At Kentucky State Poetry Society, we believe poetry can do more than reflect the world — it can interrupt it. It can demand breath in spaces where breath is often denied.
We’re honored to share “Commas Are Expensive” by Kentucky poet Deidra White — a piece that speaks directly to the bone-tired reality of Black womanhood, of single motherhood, of enduring in a world that too often takes without pause.
can someone lend me a comma because commas are expensive you know and periods and question marks and ellipses for that matter are luxuries for other’s but not me and i know that you know what i mean for instance when was the last time you were able to question anything while running around doing fixing solving saving slaying conquering everything that life has thrown your way like we some sort of super negro slave not tied to the laws of human physicality bending not breaking losing sleep lifting entire households while we jump over societal obstacles and pits of financial instability and you better not complain cause then you’re angry bitter broken hurt damaged as if they didn’t have a hand in building our whipping post and smiled while they checked for the sturdiness of it and it was so sturdy that it still stands today ready willing and able to soak up my blood our blood that spills on every street corner and in every country on every towing line as we pull ourselves through the refuse with entire villages on our backs my god i could use a comma a question mark an ellipsis but none of those exist in our bag of tricks no rest for this weary no pause no bell signaling the end of this round of duckingdodgingjabbing no cornerman with water nor towel to wipe sweat from brow no cut-man to stop the bleeding and i just keep on swinging and dancing trying to endure the molestation cause that’s what it is you know something forcing it’s way inside my sanctity and don’t get me started on periods that never end anything for me i thought at least i can end this run on existence but nah no way no how cause every period i put down magically disappears like even autocorrect is working against me making sure that i survive like when i was eleven i attempted a period cause i needed a comma but wasn’t nopausenobreak nomoment of peace for me to catch my breath so i attempted to put a period there and it didn’t stop nothing and i tried again in my twenties and thirties several times like i’m done i cannot continue on this tortuous marathon running and leaping over hurdles that i ain’t see in nobody else’s lane and i be damned if i ain’t still here and i heard you screaming like Celie i’m poor black and i may even be ugly but i’m here like that’s some sort of accomplishment and i ain’t saying you wrong for feeling like that cause i know you know the truth about who we are and what we done and how we came through but they even twisted that into some super negro strong black woman fallacy like because we make it look so easy it’s ok to keep doing us like this while they show up ring side with her and say i’m so glad baby that you ain’t that like he don’t remember that i fought beside him with our kids on my back and i guess i’m just tired and my attempted periods don’t work and i ain’t never been able to question what’s happening here cause won’t nobody answer me but you and you got the same questions i do so we just keep fighting our way through this run on existence hoping that down the line that towing line that everybody uses for us to pull them through i know you know cause you was right there beside me fighting for civil rights and women’s rights and voting rights and lgbtqia+ rights and every other right while we’re being done wrong someone would at least lend me a comma cause fuck i just wanna take abreakabeatapause just a minute to myself so i can catch my breath a little seeing that i can’t afford to do that right now because commas are expensive you know
Kentucky State Poetry Society 