Dear Jesus: The Writers' League #5: Poets are More than Poems

Sarah Kay (born June 19, 1988) is an American poet. Known for her spoken word poetry, Kay is the founder and co-director of Project V.O.I.C.E., founded in 2004, a group dedicated to using spoken word as an educational and inspirational tool.

"And no matter how many land mines erupt in a minute, be sure your mind lands on the beauty of this funny place called life."

Last week was a great deal for me, because I found another piece of the puzzle I've been trying to complete: finding my voice as a writer.

I tried so hard finishing three poems, not only because it was required but there was something more in me, inside of me, that wants to write, to express, to go out of my comfort zone, lazy zone rather. Hahahaha.

And so, I tried to stay up all night one Thursday. I was able to make one poem, but suddenly, the paper where I put it disappeared. Funny though 'cause it was entitled "The Poet Love Story", I remember some of its line like, "You are the capital letters on every line... You are the spaces between the words I write... You are the beginning and the end of this piece." HAHAHAHA So I wrote again and came up with the 3 poems I've posted awhile.

Writing a poem was no joke. It was serious as doing an impromptu speech. You need to find the right words, with the exact meaning, trying to mix in all the ingredients in poetry the best way a starter could do.

I realized that I was more comfortable and interested and motivated to do contemporary poetry writing. This is because I seriously want to escape the rhyming patterns, finding words just to rhyme the end word of the other lines. HAHAHAHAHA

I remembered my friend during high school talking about a poet who looks like me. Then, out of curiosity, I searched her on the internet... thus, Sarah Kay. I don't feel like I look like her, she's pretty and I 'm okay. AHAHAHAHA. Anyways, God made us perfectly unique in our own ways. ;)

I listened to her spoken word poems, found in YouTube. There, I learned that you can make a poem without minding the rhythmic pattern, the meter, the number of stanzas, etc. One of the best poems I've ever heard from her was this one:

THE TYPE by Sarah Kay

Everyone needs a place. It shouldn’t be inside of someone else. -Richard Siken

If you grow up the type of woman men want to look at,
you can let them look at you. But do not mistake eyes for hands.

Or windows.
Or mirrors.

Let them see what a woman looks like.
They may not have ever seen one before.

If you grow up the type of woman men want to touch,
you can let them touch you.

Sometimes it is not you they are reaching for.
Sometimes it is a bottle. A door. A sandwich. A Pulitzer. Another woman.

But their hands found you first. Do not mistake yourself for a guardian.
Or a muse. Or a promise. Or a victim. Or a snack.

You are a woman. Skin and bones. Veins and nerves. Hair and sweat.
You are not made of metaphors. Not apologies. Not excuses.

If you grow up the type of woman men want to hold,
you can let them hold you.

All day they practice keeping their bodies upright–
even after all this evolving, it still feels unnatural, still strains the muscles,

holds firm the arms and spine. Only some men will want to learn
what it feels like to curl themselves into a question mark around you,

admit they do not have the answers
they thought they would have by now;

some men will want to hold you like The Answer.
You are not The Answer.

You are not the problem. You are not the poem
or the punchline or the riddle or the joke.

Woman. If you grow up the type men want to love,
You can let them love you.

Being loved is not the same thing as loving.
When you fall in love, it is discovering the ocean

after years of puddle jumping. It is realizing you have hands.
It is reaching for the tightrope when the crowds have all gone home.

Do not spend time wondering if you are the type of woman
men will hurt. If he leaves you with a car alarm heart, you learn to sing along.

It is hard to stop loving the ocean. Even after it has left you gasping, salty.
Forgive yourself for the decisions you have made, the ones you still call

mistakes when you tuck them in at night. And know this:
Know you are the type of woman who is searching for a place to call yours.

Let the statues crumble.
You have always been the place.

You are a woman who can build it yourself.
You were born to build.

Watch her! The Type (Contemporary Poem) by Sarah Kay