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Let’s Go Crazy (golden shovel for Prince)
Ann Youmans
Another sunrise comes, dearly
won. I can’t say I noticed, beloved,
looked forward to the next time we
would meet the new world. Are
your days distinguished? Or are they gathered
in blocks — a week slips away, a month here
with nothing that marks today
no flag to hang on to
no treasure to get
no trials to wade through
I should be more grateful for this
I know this, and I hold it tightly, this thing,
this flicker I was gripping when you called
to relate the sequence of your life.
A Golden Shovel is a type of poem created by Terrance Hayes, in which the last words of each line, when read together, form a pre-existing poem. In this case, they reveal the opening line of Prince’s song “Let’s Go Crazy.” If you’re reading on your phone, try turning it horizontally to view the line breaks as intended.
Ann Marie Gamble is an editor and writer who enjoys telling stories, experimenting with language, and discovering connections between family, places, and ideas. Her poetry has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize and you can find her work in Nixes Mate Review, star 82, and the Heartland Review. In her free time, she organizes volunteers for the Unbound Book Festival and checks out as many audiobooks as the library allows.