Kai Wright is the author ofLighthouse, a collection of love poems to Chicago written from the “deepest sorrow for the bodies slain in my city.” Her work reflects the difficult relationship of loving a city and accepting one’s self in the complexities of the surrounding world.
untitled
I wanted to tell the world I loved you before I wanted to tell
you
had given me an envelope with my name on it.
this
was second grade all over again.
only this time I was invited in.
yet much like love, I have not lived here.
I tell your mother what a lovely home she has
made for me inside of you.
you said … means the same
as I love you
I wonder if it hurts the same too.
