The Mad Poet of the Year blog posts share the poetry of a long-time Mad Poet. This year-long appointment provides readers with a deep dive of the writer’s work and thoughts on poetry. We are thrilled to have Tonita Austin (aka Toni Love) serve as the Mad Poet of the Year for 2023.
The Colored Leaves (from 1974)
by Tonita Austin aka Toni Love
The colored leaves so bright and pretty
falling on the ground, oh what a pity
leaves of beauty like a colored carpet
an orange bonfire or a golden trumpet
But when Jack Frost comes and paints like an artist
The colored leaves are buried all tight
Like a frosted winter blanket at night
I always think of this poem when September rolls around; it makes me think of those first days of school and also signals the proximity of the fall season. I decided to choose it as my poem for September because it was the very first poem that I ever wrote, and I recently found the typewritten original in my basement. I was in third grade and it was the first time I learned about poetry. I decided to write about the change of the season and for some reason my teacher thought it was exceptional and I ended up reading it at some poetry contest at school. I don't recall if I won but it has stuck with me since third grade and I can still recite it from memory today, decades later!
Tonita Austin also known as “Toni Love” is a gifted poet, singer, activist, and writer born in West Philadelphia. While attending Columbia University, Tonita was a student of Amiri Baraka and performed in Ntozake Shange’s “For Colored Girls” as the Lady in Orange. Her writing is influenced by both experiences. She is a contributor to the anthology The Black Body and featured poet in the 2018 and 2020 Winter/Fall edition of the Philadelphia Arts and Urban Literary magazine. The Restoration EP is her first published recording; Toni’s Room is her first published book. Toni currently resides in Media, PA. For more info, visit www.tonitalove.com and https://tonilove.hearnow.com/.