Kaylin Haught and God

In the Palm of Your Hand, by Steve Kowit

I ran across Kaylin Haught’s poem “God Says Yes to Me” in Patti Digh’s book Life is a verb. I love the poem (and Digh’s book as well—more about that in a Recently Read posting soon). I’m neither a poet nor am I usually a poetry reader, but this poem really speaks to me. The poem is contained in Steve Kowit’s book, In the Palm of Your Hand, published by Tilbury House. I’ve ordered Kowit’s book, so look for a review of it, too, in a Recently Read posting later this summer.

I asked God if it was okay to be melodramatic
and she said yes
I asked her if it was okay to be short
and she said it sure is
I asked her if I could wear nail polish
or not wear nail polish
and she said honey
she calls me that sometimes
she said you can do just exactly
what you want to
Thanks God I said
And is it even okay if I don’t paragraph my letters
Sweetcakes God said
who knows where she picked that up
what I’m telling you is
Yes Yes Yes

--Kaylin Haught, “God Says Yes to Me,”
From The Palm of Your Hand (1995)