Catching Violence by the Foot: Ai’s “The Kid”

I couldn’t stop from going back to “The Kid” by Ai — Ai someone who captures the dregs and abused like no other. Her own story like no one else’s.

The element in “The Kid” I glommed on to was surprise. Then surprise in the context of violence and the mythos certain killers like to inhabit.

The poem took me to the spill-over of Appalachia, where I grew, some of in the thick of white trash America. “The Kid” is a reminder, and echo through the holler, the ghetto, the corners where life is cheaper, and where the body is filled…