Monday, March 8, 2021

Women's History Month: Monday, March 8, 2021: Jackie Chou's poem "Yes"


                                              photo by marie c lecrivain


Yes

 

I say "yes" 

because it feels smooth on my tongue

when I utter it

I like the way its vowel sound

makes my mouth form a smile

instead of an O

as in the word “no” 

I say "yes" 

because I want to be superwoman

who can meet any demand

that if you asked me for an eye

I could scoop it out of its socket

and grow another one 

and if you asked me for a hand

I’d take it quite literally

I say “yes”

because I have not yet learned

the peril behind it

when acted upon impulsively

and how a simple “no” 

can rescue me 

from its sweet disasters


© 2021 Jackie Chou


Jackie Chou writes poetry because it makes life more colorful.  It turns the common birds and flowers of the urban landscape where she has lived all her life into heroes.  Her poem "Cycle of a Tree" was nominated for a Pushcart by Highland Park Poetry.

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