Center of the Universe
Language: English
Please try to go to hell frequently because you will find the light there yes yes — please try to kiss the ideas that you find there yes yes — please try to get that it is the center of the universe yes yes — please try to help yourself by kissing the hot hot hot life that is born there yes yes — please try to yell in hell yes yes — please try to free yourself by pouring yourself into the gutter all guttural guttural yell yes yes yes — please try to get that you become the being that you came there to be yes yes — please try to go to the great great great fire that you created because you become the light that the fire makes inside of you yes yes — please try to kiss yourself for going there yes yes — please get that you are reborn there yes yes — please begin your day
Text Authorship:
- by Hannah Emerson , appears in The Kissing of Kissing, Milkweed Editions, first published 2022 [author's text not yet checked against a primary source]
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Clarice Assad (b. 1978), "Center of the Universe", 2025 [ soprano and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
Researcher for this page: Joost van der Linden [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2026-02-08
Line count: 41
Word count: 163