Today KUOW launches a new series celebrating Pacific Northwest writers.
We invite local poets to write an original piece inspired by a KUOW news story.
It's called NewsPoet and our first is Seattle-based poet Imani Sims.
Sims wrote her poem after listening to an interview on The Record about how uncomfortable we are talking about race.
It's called "Better Than Captivity:"
What is it to know
The cliff inside out?
Rewound tapes: discard.
Unbow the knees: pray
Upright at the sun.
Greet the open: surrender.
Inhale hummingbird hymns.
Play without apology.
Loosen hips in red
Silk. We have become
Our ancestors whisper
Against constellation sky.
Unleash god from ribs:
Spill out into today
A song locked on
Taste buds: key
The self into timeless
Abundance: watch the spill
On pavement spread
Black within city limits.
