Taylor Marie Kayonnie-Ehrlich: member of the 2011 FlagSlam National Poetry Slam Team

Taylor Marie Kayonnie-Ehrlich

Photo courtesy of Tara Graeber 

Taylor Marie Kayonnie-Ehrlich will perform at the Sedona
Poetry Slam on Saturday, July 30.

Taylor Marie Kayonnie-Ehrlich was born and raised in Flagstaff, Arizona. Fifteen years later she started spitting poems at FlagSlam. The first time she slammed, she shook like a leaf, but now she commands the audience.

Now at 18, she is staring into a world of open doors, not sure of which ones to walk through. She believes that life is all about fun and happiness, and we must learn to make it just that.

Like a child, she’s constantly curious and eager to see what life’s all about, and eager to find out. Writing is one of the many ways she expresses her audacity for life. Performing her poetry for three years now, she believes that slam poetry isn’t just a competition, but a tool, one to be heard.

Video by Tara Graeber

"Set Me Free"

by Taylor Marie Kayonnie-Ehrlich 
from the 2011 FlagSlam National Poetry Slam team chapbook "Gossamer Outrage"

I want a man,
Who knows the difference between a bitch and a woman …
Who knows that if he ever tried to treat this woman like a bitch he wouldn’t have a female dog on his hands,
He’d have a psycho killer,
BOY I ain’t no dog,
Don’t let my age fool you,
’cuz I ain’t no little girl,
I am a woman,
And I shall be treated like it,
’cuz boy,
I got my eyes set to kill,
And I’m hunting for my thrill,
Enjoying my free will,
I won’t take your bullshit just ’cuz you’re handing it out like candy,
’cuz yea, I gotta sweet tooth,
But your shit’s sugar-free,
Baby, I want someone naturally sweet,
None of that fake shit for me,
’cuz I’m beyond fed up dealing with your childlike tendencies,
Treating drama like your drug of choice,
It’s like Ritalin to your ADD,
You gotta constant twitch for that fix,
But drama for me,
Is like an old nasty habit I kicked,
I wanna kick you,
Like an old nasty habit,
’cuz I’m tired of playing with these boys,
I’m getting bored of these games,
Like board games,
You’re repetitive and easy,
And really not that much fun to play with,
So give me a man,
Who’d treat me like his job, and get down to business,
Who’d work me the right way as if he was getting paid,
Who’d push all the right buttons like memorizing my phone number,
No speed dialing,
Who could use his tools,
Who could aim with his gun pull the trigger and BANG!
Kinda like cupid’s arrow but a little more forceful,
Who knows how to smoothly touch you,
Like waves washing up on a shore,
Who doesn’t just try to grab you like a kid in a candy store,
I want more.
I want the puzzle pieces to fit together perfectly,
Don’t try to shove ’em if they don’t work,
Treat my body like a wet dream,
Don’t you dare wake up from me,
I wanna be your sanctuary,
Like a black
congregation
singing gospels,
Shout “Hallelujah!”
Treat my lips,
Like precious
Flagstaff tap water after living in Nigeria for a year,
Sip it.
Enjoy it.
I want you to listen to me because if my lips are precious, then so are my words,
Baby hear me roar!
And you are man,
So roar louder!
’til your lungs give out,
And when we can’t speak anymore we’ll talk with our bodies,
I want to be treated like your favorite swimsuit edition of Sports Illustrated,
“Please, don’t bend the pages”
Not like a Tonka truck,
Don’t just try to drive me,
’cuz we’re all born into this life running in first place,
’cuz it’s race to the end,
Or a march to the death,
But no one even stops to look at the scenery anymore,
I want my scenery,
’cuz it’s a long journey,
So please,
All you boys of the world understand,
It’s nothing personal,
I’m just not the type to give in,
’cuz I’d rather be eased into it,
’cuz I keep my hurricane of a soul locked behind my fierce eyes,
I keep my lightning bolt of a heart chained up in my rib cage,
I’ve been longing to be set free,
Set me free,
But all you boys do is put in the key,
I need a man,
Who can turn it,
And open the door,
Set me free.

Copyright 2011 © Taylor Marie Kayonnie-Ehrlich

FlagSlam poet Taylor Marie Kayonnie-Ehrlich features at Sedona Poetry Slam on July 30


Sedona’s Studio Live hosts a poetry slam Saturday, July 30, starting at 7:30 p.m. featuring the four members of the Flagstaff National Poetry Slam Team.

The slam follows on the heels of the recent premiere of the documentary poetry film “Louder Than a Bomb,” offering Sedona audiences a live poetry slam to watch, judge or even compete in.

The four-poet team will share the stage with some of the Southwest's top poets pouring out their words in an explosion of expression.

All poets are welcome to compete for the $50 grand prize.

Tickets are $10 in advance and $15 the day of the event, available at Golden Word Books and Music, 3150 W. SR 89A, and online at studiolivesedona.com.

The team will also have its new 28-page chapbook "Gossamer Outrage" available. All proceeds from ticket and chapbook sales help the 2011 team - Northern Arizona's 10th – fund its trip to Boston to represent our region of the state against 71 other teams at the National Poetry Slam in August.

Studio Live is located at 215 Coffee Pot Drive, West Sedona.

For more information, call (928) 282-2688 or visit http://studiolivesedona.com.