Washington – Amanda Gorman has become the youngest poet ever to perform at a presidential inauguration, calling for “unity and togetherness” in her self-penned poem.
The 22-year-old delivered her work The Hill We Climb to both the dignitaries present in Washington DC and a watching global audience.
“When day comes, we ask ourselves where can we find light in this never-ending shade?” her five-minute poem began.
She went on to reference the storming of the Capitol earlier this month.
“We’ve seen a force that would shatter our nation rather than share it, would destroy our country if it meant delaying democracy,” she declared.
“And this effort very nearly succeeded. But while democracy can be periodically delayed, it can never be permanently defeated.”
In her poem, Gorman described herself as “a skinny black girl descended from slaves and raised by a single mother [who] can dream of becoming president, only to find herself reciting for one”.
The writer and performer, who became the country’s first National Youth Poet Laureate in 2017, followed in the footsteps of such famous names as Robert Frost and Maya Angelou.
“I really wanted to use my words to be a point of unity and collaboration and togetherness,” Gorman told the BBC World Service’s Newshour programme before the ceremony.
“I think it’s about a new chapter in the United States, about the future, and doing that through the elegance and beauty of words.” (BBC)
