Song by Yi Wei
Song
Yi WeiGruff grief, not enough grief. Make enough grief for the rough
grief, love grief, don’t shut up grief, I rebound grief, I make sound
grief. The light round grief, the bright loud grief, that yes yes and
what else grief. Will you work out grief, make me proud, grief, do
that which can be done grief. Wishing you well, grief, wanting your
health, grief, tuck yourself in, grief, it’s not your fault. I want you
to live long, grief, your song, grief, what a beautiful sort of wrong
grief. Won’t be long grief, wait too long grief, leave late and come
back soon grief. It’s no use grief, won’t you move grief, I want another
year with you, grief. I move grief, won’t lose grief, loose move
grief, make roof grief. It’s not what we’re supposed to do grief,
I won’t move, grief, for you grief, I will deliver it all for you.
MARGINALIA
1.
Can I stay in the shape my grief left me in. Can I be languid, be still in this honesty.
2.
Of course I’ve had conversations with my grief. I’d sit at the kitchen table, staring at the same glass of water for hours.
3.
Of course I have fed my grief. Crumbs and then more crumbs.
4.
Of course grief has walked into rooms like it has always been there, has lived there, has been the tenant before me. And all I can do is make space.
5.
When I’m folding laundry, when I’m opening an email, when I’m brushing my teeth. It always returns differently. But it always returns.
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SHARED WITH GRATITUDE
This poem appeared in Sundog Lit, .
DESCRIPTION
“Sundog Lit is committed to publishing pieces that engage with tension, introspection, empathy, considered positionality, thoughtful form play, emotional courage, and musicality.
Sundog Lit is equally committed to uplifting voices from all corners in hopes of breaking down ideas of who is widely read and rebelling against normative power structures that stifle expression.
We are honored to be a platform for artists to showcase their life-giving work, and we care deeply about participating in a loving, ethical, and intersectional literary community.” (Source)
ABOUT YI WEI
Yi Wei is a first-generation Chinese writer and visual artist unconditionally supportive of Palestinian resistance and liberation. Outside institutional spaces, Yi has organized dozens of community art workshops and gatherings that work across hybrid forms, printmaking, and ecopoetry. Her work has been awarded the Frontier OPEN Prize, the Sappho Prize for Women Poets, the Lois Morrell Poetry Prize, and the Writer in the Public Schools Fellowship at NYU. She can be found at anarchist-run… (more)
ENDNOTES
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