Poems & Readings

On April 22, 2022, Knoxville Poet Laureate Rhea Carmon and Knoxville Youth Poet Laureate Melody Dalili shared their poem at Mayor Kincannon's State of the City address.

State of the City

Standing in the place where empathy learned to serve humanity
We state that our city has stood for our city despite its unsteady states
Tirelessly carrying the burden of necessities’ work
A game of tug of war, players fighting, 
Bargaining, 
Desperately grappling for their own desires
Only to find ourselves together
Making the choice to use this special rope for good
To make indestructible the bond from neighbor to neighbor
Ninety-two years in the making, a woven basket holding the fruits of the city
A harvest serving the citizens
With community as the master,
Working to create space for history to become the home of leaders
Who dedicate their lives to sacrifice;

Click here to view entire poem

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Stand Together

By Rhea Carmon
April 2021

We are Knoxville
Beautiful in our differences
Separate from the rest of the world
We can create our own definition of greatness
Uniting neighborhoods and communities
Teaching the world of reconciliation
If we allow ourselves to see humanity before separations
We will always see a way to connect
The only way to make it through is to find unity
Work together to create safety
And a place that we can openly share our emotions
The future can be bright if we face it together
Respond with love 
And emerge better than we are today

We are Knoxville
Rising into the the potential of a template
We have what it takes to make a difference
If we pull the puzzle pieces together
We can build the picture of a city
Working to make sense of trauma
Changing to ensure each person feels value
Finding strength in our young people
And power in our history
There is nothing we cannot overcome
Thriving and creating our own story
We laugh together
We cry together
We stand together
And make our city great!

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Rhea Carmon shares new poetry every Sunday. This poem was shared on October 18, 2020.

Conversations

Click here to watch Rhea present Conversations in video on her Facebook account.

Rhea Carmon shares new poetry every Sunday. This poem was shared on October 18, 2020.

Conversations
by Rhea Carmon

Let me learn your walk, your talk
Your way of thinking
Though different from mine
Let me consider changing 
Let me decide that I love you
Let me not change 
And you still know that I care for you
Let us balance each other into the people that we want be
As we share words and conversations
Of greatness trapped and circulating between us
Let us create poetry in these moments of forever growth
Water my soul with your openness
Fertilize my mind with the richness of you life
Let me be the sunshine
To harvest beauty in the diversity
Open your voice that I may hear your words
Let them slide into the canals of my ear
Provide some clarity of how I should think of you
Let your words and passion 
Teach a new way to journey to love
Let love for humanity win
Let my heart be shown in my silence
Or my voice
Let you see me, for the person that I am
Let me see you, for who you are
Let us walk together
Let us join together
Let us change a world that wants to keep us separate
As we find the way to communicate 
Let us see life in the eyes of one another
And choose to keep looking for it
Let us look for love rather than understanding
Let us be broken together, human
Let us experience utopia when we share
Come and talk with me
Teach me your walk, teach me your talk
Teach me you 
And I will teach you, me!

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Clothe Yourself with a Vote is an expression for the city to get out and vote. Poem shared on October 14, 2020. 

Clothe Yourself With A Vote



Clothe yourself in your rights
Express the identity fought for by ancestors
To create a place where you could
Choose to speak
Choose to write
Show who you are
By making the decision to vote
Cast your opinion into the ocean of America
Let the independence of the moment
Create pride in yourself
And pride in your choice
No matter what it is
It's yours, its your voice 
Your right to express yourself
Color this world the way you see fit
Create art in your moment
Be the change you want to see in the world
You can be a catalyst 
To spark the reaction necessary 
To ignite the future
Break down barriers
Speak out against the issues
Make a world for the next generation to take
It’s not enough to make a meme
Share a post
Or Create a quote
You have the opportunity to post 
On a nationwide level 
Where are we headed
On this ship called My Country Tis of Thee?
We must fight for the liberty
Before we sink
Now is the time to speak clearly silently
No marching or signs
No rioting
Just flooding the polls with votes
Walk it in, mail it in
Do it early or on November 3 
Make it happen in 2020
Present or absentee
Take control of our future
Express the identity fought for by our ancestors
To create a place where you must
Choose to speak
Choose to write
Choose to vote

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In "Home is Knoxville," RheaSunshine exalts the beauty found in our city and reminds us to experience nature as a balm during complicated times. Poem shared on October 5, 2020.

Home is Knoxville




Waking up to hard times on the horizon
Looking for glory in the skies of home
There is no doubt that life is different
We once found peace in connection but now where do we look
When smiles are covered and only our eyes can tell our stories
We must take it one step at a time
Little by little
Finding solace in the pathways through the dogwoods
Don’t think about what will come next
Just put one foot in front of the other to find beauty at every fork in the river
Look to the trees for understanding
Take a walk and stretch your mind
Visit the nature center and let it speak to you of timeless change
Find a creek and sit to write a letter to home
The place we all protect by finding love for her high grounds
Acceptance that although she is changing
We will promise to always see her best parts
Cherish our moments in her heart
Home is more than a place to settle
It is a feeling
A taste
A smell
Warmth that cannot be explained
Home is in the reflection off of the sunsphere
Walking hand in hand at Volunteer landing
It is seeing the smile in somebody’s eyes
And knowing that you are not alone
Home is Knoxville
And we will always find her
In the sound of the cicadas in the trees
World’s Fair Park and trips to the quarry
There is perfection in her ability to always hold us close
So we celebrate home and cherish every amenity
Walking safely together and finding new reasons to love
Home.