Transcript: Poems on Air, Episode 81 - Dexter L. Booth

The following transcript is provided for accessibility only. Layout, formatting, and typography of poems may differ from the original text. We recommend referring to the original, published works when possible to experience the poems as intended by their authors.

[Music intro]

LYNNE THOMPSON: Hello! My name is Lynne Thompson, Poet Laureate for the City of Los Angeles, and I’m so happy to welcome listeners to this installment of Poems on Air, a podcast supported by the Los Angeles Public Library. Every week, I’ll present the work of poets I admire, poets who you should know, and poets who have made a substantial and inimitable contribution to the art and craft of poetry.

LYNNE THOMPSON: With today’s installment, Poems on Air continues its showcase of California publishers with a selection from Dexter L. Booth’s Abracadabra Sunshine published by Red Hen Books located in Altadena, California. Booth received his Ph.D. in Creative Writing from USC, won the 2012 Cave Canem Poetry Prize, and currently serves on the faculty of Paradise Community College in Arizona.

LYNNE THOMPSON: Today’s poem is "Explaining Love" by Dexter L. Booth

"Explaining Love"




	for my sister

It may be years before you read this,
decades before you understand. One day,
little sister, I might be your only friend.

This is in our blood.

I wish I had known sooner
that Mom’s back ached for months
before our grandmother died.
Before I left for college,
when you were too small
to help, we lifted her up the stairs
because she could not walk.,
though her ghost leg said touch to her brain,
itch to the few fingers she could still move.

I saw her naked, bathed her, and I am not ashamed.

In Thailand, little sister, workers take ya ba
and stay up for days, knowing how it ruins the body,
so they can make money for their families.

This is sacrifice. I can’t say it any other way.

LYNNE THOMPSON: The Los Angeles Poet Laureate was created as a joint program between the City’s Department of Cultural Affairs and the Los Angeles Public Library and this podcast is available wherever you get your podcasts. Thanks for listening!

[Music outro]

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    • DISCLAIMER: This is NOT a certified or verbatim transcript, but rather represents only the context of the class or meeting, subject to the inherent limitations of real-time captioning. The primary focus of real-time captioning is general communication access and as such this document is not suitable, acceptable, nor is it intended for use in any type of legal proceeding. Transcript provided by the author.

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