a note on the body - Danez Smith

[radiantfracture]

The poem below by Danez Smith, "a note on the body" was a prompt from the writing group facilitator, and I liked it very much.

[Edited to make it clear that I didn't write this wonderful thing.]



a note on the body

~ Danez Smith



your body still your body

your arms still wing

your mouth still a gun



          you tragic, misfiring bird



you have all you need to be a hero

don’t save the world, save yourself



you worship too much & you worship too much



when prayer doesn’t work:      dance, fly, fire



this is your hardest scene

when you think the whole sad thing might end



but you live      oh, you live



everyday you wake you raise the dead



           everything you do is a miracle

Comments

[sovay]

This is great; send it somewhere immediately.

[radiantfracture]

Shoot, I didn't mean to make it sound like I wrote the poem -- it's by Danez Smith, which is why it's so great. :/

[sovay]

I didn't mean to make it sound like I wrote the poem

You didn't! I misinterpreted! I thought it was done off a prompt of a line by Danez Smith, with whose work I am not very familiar. My apologies. "you tragic, misfiring bird" sounded intensely like a line you would come up with.

[mrissa]

Here is my favorite Danez Smith poem, which is a high bar to clear: https://onbeing.org/poetry/im-going-back-to-minnesota-where-sadness-makes-sense/

I love them SO MUCH.

[radiantfracture]

I'm new to Smith, and I hadn't connected the two poems. Thank you! I liked that episode of Poetry Unbound a lot.

[radiantfracture]

That is my favorite line by far.

[sabotabby]

Oooh, this is excellent.