"My Flock," by Taylor Marie Kayonnie-Erlich

"My Flock," by Taylor Marie Kayonnie-Erlich, second round poem in the Sedona Poetry Slam on Saturday, July 30, 2011.

"My Flock"

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

Photo courtesy of Tara Graeber 

Taylor Marie Kayonnie-Ehrlich

Born into a world that taught me life was a prison,
I was constantly trying to escape,
Trying to drain my soul from the confines of my veins,
I used to give myself near death experiences,
There’s no living like near death,
I tatted my arm in every tear I’ve ever cried,
I got a sleeve to prove it,
Do it yourself prison tattoos,
Even if they do fade,
They’re still permanent,
This is one of the only consistencies in my life,
Besides the fact that we’re all born with only one guarantee,
Someday, we’re going to die,
It’s just a matter of time,
And so far my life had just been prison time,
The walls of this tin can trailer are makeshift prison bars,
The baggage that my family claims is my ball and chain,
The skin trapping my soul in my body was a metaphorical straightjacket,
Until I met you guys,
Like an epiphany you made me realize,
That all boundaries are imaginary,
That boundaries are only created by people who are afraid to think outside of the box,
Y’all taught me not to fear that box,
Because it’s only cardboard,
And i can just burn it down,
Y’all showed me my fire,
It used to be wild,
I’d burn forests,
But now I just burn trees,
And on these trees,
I climb higher,
At the top of these trees,
I touch the sky,
And I fly,
In the prison of my body I never recognized my own reflection,
But you, Saw me for who I am,
And you showed me my wings,
Y’all taught me to fly,
And I’ll fly with you for the rest of my life,
Because you’re my flock,
You’re my family,
We’ll be the V in the sky
V meaning Veni Vidi Vici,
We came, we saw, we CONQUERED,
Y’all helped me to conquer,
Because when the family that birthed me was slowly pulling apart my seams,
You’d be the family that knew how to sew,
You’re my needle and thread,
Together we can fix any tear,
When I was oh so close to drowning,
You were my life jacket,
Rescuing me from my shipwreck of a self,
You showed this stubborn captain that sometimes it’s OK to abandon the ship,
There’s another one out there,
And the oceans, still need to be sailed,
Although I feared those killer whales,
Y’all taught me life lessons like fairy tales,
Because the world is the Big Bad Wolf,
It was constantly breaking down my walls,
But you two helped me to rebuild them,
Even stronger,
Now the Big Bad Wolf can’t fuck with me,
Because not by the hair on my chinny-chin-chin will we let you in,
We lock the world out,
We make our own world,
Where the sky is not the limit,
Because there are no limits,
My body is not a prison, it is a weapon,
And I shall fight for the rest of my life,
For my blue skies, and my late nights,
And I just hope you’ll always be by my side.

Copyright 2011 © Taylor Marie Kayonnie-Ehrlich

Taylor Marie Kayonnie-Ehrlich

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.