1. Ego Tripping (there may be a reason why) Diana Santiago Jessica Torres Kelly De Leon Samerra Green Cameron Bonitto

2.  Nikki Giovanni was born on June 7, 1943 as Yolanda Cornelia Giovanni. She was born in Knoxville Tennessee and grew up in Lincoln Heights. Nikki grew up with both her parents and sister  Nikki doesn't really believe that someone could inspire someone else to write poetry but she knows that in some way her grandmother had a part in her for making poetry.  After graduating from Austin High School she attended Fisk University where she got in with early acceptance. In 1967 Nikki graduated Fisk university with a bachelors degree arts.  After graduating from Fisk university, Nikki began to attend the University of Pennsylvania and Colombia University.

3.  Nikki as well organized The Black Art Festival in Cincinnati after she graduated from Frisk University. In 1968 Nikki's first book Black Feeling, Black Talk which included many poems that reflected on an African American identity as well as her book Black Judgement which was published in 1969. She began to build poems from assassinations of Martin Luther king JR., Malcolm X, Medgar Evers, and Robert Kennedy. Through her poems she wanted to raise awareness of plight and rights that African Americans have.Through her messages sent through her poetry and books Nikki became very successful and inspiring to others . As time passed and more of her poems became published she began to be called "Princess of black poetry", "National treasure", and one of Oprah's twenty five "Living Legends".

4.  During the 1980s Nikki still published many poems and spent most of her time touring to attend speaking engagements. She began to teach at College amount. St. Joseph and Virginia Tech. university where she still teaches now. Many awards that Nikki has received was in 1973 from the Women of the Year award, 1996 from the Langston Hughes award for. Distinguished contributions to Arts and letters, and in 1998 she was awarded three NAACP image Awards for literature. Throughout the years she made many television appearances, was given more than twenty honorary degrees from national colleges and universities, and was given keys to more than dozen cities. (New York, Los Angeles, Dallas, Miami, New Orleans, etc.)

5.  Free verse  No rhyme scheme  nine stanzas  51 lines

6.  EN(ENJAMBMENT) I was born in the congo I walked to the fertile crescent and built EN the sphinx I designed a pyramid so tough that a star EN that only glows every one hundred years falls EN into the center giving divine perfect light I am bad  Congo- republic in central Africa  origin of speaker  Fertile crescent (a crescent shaped region containing moist and fertile land. Middle East where civilizations began)  “fertile crescent and built a sphinx”  Imagery  Sphinx- hairless cat with large ears often used as an Egyptian symbol to represent the pharaoh  “I designed a star so tough”   Galaxy, Milky way, super nova stars explodes every 100 years and appears a very bright star  Hyperbole  “I am so bad”  Litote (1970s slang for “I am awesome”)

7.  I sat on the throne EN drinking nectar with allah I got hot and sent an ice age to europe EN to cool my thirst My oldest daughter is nefertiti EN the tears from my birth pains EN created the nile I am a beautiful woman  ‘Throne’  Religious allusion  Sat next to him not below him she is equal to Allah(God)  “allah”  (God)  Nefertiti  (Egyptian Queen known for her religious revolution for only worshipping one God) elegant beauty  “Birth Pains”  Mother Earth  Supernatural  Hyperbole   “birth pains created the nile”  Nile River  extraordinary civilization in history, the longest river in the world  4,000 miles In length  "The tears from my birth pain created the nile" creator of life black females are powerful

8.  I gazed on the forest and burned EN out the sahara desert EN with a packet of goat's meat EN and a change of clothes I crossed it in two hours I am a gazelle so swift EN so swift you can't catch me  Gaze is powerful  Sahara desert  largest desert in the world- 3,000 miles  Goat’s meat she escapes those who see her as prey  “I crossed it in two hours”  the strength and power of an airplane, an airplane takes more time  Litote  “so swift you can’t catch me”  Gazelle  small antelope in Africa, fastest animal in the world, herbivore

9. For a birthday present when he was three I gave my son hannibal an elephant He gave me rome for mother's day My strength flows ever on  "He gave me rome for Mother's Day “  metaphor to the Second Punic War  He didn’t acquire Rome so he didn’t really giver her it’s just a part of her imagination but she is still proud and strong  Hannibal  War between the Roman Republic and the Punic Empire leader's son Hannibal acquired new base in Spain were they would renew war against Rome they used elephants in the march to war  Fought against Rome, enemy  The goddess power isn’t diminished

10. My son noah built new/ark and I stood proudly at the helm EN as we sailed on a soft summer day I turned myself into myself and was EN jesus EN men intone my loving name EN All praises All praises I am the one who would save  Noah  God saves Noah and his family as well as animals from the flood, God gives instructions to built the ark  The first black mayor elected, the city of Newark was called New Ark in the black community  New/ark  Caesura  Helm- A circular wheel used to steer a ship  Repetition  "All praises All praises "  Biblical reference  “jesus”  She finds herself and turned herself into a new woman she has found a new closeness within Herself and has been forgiven for her sins and has become a better person  she was Jesus and she is the one who would save other people

11.  I sowed diamonds in my back yard My bowels deliver uranium EN the filings from my fingernails are EN semi-precious jewels EN On a trip north I caught a cold and blew My nose giving oil to the arab world  "I sowed diamonds in my backyard " She is stating that she grows precious food in her backyard such as strawberries Semi-precious  Semi(“half”) precious  Caesura  The most disposable parts of your body are useful to create products to the world

12.  I am so hip even my errors are correct I sailed west to reach east and had to round off EN the earth as I went   The hair from my head thinned and gold was laid EN across three continents  I am so perfect so divine so ethereal so surreal I cannot be comprehended except by my permission  I mean...I...can fly like a bird in the sky...  Simile  “I mean.... I.... can fly /like a bird in the sky”   she doubts that she can fly but then she is confident that she can fly and soar like a bird  couplet rhymes "fly" and "sky“  Ethereal: light, airy, delicate  Last lines have “…I…” and sky…”emphasis  caesuras

13.  Walked, built, designed, tough, glows, falls, divine, perfect, cool, tears, pains, created, beautiful, gazed, burned, crossed, swift, gave, flows, built, proudly sailed, save, sowed, deliver, uranium, hip, errors, correct, reach, thinned, ethereal, surreal, permission, fly  The tone is empowerment towards women and the black community

14.  The poem represents and tells the strength of equality  It's calling for blacks to rise up to power  A motivation for blacks to have pride in themselves and in their hearts even if the odds are against their favor  The poem is themed around equality and Mother Earth  At the end of each stanza Nikki Giovanni has to remind herself the strength and power she has in herself

15.  She explained how she has suffered from her experiences but they are worth it because she has created and made things beautiful and she has risen her ego over that of everybody else's.