Egyptian-american poet: bodies are like poems

MICHEL MARTIN, HOST: I'm Michel Martin and this is TELL ME MORE from NPR News. Coming up, we'll find out how singer/songwriter/harpist Rashida Jolley blends the heavenly sound of

the harp into pop, hip-hop and R&B. We have a special performance chat coming up in just a minute. But, first, the latest in our series, Muses and Metaphor. (SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC) MARTIN:

We've been celebrating National Poetry Month by hearing your poetic tweets. We've been asking you to send us poems that are 140 characters or less. And today, we hear a tweet from

Yahia Lababidi. Yahia is a freelance writer and poet living in Washington, D.C., who's worked in Egypt for the United Nations as a speechwriter and also was a food writer at one point

in his career. Now, remember, these are short, only 140 characters each. Here is a tweet by Yahia Lababidi. YAHIA LABABIDI: Bodies are like poems. A fraction of their power resides in their

skin. The rest belongs to the spirit that swims through them. MARTIN: And we know that went by pretty fast, so let's hear it again. LABABIDI: Bodies are like poems. A fraction of their

power resides in their skin. The rest belongs to the spirit that swims through them. MARTIN: That is a poetic tweet submitted by Yahia Lababidi. If you would like to help us celebrate

National Poetry Month, tweet us your original poetry using fewer than 140 characters, of course. If your poem is chosen, we will help you record it for us and we will air it in the program

this month. Tweet us using the hash tag #TMMPoetry. You can learn more at the TELL ME MORE website. Go to NPR.org, click on the Programs menu and find TELL ME MORE. (SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

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