a powerhouse. a reckoning. she died march 19th. i just found out this morning. my heart got tight as i read the line, the little line, that she had passed. and nothing specific. "62 years old, dies from illness". and my heart breaks. 62 is too young. too too young.
in her honor, one of my favorites...
PROSTITUTE
Husband, for a while, after I shot you,
I don't touch your body,
I just cool it with my paper fan,
the way I used to on hot nights,
as the moon rises, chip of avocado
and finally, too bored to stay any longer,
I search your pockets, finding a few coins.
I slip your hand under my skirt
and rub it against my chili-red skin,
then I put on your black boots.
I stick the gun in my waistband,
two beaded combs in my hair.
I never cost much,
but tonight, with a gun, your boots...
-Ai
from Cruelty
these texts are an archive of my life in the San Francisco Bay Area from march 2007 - march 2015. it stands as a record of close to a decade of my life, charting the struggles i faced as an artist, daughter, and lover. messy and chaotic at times, eloquent and poetic at others, these texts are an index i am proud of. it was here in this electric box that i learned how to be honest about my experiences and the person i needed to become. it was here that i first learned the truism that words make the world and how to trust such a beautiful, rife, hard fact.
Mar 23, 2010
Ai died and i am broken-hearted.
Labels:
Ai,
Ai dies,
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6 comments:
You're right, Angela, Ai died too young. But her poetry will live on. Such a poem here, such power.
thanks, elisabeth. her work is stunning and powerful and has such meat to it.
she's a poet i stumbled across all by myself in a used book store one day. maybe that's why i feel as close to her work as i do. i found her on my own without any introduction. she's a poet that, when i read her work, i thought YES YES YES!
hard to believe this one. like i should have known her in person. ox
i feel the same way. she seemed so close to me, exactly how you've stated it.
oh, shit! i have never heard of her but now, i NEED her work! jesus, i wish i could write like this! and she's from here! thank you so much for posting this... how are you, by the way? it's been too long!
hi rana! how are you?! :D
yes, you do need her work! you'll LOVE it!
i've been doing good! it has been too long!
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