Go On: The Cicada Poem
Written in a brief window of freedom.
There are over one trillion cicadas in Kentucky at the moment.
As we drive they are splattering against the windshield. Solid hits
like bullets. And I am here watching it happen, and I just wanna
roll down the window and scream at them. To tell them
to fly harder,
to climb,
to fuck in broad daylight,
to sing until the stars hear them.
I know what it's like to be buried for 17 years.
I know what it's like to feel the color shorten in the remaining days.
I know what it's like to hear people complain about your noise.
I want to hand them all bottles of water and lit cigarettes and say,
"Go on with it, bub. Life's calling. Get it."
Originally included in Testament: A Rural AnthologyAudio: Willie Carver Jr. reads “Go On: The Cicada Poem
Willie Carver Jr. is an LGBTQ+ youth advocate and KY Teacher of the Year. His Gay Poems for Red States (University Press of Kentucky) is a World Pride, Stonewall, Whippoorwill, ALA, Read Appalachia, and Book Riot award recipient. His novel, Tore All to Pieces, arrives 2026 (University Press of Kentucky). Willie has published in many places; he writes poetry and fiction from Appalachia and believes everyone deserves to feel that they matter.