Aesthetics

 

i didn’t expect much
except much
for an empty bus and a dissipated                  ride home
but she spoke,     no
she talked
she conversed
as she’s been for
             all of her life
and i’ll tell you right now
i have never heard such displaced
                                                                  poetry
words with rhythm
inherited through every social factor
              wrong time
                          wrong place
              wrong skin
grammar irrelevant
nuances
emphasis on on on
                                    off
                            on
dissonance some natural
no intention of art
bled into her life
the way she talks
the ways she spins
there is no broadcast
             no agent
             no pen even
            and not ever ever
                                         a blank sheet afforded her
and as she argues with her son
it turns into a duet
words feeding and bouncing off
of each other
breathing and teasing
and beating off
of each other
rolling
like some accident
the way of her life
and in his
and his
and hers and his and hers
                                        and yours
come open
come listen
come see
come be affronted with
               unavoidable
               unapologetic
               unrelenting
               art
               by the hands of a
                            beautiful
                            Creator
                            Redeemer
                                                      you make all things new

Esther Kim, Class of 2010