The 1 AM Astronaut and Other Poems

By Jamie Uy

"The 1 AM Astronaut and Other Poems" launched as the result of two years of literary growth and discovery. Featuring work from when the poet was eleven to thirteen years old, her bittersweet verse and experimental forms are, as she puts it in her award-winning poem, '1 am astronaut': 'enough rocket fuel to propel me deep into the exosphere'.

From the run-on style of 'The Metropolis Disorder' (Inthecitypeople...), to the imaginative descriptions in 'indietronica' (...the peels of our orange Sun...), and yet still to the slice-of-life characterizations in 'The Bus Stop' (Bleary, weary smoke-ring blower...); "The 1 AM Astronaut and Other Poems" promises a fanciful and poignant journey for its readers - taking off on the crossroads of life, love, and childhood.

All royalties earned by the sales of this book will go to charity.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Jamie Uy
• Release date: Aug 19, 2012
• ISBN: 9781476070346

Jamie Uy

Jamie Uy is a high school student/teen writer whose work has appeared in Huffington Post, Launch Pad, KidsWWwrite, The Middle Era, A Point in Time, King of the Trees, GREYstone, Lone Star, Wild Orphan, SWITCH, and Miracle. She is a Commended Foyle Young Poet, and has more than fun than should be allowed working as managing editor of Parallel Ink, a student writing e-zine. Her poetry anthology, The 1 AM Astronaut and Other Poems, was published in summer '12. When she's not busy writing, Jamie plays the flute, jokes around with her brother, and does volunteer work for environmental and social causes.

Book preview

The 1 AM Astronaut

and Other Poems

By Jamie Uy

Copyright 2012 Jamie Uy

Smashwords Edition

All rights reserved.

Print ISBN: 1477645500

Available in print at Createspace and Amazon.com

Cover by Jamie Uy, ‘Belligerent Monkey’ font copyright P.D. Magnus 2008, courtesy of Fontmonkey.

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

~~~~

DEDICATION

To Jerson, Cristina, and Jacob Uy; with special recognition for Jiyoon Jeong and Zoe Ong.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Thanks to all the great poets out there, contemporary and classic – Naomi Shihab Nye, E.E. Cummings, Sarah Kay, Shel Silverstein, Langston Hughes, Maya Angelou, Robert Frost, and William Carlos Williams – for endless inspiration. Also, thank you to all my teachers, friends, and family, who have all been amazingly supportive of my writing!

~~~~

Mooncakes

Nai Nai, my grandmother,

gives us home-baked

round brown pastries

carvings of Chinese

characters embossing

the skin. they’re burned

but Mom says, xie xie,

not quite pronouncing it right.

I take one out of politeness.

I wish I could

understand the Far East the way

I understand the Far West.

i take a bite

sweet lotus paste oozes out

theres an egg yolk in the middle,

something I find odd but don’t