Staying Human

Neil Astley is editor of Bloodaxe Books, which he founded in 1978. His books include novels, poetry collections and anthologies, most notably those in Bloodaxe's Staying Alive anthology series: Staying Alive (2002), Being Alive (2004), Being Human (2011), and Staying Human (2020), a Poetry Book Society Special Commendation; and three collaborations with Pamela Robertson-Pearce, Soul Food: nourishing poems for starved minds (2008), and the DVD-books In Person: 30 Poets (2008) and In Person: World Poets (2017). He has published two novels, The End of My Tether (2002), which was shortlisted for the Whitbread First Novel Award, and The Sheep Who Changed the World (2005). He received an Eric Gregory Award for his poetry, was given a D.Litt from Newcastle University for his work with Bloodaxe Books, and in 2018 was made an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature. He also guest-edited a transatlantic all-poetry issue of the American literary journal Ploughshares, the first such issue in its 43-year history. He lives in the Tarset Valley of Northumberland, England.

• Neil Astley 17 Introduction1 Staying humanTom Leonard 22 Being a Human BeingPatrizia Cavalli 22 ‘Here I am, I do my bit…’Göran Sonnevi 23 ‘Whose life? you asked’Fernando Pessoa 24 They Spoke to Me of People, and of HumanityJohn Barr 24 Bonsai MasterAudre Lorde 25 A Litany for SurvivalRobert Pinsky 26 Samurai SongZeina Hashem Beck 27 You Fixed ItJanet Fisher 28 Life and Other TermsVincenza Holland 29 Excuse MeU.A. Fanthorpe 30 A Minor RolePippa Little 31 Against HateTatamkhulu Afrika 32 The Woman at the TillEllery Akers 33 The Word That Is a PrayerDanusha Laméris 34 Insha’AllahDavid Friedland 35 Blind manDanusha Laméris 35 Small KindnessesMimi Khalvati 36 SmilesMimi Khalvati 37 The BragNikola Madzirov 37 When Someone Goes Away Everything That’s Been Done Comes BackEllen Bass 38 Gate C22Naomi Shihab Nye 39 Gate A-4Fred D’Aguiar 41 ExciseThomas Kinsella 42 Mirror in FebruaryCharles Simic 42 Mirrors at 4 a.m.Zhang Zao 43 MirrorRachael Boast 44 Desperate Meetings of HermaphroditesWerner Aspenström 44 You and I and the WorldKaveh Akbar 45 What Use Is Knowing Anything If No One Is AroundTim Liardet 46 Self-Portrait with Aquarium Octopus Flashing a MirrorM. Vasalis 47 The IJsselmeer DamStewart Conn 47 ConundrumValerio Magrelli 48 Vanishing PointRichard Siken 49 Landscape with Fruit Rot and MillipedeMarjorie Lotfi Gill 50 GiftPatrizia Cavalli 51 ‘I’m pretty clear, I’m dying…’Lawrence Sail 51 RecognitionTracy K. Smith 52 Nanluoxiang AlleyDzifa Benson 52 Self Portrait as a Creature of NumbersWisława Szymborska 53 A Contribution to StatisticsGennady Aygi 55 PeopleLinda Anderson 56 SanctuaryJudith Herzberg 56 The WayAnna Swir 57 The Same InsideMartín Espada 58 RednecksNatalie Diaz 59 The Beauty of a Busted FruitSuji Kwock Kim 59 Monologue for an OnionNadine Aisha Jassat 60 The YearsNadine Aisha Jassat 61 Let Me Tell YouJessica Traynor 62 In Praise of Fixer WomenMarie Howe 63 Magdalene AfterwardsMarie Howe 65 One DayTishani Doshi 65 Girls Are Coming Out of the Woods2 Ten Zillion ThingsMark Strand 68 Lines for WinterLinda Pastan 68 Imaginary ConversationJack Gilbert 69 Failing and FlyingGillian Clarke 70 SnowVladmír Holan 71 SnowW.N. Herbert 71 BreakfrostDerek Mahon 72 Rising LateMichelle O’Sullivan 74 What Was MistookMichelle O’Sullivan 74 LinesJohn F. Deane 75 The Red GateAlison Brackenbury 75 SoEllen Bass 76 Any Common DesolationLisel Mueller 77 In PassingLeanne O’Sullivan 77 A HealingHanny Michaelis 78 ‘It’s terrible…’John F. Deane 78 The World is ChargedDavid Butler 79 And Then The Sun Broke ThroughWilliam Stafford 80 You Reading This, Be ReadyHanny Michaelis 80 ‘Over the years…’Deryn Rees-Jones 81 MeteorTuvia Ruebner 81 WonderBlake Morrison 82 HappinessJack Underwood 82 HappinessRuth Stone 83 WantingMikiro Sasaki 84 SentimentsDavid Ferry 84 Lake WaterRandall Jarrell 86 Well WaterSeamus Heaney 87 A Drink of WaterLani O’Hanlon 87 Going to the WellDenise Levertov 88 The FountainG.F. Dutton 89 The Miraculous IssueGeorge Szirtes 90 WaterMoya Cannon 91 IntroductionsA.E. Stallings 91 OlivesJan Wagner 92 quince jellyLouis de Paor 93 MarmaladeSarah Lindsay 95 If God Made JamCraig Arnold 95 Meditation on a GrapefruitAleš Šteger 96 ChocolateAleš Šteger 97 EggThomas Lux 98 Refrigerator, 1957Connie Bensley 99 CookeryMary Ruefle 100 TimberlandMatthew Dickman 101 The World is Too Huge to GraspLinda Gregg 102 Let BirdsImtiaz Dharker 103 CarvingAlice Oswald 104 A Short History of FallingAracelis Girmay 105 Ars PoeticaRuth Sharman 105 FragmentsCarlos Drummond de Andrade 106 The House of Lost TimeVera Pavlova 107 ‘If there is something to desire…’Luis Muñoz 107 Leave PoetryBoris A. Novak 108 Decisions: 11Carlos Drummond de Andrade 109 AbsenceMairéad Byrne 109 Facing the MusicRuth Sharman 110 HilltopDennis O’Driscoll 110 Nocturne3 Innocence and experienceMalika Booker 112 CementMalika Booker 113 ErasureTracey Herd 114 Happy BirthdaySinéad Morrissey 115 Fairground MusicSharon Olds 116 To Our Miscarried One, Age Thirty NowDorothea Lasky 117 The MiscarriageFiona Benson 118 SheepDerry O’Sullivan 119 Stillborn 1943: Calling LimboDeirdre Brennan 120 Born DeadNoelle Lynskey 121 Still BornSandeep Parmar 122 An uncommon languageAoife Lyall 124 Sounds of that dayAoife Lyall 125 Ubi SuntCatriona Clutterbuck 126 Her BodyRebecca Goss 126 The LightsCiara MacLaverty 127 ‘That’s Quite a Trick If You Can Pull It Off’Fiona Benson 128 PrayerHannah Sullivan 128 from The Sandpit after RainMona Arshi 129 Delivery RoomDoireann Ní Ghríofa 130 Inventory: Recovery RoomJustyna Bargielska 130 Different roseZoë Brigley 131 Star / Sun / SnowDoireann Ní Ghríofa 133 Jigsaw PuzzleJack Underwood 133 WilliamRebecca Goss 134 Last PoemFiona Benson 135 Hide and SeekEllen Cranich 136 Blasket SoundNiall Campbell 137 Night WatchNiall Campbell 138 February MorningLiz Berry 138 The Republic of MotherhoodRebecca Goss 140 My AnimalFiona Benson 140 RuinsMoya Cannon 141 MilkEsther Morgan 142 LatchAilbhe Darcy 142 After my son was bornHollie McNish 143 EmbarrassedStephanie Norgate 146 MiracleLauris Edmond 147 Late songPeter Sansom 148 Mini VanSharon Olds 148 I Cannot Say I Did NotKatharine Towers 149 ChildhoodLucille Clifton 150 daughtersJane Clarke 150 The troubleBrenda Shaughnessy 151 I Wish I Had More SistersAnn Gray 153 I wish I had more mothersGretchen Marquette 154 WantTess Gallagher 155 With StarsTess Gallagher 156 I Stop Writing the PoemJane Clarke 156 HersNaomi Shihab Nye 157 ShouldersOlivia McCannon 158 New RoadLeanne O’Sullivan 159 My Father Asks WhyLeanne O’Sullivan 160 The CordNaomi Shihab Nye 161 Supple CordGwendolyn Brooks 162 a song in the front yardTracy K. Smith 162 The World Is Your Beautiful Younger SisterPenelope Shuttle 163 OutgrownCarol Ann Duffy 164 Empty NestAnna Enquist 165 All at OnceInua Ellams 165 Swallow TwiceJacob Sam-La Rose 166 NeverJacob Sam-La Rose 166 The Other End of the LineJericho Brown 168 Prayer of the BackhandedJericho Brown 169 As a Human BeingDoireann Ní Ghríofa 170 ToothAnne Michaels 172 from Correspondences: a poemAbigail Parry 176 The QuiltSafiya Sinclair 177 Family PortraitPascale Petit 178 My Mother’s LovePascale Petit 179 Her Harpy Eagle ClawsPascale Petit 180 My WolverineJacqueline Bishop 181 SnakesSelima Hill 182 from GrunterSelima Hill 185 from Sunday Afternoons at the Gravel-pitsShivanee Ramlochan 188 from The Red Thread CycleZoë Brigley 190 The Eye in the WallNicki Heinen 191 Solent Ward, Royal Free Hospital, 2008Aria Aber 192 AsylumSasha Dugdale 194 AsylumSasha Dugdale 195 ‘Perhaps Akhmatova was right’Xidu Heshang 196 Fictionalising HerTony Hoagland 197 Personal4 After Frank O’HaraFrank O’Hara 200 The Day Lady DiedRita Dove 201 CanaryJohn Burnside 201 The Day Etta DiedClare Pollard 202 The Day Amy DiedNick Flynn 203 The Day Lou Reed DiedIan McMillan 205 The Evening of the Day Pavarotti DiedAnjum Hasan 205 The Day No One DiedFrank O’Hara 206 Autobiographia LiterariaSafiya Sinclair 207 AutobiographyGeoff Hattersley 208 Frank O’Hara Five, Geoffrey Chaucer NilSimon Armitage 208 PoemMartina Evans 209 I Want to Be like Frank O’HaraPhoebe Stuckes 210 Kiss me quickFrank O’Hara 211 KatyRoger Reeves 211 Someday I’ll Love Roger ReevesOcean Vuong 212 Someday I’ll Love Ocean VuongFrank O’Hara 213 Why I Am Not a PainterMaria Barnas 214 Why I Am Not a PainterMatthew Sweeney 215 My Life as a PainterAdam Zagajewski 216 Describing Paintings5 Harmony and discordJohn Hegley 218 A Declaration of NeedRobert Wrigley 218 A Lock of Her HairJackie Kay 219 High LandMarie Howe 220 Low Tide, Late AugustKatharine Kilalea 220 You were a birdSarah Lindsay 221 The Arms of a Marvelous SquidWarsan Shire 222 for women who are difficult to loveJericho Brown 223 ColosseumJericho Brown 224 Of My FuryCaroline Bird 225 Marriage of EqualsJoan Larkin 226 WantChen Chen 227 Poem in Noisy MouthfulsMary Jean Chan 229 //Jane Clarke 230 VowsMiriam Nash 231 Love Song for a KeeperSeamus Heaney 232 ScaffoldingValerio Magrelli 232 The EmbraceVidyan Ravinthiran 233 AubadeLeanne O’Sullivan 233 Leaving EarlyLeanne O’Sullivan 234 NoteAlex Dimitrov 235 Some New ThingEavan Boland 236 Lines for a Thirtieth Wedding AnniversaryHester Knibbe 236 YesDick Davis 237 Uxor Vivamus…Dick Davis 238 Making a Meal of ItWendy Cope 239 To My HusbandWendy Cope 239 One DayAnne Haverty 240 Objecting to EverythingElaine Feinstein 242 A VisitTara Bergin 242 Wedding Cake DecorationsRanjit Hoskoté 242 CoupleRebecca Perry 243 WindowsJoan Margarit 244 Love is a placeJohn Challis 244 The LoveFleur Adcock 245 Happy EndingKei Miller 246 EpilogueConor O’Callaghan 246 Kingdom ComeVona Groarke 247 Ghost PoemPhoebe Stuckes 248 Gold Hoop EarringsPhoebe Stuckes 249 AttemptCynthia Huntington 250 For LoveBobby Parker 251 Working Class VoodooMelissa Lee-Houghton 252 Love-Smitten HeartLouis Jenkins 255 Fish Out of WaterSarah Holland-Batt 255 No End to ImagesPatrizia Cavalli 256 ‘Very simple love that believes in words…’Natalie Shaw 257 Like when we went to the cinema that timeDarío Jaramillo 258 from Impossible LovesDarío Jaramillo 258 Mozart on the MotorwayMichael Longley 259 CeilidhDerek Mahon 260 AranPaddy Bushe 261 The Rolling WaveSeamus Heaney 262 The Given NoteGerard Fanning 262 That NoteSeamus Heaney 263 SongAdam Zagajewski 264 Music Heard with YouElizabeth Burns 265 Listening to Bach’s B Minor Mass in the KitchenLars Gustafsson 266 The silence of the world before BachAdam Zagajewski 266 ChaconneJane Hirshfield 267 Even the Vanishing HousedTomas Tranströmer 268 SchubertianaTomas Tranströmer 270 AllegroGregory Orr 270 To Be Alive6 Mortal hurtTomas Tranströmer 272 The Half-Finished HeavenJan Erik Vold 272 The Fact That No Birds SingGalway Kinnell 274 WaitLouise Glück 275 from AvernoCaroline Bird 276 The End of the BedCaroline Bird 277 A Surreal JokeKen Babstock 278 As Marginalia in John Clare’s The Rural MuseLieke Marsman 279 The Following Scan Will Last Less Than a MinuteLieke Marsman 279 The Following Scan Will Last One MinuteLieke Marsman 280 The Following Scan Will Last Five MinutesJo Shapcott 281 Of MutabilityIlyse Kusnetz 282 HarbingerJulie O’Callaghan 283 No Can DoWayne Holloway-Smith 284 ‘the posh mums are boxing in the square…’Anna Swir 285 My Body EffervescesRobert Hass 286 A Story About the BodyMax Ritvo 286 Poem to My LitterMax Ritvo 288 Heaven Is Us Being a Flower TogetherMax Ritvo 289 CachexiaMark Doty 290 Michael’s DreamAna Ristović 291 The BodyElaine Feinstein 292 Long LifeRuth Stone 293 The ExcuseFinuala Dowling 294 At eighty-five, my mother’s mindFinuala Dowling 295 Widowhood in the dementia wardFinuala Dowling 295 Birthday in the dementia wardJudith Herzberg 296 Old AgeRoger McGough 296 The Wrong BedsGeraldine Mitchell 297 SneakGeraldine Mitchell 297 How the Body RemembersElise Partridge 298 from The Book of SteveMenno Wigman 298 Everyone Is Beautiful TodayMichael Longley 299 AgeThomas Lynch 300 Refusing at Fifty-two to Write SonnetsDermot Healy 300 As You Get OlderMary O’Malley 301 A LiftJames Fenton 302 For Andrew WoodVijay Seshadri 303 Bright Copper KettlesAnne Stevenson 304 AnaesthesiaElise Partridge 305 Last DaysMichael O’Loughlin 306 In This LifeZaffar Kunial 308 PrayerAdil Jussawalla 308 Mother’s Ninety-fourth BirthdayMenno Wigman 309 Body, my bodyJanet Ayachi 309 Spooning StarsMatthew Sweeney 310 The TubeKerry Hardie 311 Ship of DeathSara Berkeley Tolchin 312 Burrow BeachHelen Dunmore 313 My life’s stem was cutHelen Dunmore 314 Hold out your armsLorna Goodison 316 My Mother’s Sea ChantyVicki Feaver 316 You Are NotSharon Olds 318 In the Temple BasementEmily Berry 319 The photo that is most troubling is the one I don’t want to show youAnnemarie Austin 320 from CountryAnnemarie Austin 320 What My Double WillSteven Matthews 321 Last Christmas CrackerKerry Hardie 322 After My Father DiedValérie Rouzeau 322 from VrouzBernard O’Donoghue 323 Ter ConatusEiléan Ní Chuilleanáin 324 The Morandi BridgeJay Whittaker 325 The callJay Whittaker 325 Bed fellowRuth Fainlight 326 Oxygen MaskRuth Fainlight 327 Somewhere Else EntirelyElaine Feinstein 328 BedsImtiaz Dharker 328 Screen-saverImtiaz Dharker 329 Passport photoImtiaz Dharker 330 Say his nameGillian Clarke 330 HonestyKatie Donovan 331 Off DutyEunice de Souza 331 Advice to WomenRon Koertge 332 LilyWisława Szymborska 332 Cat in an Empty ApartmentTheresa Lola 333 Tailoring GriefWisława Szymborska 334 The Day After – Without UsBilly Collins 335 HeliumMary Ruefle 336 Trust MeLucie Brock-Boido 337 Soul Keeping CompanyDean Young 338 Street of SailmakersDenise Riley 339 Listening for Lost PeopleDennis O’Driscoll 340 ThenJulie O’Callaghan 341 BeyondJulie O’Callaghan 341 Cyber YouAlison Brackenbury 342 All7 Interesting timesSelina Nwulu 344 We have everything we needDerek Mahon 345 InsomniaColette Bryce 346 HelicoptersJennifer L. Knox 347 DronesColette Bryce 348 Belfast Waking, 6 a.m.Doireann Ní Ghríofa 349 On Patrick StreetImtiaz Dharker 350 Flight RadarJean Sprackland 351 CCTVJasmine Ann Cooray 352 Call Centre BluesJohn Cooper Clarke 352 Bed Blocker BluesDavid Constantine 354 PityJacob Saenz 355 Sweeping the StatesJane Commane 356 Midlands kidsSarah Howe 357 On a line by Xu LizhiJeong Ho-seung 358 Death of a CellphoneSabeer Haka 358 PoliticsSabeer Haka 359 MulberriesPaul Farley 359 Hole in the WallZohar Atkins 360 Song of Myself (Apocryphal)Tim Turnbull 361 Ode on a Grayson Perry UrnCaitlín Nic Íomhair 363 Praise the YoungJessica Mookherjee 363 Ursa MinorTheresa Muñoz 364 Be the first to like thisA.E. Stallings 365 Like, the Sestina8 Roots and routesDeryn Rees-Jones 368 HomeNina Bogin 368 Initiation, IIMaura Dooley 369 Dancing at Oakmead RoadEavan Boland 370 NocturneTom French 371 The Last LightPeter Sirr 371 from The RoomsJane Clarke 374 Who owns the field?Kirun Kapur 374 AnthemDavid Dabydeen 375 Catching CrabsAleš Debeljak 376 A Letter HomeStanisław Barańczak 377 If ChinaArundhathi Subramaniam 378 HomeMoniza Alvi 378 And ifVidyan Ravinthiran 379 CeylonVidyan Ravinthiran 380 My Sri Lankan FamilyDaljit Nagra 380 Our Town with the Whole of IndiaRoger Robinson 382 To His HomelandElisabeth Sennitt Clough 382 Potato SeasonMir Mahfuz Ali 383 My Son Waits by the DoorAlberto Ríos 384 We Are of a TribeVahni Capildeo 385 Going Nowhere, Getting SomewhereImtiaz Dharker 386 Chaudhri Sher Mobarik looks at the lochAndré Naffis-Sahely 387 Vanishing ActAndré Naffis-Sahely 387 An Island of StrangersAdam Zagajewski 388 The Three KingsJohn Agard 389 Checking Out Me HistorySujata Bhatt 391 A Different HistoryKarin Karakaşlı 392 History-GeographyAmir Darwish 393 Where I come fromImtiaz Dharker 394 MinorityLuis Muñoz 395 The ForeignerHama Tuma 396 Just a NobodyAmarjit Chandan 396 In This CountryKeki Daruwalla 397 MigrationsBeata Duncan 399 The NotebookMina Gorji 400 ExitAdam Zagajewski 401 RefugeesWisława Szymborska 402 Some PeopleBejan Matur 403 Night Spent in the Temple of a Patient GodBejan Matur 404 The Moon Sucks up Our GriefRibka Sibhatu 406 In LampedusaMusa Okwonga 408 Hundreds of cockroaches drowned todayAzita Ghahreman 408 The Boat That Brought MeCarolyn Forché 409 The BoatmanLinda Gregerson 410 from Sleeping BearNaomi Shihab Nye 411 Mediterranean BlueKimiko Hahn 411 After being asked if I write ‘the occasional poem’Reza Mohammadi 412 Illegal ImmigrantMoniza Alvi 413 FlightFadwa Soulieman 414 For Lana SadiqAudre Lorde 415 DiasporaPhilip Gross 416 The Displaced Persons CampTeresa Samuel Ibrahim 416 LongingTeresa Samuel Ibrahim 417 The last train across Ariat BridgeWarsan Shire 418 Conversations about homeSabeer Haka 420 HomeGabeba Baderoon 420 I Cannot Myself9 Empathy and conflictKwame Dawes 422 Land HoEdward Baugh 422 A Nineteenth-century PortraitKevin Young 423 RewardMartín Espada 425 How We Could Have Lived or Died This WayGwendolyn Brooks 426 We Real CoolTerrance Hayes 427 The Golden ShovelWanda Coleman 429 American Sonnet: 94Terrance Hayes 429 American Sonnet for My Past and Future AssassinTerrance Hayes 430 American Sonnet for the New YearPatricia Smith 431 That Chile Emmett in the CasketJames Berry 432 Travelling As We AreJames Berry 433 In-a Brixtan MarkitElizabeth Alexander 434 SmilePatricia Smith 435 10-Year-Old Shot Three Times, but She’s FineJericho Brown 436 Bullet PointsDanez Smith 437 the bullet was a girlEvie Shockley 438 supply and demandDean Bowen 439 mi skinKayo Chingonyi 440 The N WordNatasha Trethewey 441 FlounderNatasha Trethewey 442 Help, 1968Hannah Lowe 443 Dance ClassHannah Lowe 443 SausagesRita Dove 444 After Reading Mickey in the Night Kitchen for the Third Time Before BedRaymond Antrobus 445 Jamaican BritishAnthony Anaxagorou 446 CauseAnthony Anaxagorou 447 Departure Lounge Twenty SeventeenClaudia Rankine 449 from CitizenClaudia Rankine 450 from August 4, 2011 / In Memory of Mark DugganRoy McFarlane 453 from …they killed themDanez Smith 454 dinosaurs in the hoodThomas McCarthy 456 Slow FoodImtiaz Dharker 456 A Century LaterRemco Campert 457 PoetryLeanne O’Sullivan 458 Safe HouseIlya Kaminsky 459 We Lived Happily during the WarIlya Kaminsky 460 In a Time of PeaceLuis Muñoz 461 BreathingFatimah Asghar 461 If They Come for UsSolmaz Sharif 463 LookLorraine Mariner 465 ThursdayChrissy Williams 466 The Burning of the HousesIshion Hutchinson 466 The GardenMajor Jackson 468 Selling OutJay Bernard 470 ClearingJay Bernard 471 +Jay Bernard 471 –Roger Robinson 472 DoppelgängerRoger Robinson 473 The Portrait MuseumRoger Robinson 474 The FatherValerio Magrelli 474 The BoundaryAndré Mangeot 475 BellwetherDeborah Moffatt 475 Eating ThistlesChoman Hardi 476 Dispute Over a Mass GraveChoman Hardi 477 A Day for LoveSeamus Heaney 478 Chorus from The Cure at Troy10 The future?Nick Drake 480 Stranger ThingSarah Westcott 481 The Great Pacific Garbage PatchMaura Dooley 481 Still Life with Sea Pinks and High TidePolly Atkin 482 Colony Collapse DisorderFrank Báez 483 ExodusMikeas Sánchez 484 What Is It Worth?David Constantine 484 DominionDom Bury 485 The Body’s New WeatherPatrick Deeley 486 Two Hundred Million AnimalsPatrick Deeley 487 The End of the WorldJack Underwood 487 Alpha StepChase Twichell 488 BirdsongChase Twichell 489 Herds of HumansDavid Tait 490 By DegreesDavid Tait 490 The Virus at My WindowImtiaz Dharker 491 Cranes Lean InPeter Sirr 492 OdeGerda Stevenson 493 HandsAmit Majmudar 494 An American Nurse Foresees Her DeathImtiaz Dharker 494 Seen from a Drone, DelhiImtiaz Dharker 496 Seen from a Drone, MumbaiRuth Padel 497 Still life with a map of the world outside the windowJoshua Bennett 498 Dad PoemNick Drake 499 The Future501 Acknowledgements510 Index of writers517 Index of titles and first lines

These poems distil the human heart as nothing else… Staying Alive celebrates the point of poetry. It’s invigorating and makes me proud of being human.