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Poet Ally Ang contemplates the delight of welcoming springtime in Seattle

Poet Ally Ang
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Each day during the month of April, KUOW is highlighting the work of Seattle-based poets for National Poetry Month. In this series curated by Seattle Civic Poet and Ten Thousand Things host Shin Yu Pai, you'll find a selection of poems for the mind, heart, senses, and soul.

I

n "Spring in Seattle," poet Ally Ang contemplates the unending gray Pacific Northwest skies that eventually give way to light and new growth, while practicing patience.

Ally Ang is a self-described "gaysian" poet and editor. A Pushcart Prize and Best of the Net nominee, their work is published or forthcoming in The Rumpus, Foglifter, The Margins, and elsewhere. Ally has received fellowships and support from the National Endowment for the Arts, Artist Trust, and the Jack Straw Writers Program. Find them at allysonang.com or on Twitter and IG @TheOceanIsGay.

Spring in Seattle


How many synonyms
are there for grey, or
endless, or as mushy
as an overcooked casserole?
I take the mountains
for granted, let my calls
go to voicemail, my heart
hollowing like canned
sitcom laughter. Outside
my window, a woman
and her dachshund parade
down the street wearing
matching Burberry sweaters
while the rents skyrocket
into the stratosphere.
I practice patience, water
my similes, wait for them
to overtake the front lawn.
Hummingbirds hover like
tiny surveillance drones.
Every day is a minute
longer than the one before.
I cradle each minute of light
in my hands like a pearl.


A different version of this poem was previously published in the 2022 Jack Straw Writers Program anthology.

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