by Sarah Kay
Give it to the sirens’ scream, the flashing lights.
Let them use the hunger as an engine,
let them use the womb to nurse a tiny tulip to this earth.
Let it be a home for a mouse to crawl inside of.
Let winter not find its way here.
Return this last place to the swift birds,
let them finally find a place to pause,
a nest in which to keep each other warm.
NOTES
LOVE POEM #137 “too many commas” is a phrase from playwright Will Eno. In fact, a few chunks of this poem were inspired by him. The original context is a monologue from his play “Thom Pain” which goes, “He did not love too much, nor too well, but with too much sweat, shit, and fear, with too many long words, too many commas.”
SUBWAY Disclaimer: I have no idea if this actually works. I do know that at the subway station at 96th and Broadway, you can look up and see the street above you. I always wondered if this would be dangerous in the rain. Maybe they have some sort of mechanism that catches the rain before it slips down to the trains. But maybe not. This poem was written in November 2004.
THE OAK TREE SPEAKS The original ad for Manhattan Mini Storage reads: “Raising a baby in an NYC apartment is like growing an oak tree in a thimble.”
THE TOOTHBRUSH TO THE BICYCLE TIRE This poem was written in November 2009.
MONTAUK The line, “There are places where fishnets do not mean stockings,” is actually from an old real estate ad for Keeshan Real Estate. I think the original ad said, “Montauk: Where fishnets aren’t stockings.” I believe this poem was written in September 2010.
BROTHER I believe this poem was written sometime in the spring of 2009.
HANDS This is the original version of this poem. The version that most folks are familiar with is the one that aired on Russell Simmons Presents Def Poetry Jam on HBO, but that was edited for time. The first version of this poem was created in December 2004.
JELLYFISH This poem was written and first performed in 2006.
THE LADDER This poem was first shared in an interview with Cristin O’Keefe Aptowicz for her “Live from the Amy Clampitt House” series on the IndieFeed Performance Poetry podcast in August 2013.
BRICKLAYER This poem was written in April 2009.
FOREST FIRES This poem was written in September 2009.
HAND-ME-DOWNS This poem was first performed in November 2007 at SkinText:Brown University’s WORD! poetry show.
SHOSHOLOZA I wrote this poem after visiting the District Six Museum in Cape Town, South Africa. I learned about the story of Noor Ebrahim and his pigeons from a photograph in the museum, and I added details. Every proper noun I use in this poem is taken directly from information and exhibits in the museum (the names of streets, stores, etc.) The way I’ve spelled the lyrics is merely a rough transliteration. This poem was originally written in December 2006 and was first performed at the Bowery Poetry Club for Beau Sia’s Incantations Show in January 2007.
INDIA TRIO This poem was written in July 2010 during my second trip to India. I was working on two documentary projects via an AT&T New Media Fellowship through the Watson Institute for International Studies at Brown University. I was living with Maggie Sarin and her family and was also hosted by Arati Kaul and the Pragati School.
PAWS This poem is inspired by Cristin O’Keefe Aptowicz’s poem “Hound.”
SCISSORS This poem was inspired by a Facebook status posted by my friend, rapper Black Cracker.
HIROSHIMA This poem was written after a trip to Japan with my cousins in June 2006. The objects that I mention (“a wristwatch, a diary page, the mudflap from a bicycle”) are all actual objects on display at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Exhibit. I performed this poem on the semi-final stage at the National Poetry Slam in Austin, Texas in August 2006, thanks to my generous teammates on the NYC Urbana Poetry Slam team: Jeanann Verlee, Jamie Kilstein, and Akua Doku. (Plus our coach Shappy Seasholtz.)
EXTENDED DEVELOPMENT This poem was originally written for the Providence, RI chapter of The Encyclopedia Show, “Volume 3: The Visual Spectrum of Color.” The original Encyclopedia Show format was founded in Chicago by Robbie Q. Telfer and Shanny Jean Maney. For the show I participated in, I was given my assignment by Megan Thoma to write a poem about “Colorfulness, Chroma, Saturation.” This poem was first performed in November 2010.
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS, IN NO PARTICULAR ORDER I found a list of writing prompts from The Journal Newsletter by Susan Michael and David Michael that included the prompt, “write a series of questions and answers to compose a poem.”
LOOSE THREADS This poem was originally written in December 2005.
PRIVATE PARTS This poem was written and first performed in April 2009.
B This poem was first written in May 2007. It was performed quite a few times, but is most well known for the performance I gave as the opening of my TEDTalk in February 2011. It was then published as a hardcover book by The Domino Project and illustrated by Sophia Janowitz in November 2011. The line, “There’ll be days like this, my mama said,” is from the song “Mama Said” by Luther Dixon and Willie Denson, made famous by The Shirelles in 1961.
COREY’S TURN This poem was written during my time as the Serenbe Artist in Residency in October 2013.
AND FOUND This poem was originally written in May 2007.
PEACOCKS I wrote this poem after I returned from my first trip to India in 2008. The trip was thanks to Brown University’s chapter of the Students of the World organization and the Lighting a Billion Lives campaign run by The Energy and Resources Institute in New Delhi.
ON THE DISCOMFORT OF BEING IN THE SAME ROOM AS THE BOY YOU LIKE This poem was written in April 2009.
GHOST SHIP The song I refer to is “The Ghost Ship” from Don Besig and Nancy Price’s “Reflections of a Lad at Sea.” That is also where the line, “And the cold wind blew,” is from. The shipwreck cited in this poem is the “Plassy,” located on Inis Oírr of the Aran Islands.
LIGHTNING This poem was written in April 2009. The introductory paragraph is based on information from A Lover of Unreason: The Life and Tragic Death of Assia Wevill by Yehuda Koren and Eilat Negev.
THE TYPE The line, “Everyone needs a place. It shouldn’t be inside of someone else,” is from Richard Siken’s poem “Detail of the Woods.” This poem was first performed in Jacqueline Novogratz’s living room and later thoroughly workshopped by the women of the Pink Door Poetry Summit hosted by Rachel McKibbens.
ASTRONAUT This poem was first written in April 2009. When I perform this poem, I begin by singing the nursery rhyme. The words are from my childhood, but the melody is one I made up.
THE PARADOX The earliest form of this poem was written in April 2009.
IN THE EVENT OF AN EMERGENCY This poem was also prompted by Susan Michael and David Michael’s list of writing prompts.
Several illustrations in this book are drawn after images from the 1851 edition of The Iconographic Encyclopedia of Science, Literature and Art as reprinted in The Complete Encyclopedia of Illustration by J. G. Heck (1979).
CREDITS
Thanks to the following publications and journals, in which some of these poems first appeared in slightly different forms:
The Bakery, “Private Parts”
Damselfly Press, “Witness”
decomP, “Lightning”
Foundling Review, “New York, June 2009”
The Huffington Post, “The Type”
Jewels of Elul, “Poppy”
La.Lit Magazine, “Jellyfish,” “Paws,” “Forest Fires,” “Winter Without You”
The Legendary, “Hands,” “The Discomfort of Being in the Same Room as the Boy You Like,” “Slivers,” “Montauk”
Literary Bohemian, “Peacocks” (excerpt)
Pear Noir!, “India Trio”
Thrush Poetry Journal, “The Oak Tree Speaks”
Treehouse Magazine, “Yolk”
Union Station, “Forest Fires”
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Thanks also to the following print and audio anthologies, in which some of these poems have also appeared:
Alight: An Ebook of the Best Loved Poems from the 2013 Women of the World Poetry Slam, “The Type”
Chorus: A Literary Mixtape, “India Trio”
Courage: Daring Poems for Gutsy Girls, “Forest Fires,” “Private Parts”
IndieFeed Performance Poetry podcast, “B,” “Peacocks,” “Hand-Me-Downs,” “Brother,” “Private Parts,” “The Ladder”
Finally, many thanks to Seth Godin and The Domino Project, who published the poem “B” as a hardcover book in 2011.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This book exists thanks to the endless patience and hard work of Sophia Janowitz, Cristin O’Keefe Aptowicz, Jan Kawamura-Kay, Philip McCaffrey, Alex Kryger, Laura Lamb Brown-Lavoie, Derrick Brown, Anis Mojgani, the Serenbe Artists in Residency Program, and the editors and team at Write Bloody Publishing.
These poems exist thanks to the support and mentorship of the NYC Urbana Poetry Slam, the Bowery Poetry Club, all the poets of the New York City poetry community (but especially Taylor Mali, Cristin O’Keefe Aptowicz, Jeanann Verlee, and Rives), Frank Banton, Maureen Overall, Richard Kutner, Sheila Desmond, Providence poets (especially Franny Choi and Laura Lamb Brown- Lavoie), and the Pink Door Poetry Retreat.
These illustrations exist thanks to the insight and generosity of Sarah Wainwright, Joel Janowitz, Anne Lilly, Mark Ostow, Jan Kawamura-Kay, Jeffrey Kay, Marianna Pease, Andrew Bellisari, Marissa Grunes, Gloria O’Leary, Peter Tagiuri, and Mandy, Terry, Marina, and Rebecca Hopkins.
These adventures exist thanks to the guidance and encouragement of Project VOICE, Jeffrey Kay and the speakeasynyc YouTube channel, the TED community, Jacqueline Novogratz, Kelly Stoetzel, Chris Anderson, Seth Godin, Red Maxwell, Jean Oelwang, Anthony Veneziale, Carlos Andrés Gómez, Beau Sia, Rostam Afshinnekoo, Thomas Siefring, Lea Rangel-Ribeiro, Victor Ribeiro, the AT&T New Media Fellowship, Maggie Sarin, Arati Kaul, the Word Warriors of Kathmandu, the READ book group, the United Nations International School, Church Street School for Music and Art, and my students (at Hope, Classical, and all the other schools that I love).
This dream exists thanks to the faith and love of family (Kawamuras, Kays, Suzukis, Wainwrights, Janowitzs, Ferril-McCaffreys, Hsia- Schonzeits, Carson-Mordetskys), and friends (Sophia Janowitz, James Schonzeit, Tim Adams, Caroline Kissane, Tatiana Gellein, Phil Kaye, Emily Borromeo, Kayla Ringelheim, Alex Kryger, and all the Higher Keys).
This girl exists entirely because of Mom, Pop, and PK. Genji, June, Stewart, and Sylvia. And Lion and Blankie.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Sarah Kay is a poet from New York City who was born in 1988. She has been performing spoken word poetry since she was fourteen years old. She was a featured poet on HBO’s Russell Simmons Presents Def Poetry Jam in 2006, and that year she was also the youngest poet to compete in the National Poetry Slam. Since then, Sarah has shared her poetry on six of the seven continents and is currently yearning for Antarctica. She is perhaps best known for her talk at the 2011 TED conference, which garnered two standing ovations. Sarah holds a Masters Degree in The Art of Teaching from Brown University and an Honorary Doctorate in Humane Letters from Grinnell College. Her first book, B, was also illustrated by Sophia Janowitz and was ranked #1 Poetry Book on Amazon. Sarah is the founder of Project VOICE, an organization that uses spoken word poetry to encourage people to engage in creative self-expression in schools and communities around the world. She spends a lot of her time with a blanket and a stuffed animal lion. For more, see: kaysarahsera.com
ABOUT THE ILLUSTRATOR
Sophia Janowitz has created chickens out of bathmats and rubber gloves for the New York Philharmonic at Lincoln Center, chocolate buttons for a pop-up store in Boston, a poster for a musical premiering at the Jewish Refugees Museum in Shanghai, and a cardboard levitating house for a play premiering in New York City. She currently assists an editorial portrait photographer, tutors math, and draws every day. Some of her work can be seen at sophiajanowitz.com
IF YOU LIKE SARAH KAY, SARAH KAY LIKES…
The Year of No Mistakes
Cristin O’Keefe Aptowicz
Racing Hummingbirds
Jeanann Verlee
Songs From Under the River
Anis Mojgani
Floating, Brilliant, Gone
Franny Choi
Ceremony for the Choking Ghost
Karen Finneyfrock
The Last Time as We Are
Taylor Mali
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WRITE BLOODY BOOKS
After the Witch Hunt — Megan Falley
Aim for the Head, Zombie Anthology — Rob Sturma, Editor
Amulet — Jason Bayani
Any Psalm You Want — Khary Jackson
Birthday Girl with Possum — Brendan Constantine
The Bones Below — Sierra DeMulder
Born in the Year of the Butterfly Knife — Derrick C. Brown
Bring Down the Chandeliers — Tara Hardy
Ceremony for the Choking Ghost — Karen Finneyfrock
Courage: Daring Poems for Gutsy Girls — Karen Finneyfrock, Mindy Nettifee & Rachel McKibbens, Editors
Dear Future Boyfriend — Cristin O’Keefe Aptowicz
Dive: The Life and Fight of Reba Tutt — Hannah Safren
Drunks and Other Poems of Recovery — Jack McCarthy
The Elephant Engine High Dive Revival anthology
Everything Is Everything — Cristin O’Keefe Aptowicz
The Feather Room — Anis Mojgani
Gentleman Practice — Buddy Wakefield
Glitter in the Blood: A Guide to Braver Writing — Mindy Nettifee
Good Grief — Stevie Edwards
The Good Things About America — Derrick Brown and Kevin Staniec, Editors
Hot Teen Slut — Cristin O’Keefe Aptowicz
I Love Science! — Shanny Jean Maney
I Love You is Back — Derrick C. Brown
The Importance of Being Ernest — Ernest Cline
In Search of Midnight — Mike McGee
The Incredible Sestina Anthology — Daniel Nester, Editor
Junkyard Ghost Revival anthology
Kissing Oscar Wilde — Jade Sylvan
The Last Time as We Are — Taylor Mali
Learn Then Burn — Tim Stafford and Derrick C. Brown, Editors
Learn Then Burn Teacher’s Manual — Tim Stafford and Molly Meacham, Editors
Live For A Living — Buddy Wakefield
Love in a Time of Robot Apocalypse — David Perez
The Madness Vase — Andrea Gibson
The New Clean — Jon Sands
New Shoes On A Dead Horse — Sierra DeMulder
No Matter the Wreckage — Sarah Kay
Oh, Terrible Youth — Cristin O’Keefe Aptowicz
The Oregon Trail Is the Oregon Trail — Gregory Sherl
Over the Anvil We Stretch — Anis Mojgani
Pole Dancing to Gospel Hymns — Andrea Gibson
Racing Hummingbirds — Jeanann Verlee
Rise of the Trust Fall — Mindy Nettifee
Scandalabra — Derrick C. Brown
Slow Dance With Sasquatch — Jeremy Radin
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p; The Smell of Good Mud — Lauren Zuniga
Songs from Under the River — Anis Mojgani
Spiking the Sucker Punch — Robbie Q. Telfer
Strange Light — Derrick C. Brown
These Are The Breaks — Idris Goodwin
Time Bomb Snooze Alarm — Bucky Sinister
The Undisputed Greatest Writer of All Time — Beau Sia
What Learning Leaves — Taylor Mali
What the Night Demands — Miles Walser
Working Class Represent — Cristin O’Keefe Aptowicz
Write About An Empty Birdcage — Elaina Ellis
Yarmulkes & Fitted Caps — Aaron Levy Samuels
The Year of No Mistakes — Cristin O’Keefe Aptowicz
Yesterday Won’t Goodbye — Brian S. Ellis
