For National Poetry Month, I’m borrowing @isjonespoetry ‘s idea and sharing 30 poems I love every day, in no particular order, in this thread! Here we go:

1/30: “A Prayer, That You Might Remember Taking My Virginity” by @AliceWickenden . I’m taken by the layers of grief in this poem, and the VOLTA!

2/30: “Epithalamium: The Rainy Season” by Derek Walcott. This poem made me write an epithalamium for a dear friend who got married a few years ago. I love how he uses adjectives liberally. Walcott brilliantly uses water/the ocean to illustrate truths about love, time, heritage

3/30: “and though the odds say improbable” by @destinyoshay . I remember when I interviewed Destiny, I wanted to talk to her about this poem, and she gave a lovely and brilliant response. I love how familiar the poem feels and...just read her response in @The_Rumpus !

4/30: “Fasting in Tunis” by @laypay . This is the first poem I ever read by her, and watched OursPoetica video. Gorgeous reading. I always hear her voice when I read this poem.

5/30: “i found a lover and we left the city” by @jej_sen, from @BOAAT_PRESS .
I love the line breaks, the neologisms, the intricacies, and how damn smart a poet she is. Period.

6/30: “II”, from “The Womanhood” by Gwendolyn Brooks. This poem resonates with me much differently now, as I’m on the cusp of big change. I’ve changed a lot since 2020. I want to face the unknown seeking joy, wonder.I want pleasure. To try all the things with boldness!

7/30: “Pokédex Entry #778: Mimikyu” by @MMicahJenkins from Capable Monsters. I love this entire book. When I think of what I want my poetry to do, I think of this poem. I haven’t accomplished it yet, but I’m working towards that.

8/30: “Queer American” by @isjonespoetry . The very first line is the most immediate, visceral articulation of desire I’ve read. It is elegant in its simplicity...and I felt it in my quivering, desirous, frightened heart.

9/30: “A Cut Foot Teaches Kindness” by @TaylorByas3 . There are lots of fire poems by Taylor, but this gentle one is full of reminders I need at the moment.

10/30: I never tire of her poems (I’m sure she gets tired of me!)but I adore “I Stare at a Cormorant” by @TianaClarkPoet . I feel so seen as a recovering church kid. I’m reckoning with what salvation means, and what I want to be saved from.