more poetry in the mainstream

Amanda Gorman did it again at Sunday's Super Bowl Halftime Show: the only saving grace to one of America's unofficial holidays. “It’s not an extant possibility that a poet will be at something like the Super Bowl, it’s just nothing I have really heard about before," said Gorman. "And so these are the moments I strive for in my lifetime, which is to bring poetry into the spaces that we least expect it, so that we can fully kind of grapple with the ways in which it can heal and kind of resurrect us."

Poetry at the Super Bowl is a feat for art & our country, because it means we’re thinking imaginatively about human connection even when we feel siloed. I’ll honor 3 heroes who exemplify the best of this effort. Here’s to them, to poetry, & to a #SuperBowl like no other 💛

— Amanda Gorman (@TheAmandaGorman) February 7, 2021

(But don't get me started on the NFL, an excessive, engagingly outrageous market that promotes and profits off of watching people actively invite TBIs and their requisite life-long devastation of dementia and mental health struggles, the bizarro statement of masks about plastic surgery and visual culture that totally missed the mark, or that stupid show of fake backup musicians with The WeekNd... 

Wait, are my opinions really all that obvious?)

Today we honor our three captains
For their actions and impact in a time of uncertainty and need.
They've taken the lead,
Exceeding all expectations and limitations,
Uplifting their communities and neighbors
As leaders, healers, and educators.
James has felt the wounds of warfare,
But this warrior still shares his home with at-risk kids.
During COVID, he's even lent a hand,
Livestreaming football for family and fans.
Trimaine is an educator who works nonstop,
Providing his communities with hot spots, laptops, and tech workshops
So his students have all the tools they need to succeed in life and in school.
Suzie is the ICU nurse manager at a Tampa hospital.
Her chronicles prove that even in tragedy, hope is possible.
She lost her grandmothers to the pandemic
And fights to save other lives in the ICU battle zone,
Defining the frontline heroes risking their lives for our own.
Let us walk with these warriors,
Charge on with these champions,
And carry forth the call of our captains.
We celebrate them by acting with courage and compassion,
By doing what is right and just,
For while we honor them today,
It is they who every day honor us.

via {twitter}