The Coal Celler

Nikki Giovanni

(1943 - 2024)

The Coal Celler

Electricity was late and expensive

Coming to Appalachia

Knoxville especially so

Twice a month the coal

Man would come to fill the cellar

For warmth and sometimes food

And what I loved most was the fireplace

Where Grandmother and Grandpapa would sit

Near to tell stories but

Oak Ridge came for the war

Or maybe the war came for Oak Ridge

And atomic energy replaced coal

And the cellar became a home for mice

And maybe some insects that we never

Needed to bother since they didn’t bother us

One summer day Grandmother said

To me, “Since John Brown will be gone

For the conference why don’t we see what

Is in the cellar”

I didn’t think anything but if your grandmother

Asks you to go cellaring with her

You go

Way to the front she pulled a box out

And handed it to me

“See? I thought it would still be here”

And we climbed out and up or maybe up and out

And into the kitchen where we were both dripping

With ash

“This belongs to your great grandmother

Cornelia

The first person born free”

And there was a sterling silver dinner spoon and fork

Black as can be but properly hallmarked

“I’ll let you polish them”

Which I did though it took

Several days

To bring them to silver

I’ll bet there are many precious

Things in the cellars

Of Appalachia

The most being the trust my grandmother

Had in me to keep the silver polished

And not discussed with anyone

Maybe not a big bank account or trust fund

And certainly not any property but I inherited

A morning and a great deal of knowledge

In a cold coal cellar

With my grandmother

This is one of those poems that requires little interpretation. It needs just a careful,

patient read. The author has done her job.

This poem is full of candidates for a favorite line or two. Here's my choice:

... if your grandmother

Asks you to go cellaring with her

You go

Yours?

About the poet:

Yolande Cornelia "Nikki" Giovanni Jr. was an American poet, writer, commentator,

activist and educator. One of the world's best-known African-American poets, her work

includes poetry anthologies, poetry recordings, and nonfiction essays, and covers topics

ranging from race and social issues to children's literature.