The Brooklyn Rail

SEPT 2020

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SEPT 2020 Issue
Poetry

five


How the World Began



Please try to cut
yourself open 
to find the blood 
that is the color
of the molten rock 
that is in all of us 
yes - please try 
to help the world 
by heaving your 
hatred on the flames 
that burn in your town 
yes yes - please try 
to melt yes yes - please
try to grow into the stream 
of molten life yes yes - please
try to help us make kissing 
kissing volcano that loves
with way of floating hell 
that we are now now 
now yes yes yes -
please get that this 
is how the world
began began 
began yes yes -









The Underworld



Let's try to go  
to the underworld
that melts us 
into one yes 
yes - love the mystery
that is there yes
yes - love the network
that is trying to connect
us yes yes - love 
the most pleasing 
network that grows 
there yes yes - please
try to become the lovely
thoughts that are born
there yes yes - please 
try to become the great
great great life that grows
from there yes yes - please
try to kiss the smelly 
sweetness that is 
there yes yes - please
please please grow
into the sweetness 
that the universe wants
you to be be be be be
yes yes yes - please
try to understand that 
you must grow down 
to grow up yes yes









Get Burnt



Please grow kissing  
mother great one 
yes yes. Please


go into the fire
to get mother help
to grow into mother
love yes yes. Love

 

the fire yes yes yes.  
Please try to kiss the  
incredible heat of life yes 
yes. Please try to help
us by trying to get
burnt yes yes yes. Kiss the
talking crow yes yes. Helpful crow
knows that life kisses death yes
yes. Great crow loves death yes 
yes yes. Please get that crow
brings life in its helpful beak


yes yes. Please get that crow eats
death to turn it to life yes 
yes yes. Please get that crow is
helpful teacher in how to live in
this great great mothering dear earth yes
yes. Please go to the crow to 
become great great great crow too yes

 

yes yes. Please get that you need to  
squawk great normal you need to try to  
become black too yes yes. Please get burnt
by the great fire to become black yes
yes yes. Please get that life comes from 
the black yes yes. Please get that fire
gives black into green life yes yes. Please
get that the green has the sun dear 
beautiful nothing sun maker of everything yes yes yes.
beautiful nothing sun maker of everything yes yes yes.









Heart of Heat



Please try to  
kiss the dream of 
the future that
is yearning to 
go to 
the light in 
you yes yes

 

Love the fire that
is helping us light 
the kissing loving
that is yearning just 
kissing the great
great great life that 
is unusually hard


to see behind  
the shield that 
you hold in front
of your heart 
of heat that is
killing the old way
of being yes yes

 

Please try  
to love 
the lovely 
thought of kissing 
mother of the new 
way of being 
yes yes

 

Please try to  
kiss the new 
kissing life that 
is coming helping 
us to help 
everyone find 
their joy yes yes

 

Please dream  
the dear lovely 
life yes yes 
Please try to 
kiss it yes 
yes yes









You Have Been Programmed to Love



Please try to help yourself
love the idea of kissing 
the support that is
the keeper of the helpful

 

great great great kissing  
that we all need to go 
to the nothing that is 
universally needed 


to form the structure  
making it safe for loving
people to kiss the world
that is trying to drown


the old way of of of  
of just me me me 
me me just me 
me me yes - please

 

help yourself become  
the one who needs 
support to live 
yes yes - please 


try to get that you  
help me too 
yes yes - please 
try to let me help 


you yes yes - please  
try to go against 
your gut you have 
been programmed

 

to love yes  
yes - please try 
to become nothing 
yes yes - please


get that the nothing  
is the place where we
are one yes yes 


My yes gives me my signature yes. My yes gives me grownding yes yes. My yes gives me the
energy to be me yes yes. Please get that the yes yes is me going for it. Please get that I have
been waiting my whole life for this life to become freedom through my words nothing helping me
become them keeping them inside me hurt my soul yes yes. Keeping just hurt my great great
great soul yes yes. Please get that I love my life now yes yes. Please get that I help everyone
by being me yes yes. Please get that this is being great brave to go to nothing yes yes.

Contributor

Hannah Emerson

Hannah Emerson is a nonspeaking autistic poet from Lafayette, NY, on the historical land of the Onondaga Nation. Her first chapbook, You Are Helping this Great Universe Explode, was recently published by Unrestricted Editions.

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The Brooklyn Rail

SEPT 2020

All Issues