civil rights era as seen in Shell Rise in Jubilee. The poem summons White America to look deeply into her soul and discover new ways of thinking about the racial issue and ways of winning this moral victory.

She writes succinctly, passionately, and profoundly in the brief messages in The Earth Stood Still, Twin Vices, The Looking Glass, and One Moment in Time.

The book describes the joys and sorrows of the universal feelings of love. She gives advice to young people in their youthful struggles for coping with life and discovering the meaning of life. This is expressed in the poems How Do You Make It? Thats Life, Problems, and You Can Do It.

In the section Just Shuckin and Jivin, the author shows her ability to get down to earth and speak in a hip and sassy voice. The author takes a satirical look at Black America through the fictional characters in the section Portraits in Black America. The characterizations are stinging, noble, witty, and humorous.

The characters in this section represent two classes: the affluent who live on Sugar Hill and the poor who live in Mud Town. On Sugar Hill, we meet the Uncle Tom college president, the pillar of society who has a romantic rendezvous with a young man soon after her beloved husband dies, the high school teacher who seduces his favorite student, the interracial couple, the honorable attorney who cant get elected to office, and the dreamer who dreamed of holding political office.

Across the way is Mud Town where we meet the maids and their white employers, some of whom are good and some bad. Theres Deacon John who lives a double lifeone holy and one sinful.

Dont forget Ms. Tittie Boo, the sexpot.

In both Sugar Hill and Mud Town, we meet characters who are honorable and dishonorablejust as it is with life. Through her poetry, the author has earned a place among the great truth-tellers of our time.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Aug 14, 2009
• ISBN: 9781465316301

Frances Winfield Miles

Frances Winfield Miles was born in Fort Worth, Texas. Throughout her school years, she was a leader and an honor student. When she graduated from high school, she was voted most versatile by her senior high classmates and was voted by the faculty to be the recipient of the Good Citizenship Award. In her freshman year in college, she was named Editor of the college’s creative writing magazine. She received the award for the Most Outstanding Freshman in English. She was the first place winner in a campus-wide poetry contest. She graduated with a degree in English.

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Copyright © 2009 by Frances Winfield Miles.

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Contents

Child of the Universe

I Dream a World

In the Garden

Born Again

Who Am I?

Lost Youth

In That Great Gettin’ Up Morning

You Will Rise One Morning

This Young Generation

She’ll Rise in Jubilee

Still Waters Run Deep

Twin Vices

Paradox of Love and Passion

Small Rewards

The Looking Glass

All God’s Children

The Earth Stood Still

One Moment in Time

On the Sublime

Soft as the Voice of an Angel

That’s the Story of Love

First Love

One Man, One Woman

I Will Follow You

Love’s Four Seasons

Sorry, Wrong Number

Only a Fool Breaks His Own Heart

Stop By and Say Hello

Sorry

Ev’rybody Wants to Know

How Do You Make It?

The Glory of Love

Children, Keep On Keepin’ On

That’s Life

Problems

You Can Do It

Gonna Bust Loose

Freedom, Oh Freedom

Just Shuckin’ and Jivin’

Hip-Swinging Gal

The Birds and the Bees

Go on, Man, and Git

Bloodline

Mama

A Child’s Gift

Snails and Puppy Dog Tails

Little Black Boy

The Warrior

Portraits in Black

Sugar Hill

Dr. Carl Griffin

Professor McCrew

Mrs. Carrie Yerwood

Greg

Dedicated Donna

The In-Crowd

Virginia

Melancholy Poly

Emma and Carl

The Crosbys

Attorney Higgsby

Tom and Mary

Frank Jones

The Dreamer

Sylvia

Mud Town

Mattie Grace

Jimbo

Ed

Deacon John

Brother Watson and Sister Katy

Jim and Betty Lu

Ms. Tittie Boo

Sister Sallie Lou

Rev. West

Son of a Preacher Man

Nellie Greene

Jed Crater

Stella Johnson

Millie Pearl

Child of the Universe

I Dream a World

When life around me crumbles

And plans just fall apart

When love begins to tumble

And pain is in my heart,

Gotta find some way to carry it.

Gotta find some way to bear with it.

Gotta build all the force I can

’Cause tomorrow it all starts again.

That’s why—

I dream a world that I can live in.

I dream a world where love abides.

I dream a world where hope’s within

And dreams sail above the tides.

At the end of each day that’s weary,

At the end of each day