The Friday Poem: ‘TODAY I’M GOING TO WRITE A POEM’ by Ya-Wen Ho
A new poem by Ya-Wen Ho.
TODAY I’M GOING TO WRITE A POEM
TODAY, I’M GOING TO WRITE A POEM EXCEPT I’M QUITE BUSY DANCING IN THE LIVING ROOM. ACTUALLY, THE DANCING IS THE POEM. I AM A SEMAPHORE. I AM RADIATING THE POEM SO BRIGHTLY I OUTSHINE THE MARKS OF PUNCTUATION AND FORGET ABOUT LOWERCASE. THIS IS AN UPPERCASE POEM OF ENTHUSIASM EDGING INTO MANIA. IS ECSTASY SUSTAINABLE? I CAN DO MY LAUNDRY WHILE ECSTATIC BUT FORGET TO EAT. WHEN I FORGOT HOW TO DO LAUNDRY, MY LOVED ONES BROUGHT ME FRESH UNDERWEAR. HOW DO HUMMINGBIRDS DO IT? IMAGINE NEVER NEEDING TO WEAR UNDERWEAR. OH, THE UPPERCASE POEMS.
The Friday Poem is currently edited by Chris Tse. Hera Lindsay Bird will be taking over as editor from September. Please send poems to info@thespinoff.co.nz.
Ya-Wen Ho
Ya-Wen Ho is a letterpress printmaker, graphic designer, and poet living in Te Whanganui-a-Tara. A Taipei-born New Zealander, she works bilingually between Mandarin and English, merging the two languages in performance. Her first book of poetry 'last edited [insert time here]' was published by Tinfish Press (Hawaii, 2012). Literary awards include a Horoeka/Lancewood Reading Grant (2015) and the Ema Saiko Poetry Fellowship at New Zealand Pacific Studio (2016). Photo by Dennis Thorpe.
