As a poet myself, I’ve recently spent a lot of timing watching videos posted by Button Poetry on their various social media networks. Here are some of my personal favourites to get you started, in no particular order. You may have seen a few of the more popular videos floating around the internet before, but trust me–they’re worth a rewatch.
These poems consider topics that might be triggering to some readers
“The Loneliest Sweet Potato” – Sabrina Benaim
“In my lonely at the grocery store, I feel sad but I look just like everybody else while picking out avocados and lemons, items nobody refers to as ‘comfort food.'”
“Alternate Universe In Which I Am Unfazed By the Men Who Do Not Love Me” – Olivia Gatwood
“Once, a boy told me he ‘doesn’t believe in labels,’ so I embroidered the word ‘chauvinist’ on the back of his favourite coat.”
“The Future” – Neil Hilborn
“They keep telling me that seeing things that aren’t technically there is called disturbed cognitive functioning; I call it having a superpower.”
“We Play Would You Rather at the Galentine’s Day Party” – Melissa Lozada-Oliva
“Would you rather be completely covered in fur, like head-to-toe monster type of shit or, stay with me, stay with me, be perfectly smoothy-smooth in all of the right places. . . ?”
“Millennial Jesus” – Jose Soto
“Millennial Jesus goes to the bar, meets with his cousin, John the Bartender. They always exchange awkward glances whenever Millennial Jesus orders a Bloody Mary.”
“Hexes for My Exes” – Siaara Freeman
“I wish every day of your life was a fucking trip, with really great weed that will not get you high.”
“The TERF On My Shoulder” – Riley Zahn
“She is my anti-conscience; imagine Jiminy Cricket, but transphobic.”
“Manic Pixie Dream Girl” – Olivia Gatwood
“Manic Pixie Dream Girl wants you to do something you’ve never done before, like go swing dancing, or smile.”
“Yet Another Rape Poem” – Blythe Baird
“I know you are threatened because I am a thunderstorm of a woman with so much to say. Do you know how long it took me to say anything at all?”
“Food=Love” – Johnny Osi
“Now, I know what some of you might be thinking: ‘A man who cooks? Ooh, that’s hot.’ Yeah, it’s real hot.”
“Dear Straight Men” – Khloe Janel
“Why do you fascinate about me kissing another woman yet you bash gay men the next?”
“The Type” – Sarah Kay
“If you grow up the type of woman men want to touch, you can let them touch you. Sometimes, it is not you they are reaching for. Sometimes it is a bottle, a door, a sandwich, a Pulitzer, another woman, but their hands found you first.”
“Ode to Fuck Boys” – Ashlee Haze
“I stand in awe of your ways . . . oh, fuck boy, your basicness be amazing.”
“Boys Don’t Kiss” – Jared Paul
“The irony surrounding my father’s assessment of who was and wasn’t confused spun between us like a disco ball only I could see.”