Subscribe To Our
Poetrybay Blog on Facebook


Fall/Winter 2017



Aimee Herman

HOW TO WALK OUTSIDE WHEN SKIN IS MADE OF NERVOUS

Origami the front page of The New York Times into an airplane. Watch words, carefully cropped photographs, and haunted headlines swoop into the air as you allow the trauma of the world to fly away from you. Inhale and exhale every yoga position you’ve studied. Remember that just waking up is enough to feel like you’ve accomplished something today. Give your mouth permission to shape itself into whatever way it wants; smiles are always optional. Stop when you need to and if you only get past your stoop, that’s OK. Give your body a standing ovation because organs and skin never receive the recognition they deserve. You will get lost; you will eat something that will cause your belly to renounce itself; you will want to hide; want to climb your way toward an unbothered planet; that’s OK. Listen to the music playing. Your lungs. The trees. Your hair humming against ears. A cardinal calming you toward one more block. Your teeth settling in to themselves. That woman saying, bless you. Litter like wind chimes against pavement.  


Aimee Herman is a queer writer and teacher based in Brooklyn with two full length books of poetry, most recently meant to wake up feeling (great weather for MEDIA). Aimee is also a singer and ukelele player in the poetryband Hydrogen Junkbox. For more, go to aimeeherman.wordpress.com

 


Poetrybay seeks fine poetry, reviews, commentary and essays without restriction in form or content, and reserves first electronic copyright to all work published. All rights to published work revert to the author following publication. All Email submissions should be in body of email text.

To submit poems write to:

PO Box 114 
Northport NY 11768
or email us at 
poetrybay@aol.com

send comments to poetrybay@aol.com

first electronic copyright 2004
©2018 poetrybay. 
all rights revert to authors

website comments to dpb@islandguide.com