Tyree Daye’s words take flight and uplift those lucky enough to read them.
In Ai Weiwei’s essay “On Poetry,” he describes the purpose of poetry as illustrated by his father, a poet in China’s Cultural Revolution: Poetry is against gravity. Similarly, Tyree Daye’s words remind us that poetry pulls us from hopelessness, showing us the light. In a March 2019 twitter chat with ELA teachers, Daye made the remark that he likes to put a little magic in all of his poems. Later that year, friends witnessed his efforts as a burgeoning gardener. enjoying daily photographs of his efforts coaxing out the squash blooms and nurturing the tiniest melons to full fruition. It was magical! Recently, on one of his poet-in-the-school visits, I witnessed how he works with students. The same dexterity and care he uses to coax squash blooms out in the summer is used to patiently and gingerly pull words from students as they discover they already have lines of poetry residing in their souls. His teaching scaffolded by his poems gently invites students to be vulnerable in safe spaces. Our students struggle with challenges of homelessness, drug use, mental illness, racism and discrimination, as well as dysfunctional families. They need the magic Tyree Daye’s words offer: poetry ringing with authenticity and truth that tethers to students, pulling them from struggle, pointing them to a future with the promise of hope.
