The network of caverns inside my heart

has enough rooms for in-laws and aging parents.

Food by the foot, as we trek between

who we were, and who we are. Giving us

enough time together to turn freckles into folds


From the collection Prayer Flag PoemsPosted by kind permission of the poet.
Photo by Omer Salom

Read more of Hakim Bellamy’s Prayer Flag Poems:
#10, #11


Hakim Bellamy
Hakim Bellamy

The inaugural poet laureate of Albuquerque, Hakim Bellamy is also a W. K. Kellogg Foundation Fellow and a Kennedy Center Citizen Artist Fellow. A National Poetry Slam Champion, Bellamy’s first collection of poems, Swear, was awarded the Tillie Olsen Award for Creative Writing from the Working Class Studies Association. A musician, actor, educator, television host and two time National Poetry Slam Champion, Bellamy has facilitated writing workshops and performances in schools, prisons, hospitals, community and senior centers in at least five countries. To learn more about Hakim, visit beyondpoetryink.com.

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Poetry