To celebrate National Poetry Month, several of us are sharing poetry with you on Thursdays in April. Today's topic is about something we can all use more of, wherever and whenever we can find it - the joyousness and emotional remembrance present in the poetry of Ross Gay.
The only thing I knew about Eric Garner was that he was killed by the NYPD who had placed him into a chokehold despite the fact that Mr. Garner told them 11 times that he couldn't breathe. Ross Gay read that Garner had worked in the horticultural department and wrote about many items in his life rather than focusing solely on his death.
for some time for the Parks and Rec.
Horticultural Department, which means,
perhaps, that with his very large hands,
perhaps, in all likelihood,
he put gently into the earth
some plants which, most likely,
some of them, in all likelihood,
continue to grow, continue
to do what such plants do, like house
and feed small and necessary creatures,
like being pleasant to touch and smell,
like converting sunlight
into food, like making it easier
for us to breathe.
Copyright © 2015 by Ross Gay. Reprinted from Split This Rock’s The Quarry: A Social Justice Poetry Database.
You can read more about the poet here.
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Be sure to check in with Kym, Kat, and Sarah for more poetry by Ross Gay today, and join us next Thursday for more poems in celebration of National Poetry Month. (And remember that any time is good for poetry, not just Thursdays in April!)
The first time I read this poem, it took my breath away. And I'm sure that was just the reaction Ross Gay was going for. Such a powerful selection, Bonny. Thank you!
ReplyDeleteI remember this poem as being my first exposure to Ross Gay, and I love how he turned a tragedy into such a gorgeous remembrance.
ReplyDeleteIt so important to humanize the names we see in the headlines.
ReplyDeleteMaybe it's naive, but I think that simply humanizing others would go a long way towards solving some problems.
DeleteI have the same reaction as Kym every time I read this poem... breathless, the floor pulled out from beneath me... as Ross Gay tucks Eric Garner deeper into my heart. This is perhaps the highest good a poet can do... bring a person to our heart and leave them there.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for sharing this!
This is a stunning reminder that all of us are complex beings and cannot be defined by one occasion. It's so much easier to do that than to realize we are all complicated humans with deep histories. Thanks, Bonny, this is such a moving poem.
ReplyDeleteOh wow. (That seems to be my standard response to powerful poetry... I cannot find words!!)
ReplyDeleteOh my. Perfect, beautiful, devastating.
ReplyDeleteThose are excellent adjectives for poetry!
DeleteRight there with Kat and Kym. Just takes your breath. This stopped me like no poem has stopped me in a while…
ReplyDeleteOften remembrances of people killed by police focus on that one fact; I love how Ross Gay humanized Eric Garner and made him just like the rest of us. (If only we could see each others' humanity.)
DeleteI love Ross Gay's poetry and am glad you shared this poem that I did not read until now.
ReplyDeleteI love how Ross Gay took a tragedy and turned it into something life giving. Plants continue and that makes me think (selfishly perhaps) about my own garden and the things I have planted and how they will continue after I am gone.
ReplyDeleteWhat a heart breaking, true, and beautiful poem. Would that we could see the complex human being in all we meet. In addition to the metaphor and language of breath, I find underlying symbolism in the act of planting. The garden is so tied to life and death.
ReplyDelete