Praise Song for the Day by Elizabeth Alexander

Elizabeth Alexander’s careful, precise poetry and her awareness of history, especially African American history, as well as her personal friendship with the Obamas, made her a natural choice as President Obama’s inaugural poet. Alexander became only the fourth poet ever asked to read at a presidential inauguration, and her poem, “Praise Song for the Day” was heard and watched by billions worldwide. Based on traditional African praise songs, which commemorate the life of an individual in an incantatory call-and-response, Alexander’s poem focused less on President Obama and more on ordinary Americans, attempting to describe the details, languages and encounters that shape their lives. Alexander gestured toward the history of the Civil Rights Movement and its importance to the occasion—“Say it plain, that many have died for this day”—but also attempted to summarize a national journey. The poem helped make Alexander one of the most publically-known and respected poets writing today.

Following the form and purpose of Alexander, compose a praise poem.