Well, hello! And welcome to Poems + Prompts, the paid edition of People + Bodies. I’m so happy you’re here to do a little reading and writing.
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Today we are reading a prose poem by Ross Gay. The first thing one notices about this one is its utter lack of punctuation, the whole thing is read in one long breath and takes place over a short period of time — a walk with a child in need of a boost. But Gay also plays with time here, slowing things down quite dramatically at the end, almost suspending it completely. This poem (like so much of his work) feels so full of joy and delight, but there’s a sneaky, darker undercurrent. Can you feel it?
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