National Poetry Month: A Poem by Ross Gay

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. 

A Small Needful Fact

by Ross Gay

Is that Eric Garner worked
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.

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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!)