a prophet-mother, moonstruck & star-stricken
Destiny Hemphill

 desire (v.) — from Latin desiderare.
from the phrase
de sidere “from the stars," from sidus “heavenly body, star”

tell em i ain't playing with them no more. tell em i said: no more hide & seek. i said: go ahead & seek me out. tell em my body be galactic. tell em my body be guide home. tell em i been lost too long. i pray: make me like the stars my ancestors followed—captivating yet always eluding captivity. i pray: return me to (my star) dust. i say, i've been away from my star too long. may i draw no stargazers. let there be no gaze or watch upon me. i rebuke any surveil against me. tell em don't look at me if you refuse to see me. ask them gawkers: can i have my face back now? tell em do not look at me if they only wanna capture me. if they only wanna consume me. if they only wanna feel my flesh burn upon their pallid touch.
           but
if they should look at me & they should for some reason not see stars, but moon. if they should look at me & for some reason not see glow but shadow & if they are confounded because they thought only light equaled presence.

            tell em i think the fuck not.

tell em that i be here. tell em that (whether of spirit or flesh) their eyes play no tricks. i said: tell em i be here. tell em—they should know that my dark body exists whether or not it reflects the light of their own.

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This poem emerged from meditations on Blackness; the oft-imposed burden to “emit light” and renounce darkness; the allyship of light with surveillance technologies; the refuge of night and sorrow; refusals to be projected upon; how the moon is the moon even when it is not visible. And how can I forget? The yearning. Of course… the yearning. To be returned to stardust, a previous form when this form feels too much.

Destiny Hemphill on "a prophet-mother, moonstruck & star-stricken"
Mag Gabbert on Her Time as Dallas' Poet Laureate

"To be poetic is a concept that is slippery and ephemeral and tough to nail down. But there are many ways in which, for me, Dallas is a poetic city. We have a really inspiring skyline. We have beautiful parks, with beautiful pieces of artwork. We have incredible cuisine here. I actually find something poetic in just a delicious new taste on my palate. The list could go on and on. All of those elements to me are poetic."

via D MAGAZINE
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What Sparks Poetry:
Talin Tahajian on Language as Form


"All the affordances of the medium of language come together to realize the musical and narrative sequences of this poem, which taught me the fundamentals of rhythm and pacing. 'Half-Light' is one of the first poems I memorized. It is a 'pre-existing form,' as Bidart describes across his poetry and interviews, that I inhabit almost every time I try to write, mostly unbeknownst to my more conscious enterprises."
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