I’ve been a fan of spoken word poetry for a while now, but haven’t lived somewhere that actually had events I could attend. YouTube has a lot to offer, but I’ve been wanting to experience new poets and be in the room. Today was my chance.

Sarah Kay is my favorite poet. When I was planning for today’s event I reached out to her on Twitter asking where I should go.

Twitter is awesome.

So my friend and I made our way to Nuyorican Poet’s Cafe in the East Village, stood in line for about 90 minutes, and paid $15 each to get in. Not one regret.

I’m constantly amazed that even though our experiences are vastly different, each poet is able to touch me in a unique way. I was introduced to new ideas, challenged to consider things, and inspired to do better. The poems were funny, political, romantic, defiant, and emotional. All were based off of experiences.

Some of my favorite quotes:

“This ignorance is blistering.”

“I am damaged but I am beautiful.”

“You should have carried her bags, but instead you gave her baggage.”

“People, like the ground, eventually get tired of being walked on.”

This was absolutely a wonderful experience, to end a fantastic day. My brother in law text me with a quote from my nephew as he was going to bed tonight:

“I’m so glad we have language to speak.” – Robbie, age 8

Today was a reminder to me of how wonderful a blessing this is. I’ve never been one that’s great with words, but I’m very grateful for opportunities to be around and witness those that are.

This is my favorite Sarah Kay Poem.

Today was also National Pasta Day. My friend invited me over and we ate a pasta lunch. It was both yummy and fun.