Ten statements about poetry

by KELLY ZEN-YIE TSAI

0: It can make you walk away from death.

1: If you don’t look up, you will die in these pages.

2: I spend more time not writing, than writing.

3: Quality can’t be measured by waste. Quality is quality. Waste is waste.

4: Not writing leads back to writing.

5: Once I allowed myself what I loved, it all came less painfully.

6: Writing leads back to not writing.

7: If I knew other languages, I would know other things.

8: It’s not mysterious, but wonders reveal themselves when paid attention.

9: Leaves, skin, how the ocean cleanses itself. Make your own metaphor of this work.

Kelly Zen-Yie Tsai’s website is Yellow Gurl