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Poetry in transit

This poem by Essex Hemphill is part of “Poetry in Motion,” a collaboration between the Poetry Society of America and New York’s Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA). The program has been zipping along for more than 30 years, and I’m always happy to bump into the poems on the subway, commuter train, etc. “Poetry in Motion” has spread to other cities as well; for example, Nashville participates during April, National Poetry Month. I saw “Thread” on the shuttle from Grand Central Terminal to the Times Square station, and fell hard for “I am wind/and you/are chimes.”

Read more about the poet and about artist Jeffrey Gibson here.

The Poetry Friday roundup for March 6th is at poetry maven Karen Edmisten’s blog.

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24 responses to “Poetry in transit”

  1. lindabaie Avatar
    lindabaie

    A love poem that’s wonderful to think of all that are reading and feeling it! I’m glad you shared, Susan!

    Liked by 1 person

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    1. Susan.Thomsen Avatar
      Susan.Thomsen

      You’re so right, Linda! I love the idea of people on the subway thinking they are or could be someone’s chimes.

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  2. Mitchell Linda Avatar
    Mitchell Linda

    Wow! Thirty years of public poetry. That makes me smile. I do love seeing poems in the wild, thank you, Poetry Society and MTA.

    Liked by 1 person

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    1. Susan.Thomsen Avatar
      Susan.Thomsen

      30 years is a good track record, so to speak! 🙂

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  3. Mona Voelkel Avatar
    Mona Voelkel

    This is lovely, (as is the cool graphic) and seeing poems on NYC trains always feels like sunshine!!! Thanks, Susan!!!!

    Liked by 1 person

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    1. Susan.Thomsen Avatar
      Susan.Thomsen

      It does indeed feel like sunshine. That’s a good way to put it.

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  4. rosecappelli Avatar
    rosecappelli

    Thanks for sharing this, Susan. Like you, I was also struck by those final words.

    Liked by 1 person

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    1. Susan.Thomsen Avatar
      Susan.Thomsen

      I had to ask someone to move to take the photo. Fortunately he did not mind as we are married. Ha.

      Liked by 1 person

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  5. Irene Latham Avatar
    Irene Latham

    I, too, love the Poetry in Motion series! So great. Thanks for sharing, Susan. xo

    Liked by 1 person

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    1. Susan.Thomsen Avatar
      Susan.Thomsen

      What a gift, right? That series just keeps going, thank goodness.

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  6. margaretsmn Avatar
    margaretsmn

    Thanks for sharing this poem. I am the wind and you are the chimes is a wonderful line!

    Liked by 1 person

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    1. Susan.Thomsen Avatar
      Susan.Thomsen

      It really is. It was so nice to run into that poem the other day.

      Liked by 1 person

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  7. Karen Edmisten Avatar
    Karen Edmisten

    Poem on a Train! I love it. And I, too, fell hard for “I am wind/and you/are chimes.” Perfect!

    Liked by 1 person

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    1. Susan.Thomsen Avatar
      Susan.Thomsen

      Love, love, love finding poems in the wild.

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  8. cathystenquist Avatar
    cathystenquist

    “You are the chimes” got me too. Lovely visual. How fun to see poetry around your city! I submitted to one that will be in Washington DC during the cherry blossoms. Fingers crossed. It would be cool to have my haiku read by people out enjoying nature.

    Liked by 1 person

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    1. Susan.Thomsen Avatar
      Susan.Thomsen

      Cathy, good luck! That would be so fun to see one’s own poem in the wild. I submitted a poem last summer when the PSA posted a few poems on its windows in Brooklyn. It wasn’t chosen, but I will try again if the PSA does it in 2026.

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  9. patriciafranz Avatar
    patriciafranz

    Oh I love “collide” inside a kaleidoscope of color!

    Liked by 1 person

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    1. Susan.Thomsen Avatar
      Susan.Thomsen

      Yesss, Patricia! Look at that art mirroring the poem. I’m so glad you pointed that out. Now I see it.

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  10. heidimordhorst Avatar
    heidimordhorst

    The Phillips Collection here in DC had a big exhibition about Essex Hemphill and your post made me rush off to see if it was still open…and I am only 7 months too late! WHERE is the time going?! “every way inside of a minute”–mmm

    I have a nice little book of Poems on the Underground…has Poetry in Motion ever put out an anthology?

    Liked by 1 person

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    1. Susan.Thomsen Avatar
      Susan.Thomsen

      Oh, heck, Heidi, I would have enjoyed going to see that exhibition, too! Essex Hemphill died way too young.

      Yes, there have been anthologies of Poetry in Motion. I copied this from the Poetry Society of America:

      The Best of Poetry in Motion: Celebrating Twenty-Five Years on Subways and Buses, published by W. W. Norton (2017).

      Poetry In Motion® From Coast To Coast published by W. W. Norton (2002) and includes 120 poems from subways and buses across the country.

      Poetry In Motion®: 100 Poems from the Buses and Subways was published by W. W. Norton (1996). This one is a YA anthology, I think.

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  11. maryleehahn Avatar
    maryleehahn

    The poems I find on the subway are one of my favorite parts of public transit in NYC! I, too, am crushing on those last lines!

    Liked by 1 person

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    1. Susan.Thomsen Avatar
      Susan.Thomsen

      Yes! I’m always so happy to see these.

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  12. Buffy Silverman Avatar
    Buffy Silverman

    What a wonderful collaboration! I will think of those last lines on windy days today when our chimes are ringing.

    Liked by 1 person

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    1. Susan.Thomsen Avatar
      Susan.Thomsen

      I was sad to read that Essex Hemphill died before he was even 40. Such a good poem.

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