If you're in the market for a hero, we've got someone for you. Nikki Giovanni: celebrated poet, activist for civil rights and equality, Virginia Tech professor, strong voice for the black community, and yes, recording artist. She's got a smooth voice, 25 honorary degrees, and a "Thug Life" tattoo on her forearm. And if you make it all the way through high school or college without reading her most anthologized poem "Nikki Rosa," something has gone terribly, horribly wrong.

But even a giant of contemporary poetry had to start somewhere, and we get to see one such moment in "A Poem for My Librarian, Mrs. Long," published in Giovanni's 2007 collection Acolytes. Giovanni spent happy summers with her grandparents in Knoxville, Tennessee as a child (she also attended high school there), which included formative experiences like listening to jazz in the evenings, visiting good-smelling book shops in the middle of town, and satisfying her intellectual curiosity by visiting the neighborhood library.

Giovanni wants us to understand that all of the good stuff in her life—the poetry, activism, popularity, and praise—happened because there were people who made a difference in her life. Mrs. Long is not just a civil servant doing her job; she's a woman reaching out to another (young) woman at a crucial moment. She gives Giovanni a precious gift: the resources to explore the beautiful world of ideas.

More importantly, Mrs. Long gives her the space to do so without interference from the hostility of racial intolerance. Along with Giovanni's grandmother, people like Mrs. Long made life beautiful for her. And that's a great place to begin a life of poetry.

This poem may strike you as a pleasant memory and nothing more. But don't forget who's speaking here. This is Nikki Giovanni, the poet who gave a voice to the African-American experience at time of great social upheaval—the late '60s and '70s—and who continues to do so to this day.

While the poem praises Mrs. Long and shows how Giovanni had a happy childhood, it also highlights how much effort it took for ordinary things to happen. By choosing an everyday task (borrowing books) and setting (a public library), the poet illustrates how race complicates the most innocent activities of her childhood.

The kind of silent courage shown by Mrs. Long demonstrates that small actions make a lasting impact—even if it is only on the life of one small girl. (It's a bonus that the small girl grew up to be a mighty poet.)

This little poem is important, too, because it is a memory. It's set in a time and place that became crucial for the development of race relations in America. It also shows how life was made beautiful and promising for one young girl with an eager mind. Despite the hatred imagined at the mid-point of the poem, Giovanni leaves us with a revolutionary idea: that the kindness and empathy of one person can open the door to a life of wonder and life-giving transformation for others. And that, Shmoopers, gives you a powerful reason to care about this poem.