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Free verse
74 poems · Newest first
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All themes and forms25What My Grandmother Taught the Choir“She didn't teach pitch. She taught arrival.”Thandi Nkosi“She didn't teach pitch. She taught arrival.”What My Grandmother Taught the Choir26The Kitchen in Two Countries“Here the water boils faster.”Marisol Vega“Here the water boils faster.”The Kitchen in Two CountriesQuick read1 reading27Remittance“Every month I send home a number.”Dawit Bekele“Every month I send home a number.”RemittanceQuick read1 reading28Small Fluent Thing“My daughter dreams in a language I half-lost.”Marisol Vega“My daughter dreams in a language I half-lost.”Small Fluent ThingQuick read29Inheritance“My mother left me three things:”Marisol Vega“My mother left me three things:”InheritanceQuick read1 reading30Calling Card“My father's voice arrives in small denominations.”Dawit Bekele“My father's voice arrives in small denominations.”Calling CardQuick read31Weatherproof“My hands have stopped feeling the cold,”Dawit Bekele“My hands have stopped feeling the cold,”WeatherproofQuick read32What I Packed“Not the photographs — those I had memorized.”Noor Haddad“Not the photographs — those I had memorized.”What I PackedQuick read33Night Shift“The building is mine from ten until six.”Dawit Bekele“The building is mine from ten until six.”Night ShiftQuick read34how the light gets kept“i don't pray”Lio Fenwick“i don't pray”how the light gets kept35why i keep asking“i ask the same question to the ceiling”Kai Moreno“i ask the same question to the ceiling”why i keep asking1 reading36everything, and then you“i love the ordinary things.”Lio Fenwick“i love the ordinary things.”everything, and then you1 reading37Port“I come from a city that is mostly leaving.”Noor Haddad“I come from a city that is mostly leaving.”PortQuick read1 reading38The Toolbox“Everything in it still works.”Soren Vance“Everything in it still works.”The ToolboxQuick read1 reading39The Long Way Home“I could take the highway.”Mara Okonkwo“I could take the highway.”The Long Way HomeQuick read40Recipe, Unwritten“She never measured anything.”Nadia Osei“She never measured anything.”Recipe, UnwrittenQuick read41The Word for It“In one language, the word for stranger”Nadia Osei“In one language, the word for stranger”The Word for ItQuick read1 reading42Two Cups“I still buy the creamer you liked.”Mara Okonkwo“I still buy the creamer you liked.”Two CupsQuick read43What the New Job Taught Me“You learn the register before you learn anyone's name.”Juniper Cole“You learn the register before you learn anyone's name.”What the New Job Taught MeQuick read44Things I Water“The plant on the sill that isn't dying, exactly.”Juniper Cole“The plant on the sill that isn't dying, exactly.”Things I WaterQuick read45Weather Report“They ask how I'm doing”Soren Vance“They ask how I'm doing”Weather ReportQuick read46What I'd Keep“if the house was going”Nadia Osei“if the house was going”What I'd KeepQuick read1 reading47Neither Word“There's a word for this feeling”Nadia Osei“There's a word for this feeling”Neither Word1 reading48What the Silence Kept“Can grief run out, the way a battery does?”Soren Vance“Can grief run out, the way a battery does?”What the Silence Kept1 reading