Tidewater (geographic term)
Overview
 
Tidewater is a geographic area of southeast Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...

 and northeastern North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...

 that is considered a part of the Coastal Plain
Atlantic Coastal Plain
The Atlantic coastal plain has both low elevation and low relief, but it is also a relatively flat landform extending from the New York Bight southward to a Georgia/Florida section of the Eastern Continental Divide, which demarcates the plain from the ACF River Basin in the Gulf Coastal Plain to...

. Portions of Maryland
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...

 facing the Chesapeake Bay
Chesapeake Bay
The Chesapeake Bay is the largest estuary in the United States. It lies off the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by Maryland and Virginia. The Chesapeake Bay's drainage basin covers in the District of Columbia and parts of six states: New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and West...

 are also given this designation. The area gains its name because of the effect the area has from the changing tides of local rivers, sounds, and the ocean
Ocean
An ocean is a major body of saline water, and a principal component of the hydrosphere. Approximately 71% of the Earth's surface is covered by ocean, a continuous body of water that is customarily divided into several principal oceans and smaller seas.More than half of this area is over 3,000...

. The area is generally flat and low and composed of tidal marsh
Tidal marsh
A tidal marsh is a type of marsh that is found along coasts and estuaries of which the flooding characteristics are determined by the tidal movement of the adjacent estuary, sea or ocean . According to the salinity of the flooding water, freshwater, brackish and saline tidal marshes are...

 and large expanses of swamp
Swamp
A swamp is a wetland with some flooding of large areas of land by shallow bodies of water. A swamp generally has a large number of hammocks, or dry-land protrusions, covered by aquatic vegetation, or vegetation that tolerates periodical inundation. The two main types of swamp are "true" or swamp...

. Much of the area is covered with poquoson
Poquoson (geographic term)
Poquoson are thick peat-filled swamps found in southeastern Virginia and North Carolina. They are found in the tidewater area of the coastal plain. The poquoson usually has a variety of flora and fauna including bay trees, tupelo trees, cypress and pine. Black bears can be found in some poquosons...

 and the higher areas are used for agricultural farmlands.
Quotations

I, too, sing America. I am the darker brother. They send me to eat in the kitchen When company comes, But I laugh, And eat well, And grow strong.

"I, Too, Sing America," in the magazine Survey Graphic (March 1925); reprinted in Selected Poems (1959)

They'll see how beautiful I am And be ashamed — I, too, am America.

"I, Too, Sing America," in the magazine Survey Graphic (March 1925); reprinted in Selected Poems (1959)

The night is beautiful,So are the faces of my people.

"My People," in the magazine Poems in Crisis (October 1923); reprinted in The Weary Blues (1926)

I've known rivers: I've known rivers ancient as the world and older than the flow of human blood in human veins. My soul has grown deep like the rivers.

"The Negro Speaks of Rivers," from The Weary Blues (1926)

I've known rivers: Ancient, dusky rivers. My soul has grown deep like the rivers.

"The Negro Speaks of Rivers," from The Weary Blues (1926)

The stars went out and so did the moon.The singer stopped playing and went to bedWhile the Weary Blues echoed through his head.He slept like a rock or a man that's dead.

"The Weary Blues," from The Weary Blues (1926)

Way Down South in Dixie(Break the heart of me)They hung my black young loverTo a cross roads tree.

"Song for a Dark Girl" (l. 1-4), from Fine Clothes to the Jew (1927)

Love is a naked shadowOn a gnarled and naked tree.

Song for a Dark Girl (l. 11-12), from Fine Clothes to the Jew (1927)

While over Alabama earthThese words are gently spoken:Serve — and hate will die unborn.Love — and chains are broken.

"Alabama Earth (at Booker Washington's grave)," from the anthology Golden Slippers: An Anthology of Negro Poetry for Young Readers (1941), ed. Arna Bontemps

Hold fast to dreamsFor if dreams dieLife is a broken-winged birdThat cannot fly.

"Dreams," from the anthology Golden Slippers: An Anthology of Negro Poetry for Young Readers, ed. Arna Bontemps (1941)

 
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