SWWIM sustains and celebrates women poets by connecting creatives across generations and by curating a living archive of contemporary poetry, while solidifying Miami as a nexus for the literary arts.

Etymology

 

It's #tbt! Enjoy this great one from SWWIM Every Day's archives!


Is it like peeling ginger root skin with a spoon,
the sadness for losing something you did not want?  

Is it what coats the fingers when you squeeze a lemon?  

What language exists for replacing existing emptiness  
with a new emptiness that mourns in spite of you?  

I think the root should be Latin; Latin loves quiet turmoil 
and linden leaf tea. Latin feels appropriately weighty.  

Can it have two suffixes, for the sake of accuracy?  

Truth is I’ve never wanted a baby and, despite this sadness, 
I still don’t want one; all this emotion feels wasteful.  

I cook large dinners and insist on smoked sea salt, 
as if I wasn’t shedding a tear or two over the saucepan.  

What is the clinical term for when you don't have a potato peeler  
so you use a paring knife, and no matter how good you are, you lose a little potato?
and if you’re not very good, you lose the entire potato. 


Jeni De La O is an AfroCuban poet and storyteller in Detroit. She is a Kresge Fellow, founding member of The Estuary Collective, and authors the Brown Study series of essays.

 

Steubenville Sestina

Penelope, Exasperated