Sabrina Benaim - First Date 

She could recite a poem about watching paint dry and it would still be exhilarating

I don't understand this poem at all but I think this poem understands me.

I wouldn't say I'm sensitive. I would say I'm highly susceptible to feeling a lot.

"I am best prepared for the worst case scenario. The best case scenario scares me. Flight response."

"Love made me feel like I knew the answer but when I raised my hand, I was the only one in the room." Love that line so much

"My mother tells me I am a bird, but when she says I am a bird she means the whole world is my cage"

"I like my body best when I'm not thinking about how much space it's taking up"

This feels really weird to see/hear after only having seen her in "Explaining My Depression to my Mother," but I am so glad that she's feeling happier

Damn, she goes from zero to sixty and I've never felt more alive

"My kiss tastes like a shotgun to the lips You'll like it; it'll make you feel brave" Sabrina is without a doubt one of my favorite poets, and this just cements my opinion

"... when I say I cried, I mean I taught the clouds how to cry for me, dig?" My heart melted, I love her use of retro vocabulary and style in general.

This woman knows her way with words.

My heart is a messy bedroom I always distract myself from cleaning.

How do you even begin to write something like that... my god.

Transcription: Hello! When I say hello, I mean thank you. When I say thank you, I mean I adore you, and when I say I adore you, I mean I will check your horoscope. I mean when you leave the balloons that you carry in your laughter behind on my ceiling, well I like them better than flowers. My body is a garden rooted in gratitude. Thank you is the biggest poem I've got inside of me. Me? I am a campfire cold hearts like to sit around and roast their marshmallows in, but when I say campfire I mean tiny furnace, little light lady, I mean I am NOT the path of least resistance, but I swear I was struck by lightning. Bang! Boom! Wow! This one time at Coachella when Jay-Z brought out Beyonce I mean I am flawless... Procrastinator. My heart is a messy bedroom I always distract myself from cleaning, I digress... When I say Beyonce came out I mean fireworks went off and I cried when I say I cried, I mean I taught the clouds how to cry for me, dig? I wouldn't say I am sensitive, I would say I am highly susceptible to feeling a lot, and sometimes, there just ain't enough rocks Forrest Gump, when I say my feelings are a box of chocolates I mean I like to eat them. I also like to get high enough to look myself in the third eye, but when I say I like to get high I mean sometimes, after I shower I thank the towel. snap, crackle, or pop? Me? Pop. I mean I've got this violent tendency to see a bubble and want to pop it, which is to say: I have held love, but I popped it and locked it, then dropped it and lost it, I didn't mind. Love made me feel like I knew the answer, but when I raised my hand, I was the only one in the room. What I mean is have you ever felt the egg of swallowing starlight? That cinnamon heartburn? What I mean is his name is still a plate set at the table of my tongue because I learn love like wait for it. If I called the last person you said I love you too, could they tell me they felt it? Can you feel this? I am allergic to liars they cause my tongue to swell and sharpen; bullet, flesh, tongue, I mean my kiss tastes like a shotgun to the lips, you'll like it. It'll make you feel brave. My first crush was on Benny "The Jet" Rodriguez I swear, that boy ran so fast, he could fly by foot. I always say I am a hummingbird, but when I say hummingbird, I mean sometimes my hands forget how to hold, become two tea cups in an earthquake, my body is a rattle of splintered bones, but when I say my body, I mean blunt guts and then some. my body, miraculous. I spent an entire year sleeping on a bed of swords and was not cut once. What I mean is, my lonely looks a lot like insomnia when you hold it up to the light. what I mean is if I came to you lonely as a grocery store parking lot at 5 a.m., blowing smoke rings pretending they are halos, could you believe in the magic? Not beauty, not the beast, I'm talking, enchanted castle. I mean my body: space jam. My body has ways to tell anything else than the truth; flight response. Hey do you ever just sit on the end of your bed and listen to the world spin? I hear that song everywhere, but when I say that song, what I mean is time. Time is a holy catastrophe of heirloom clocks faces that don't fit my wrists, dig? The only instrument I know how to play is my body, I like my body best when I am not worried about how much space its taking up. I mean dancing, but when I say dancing, I mean shimmy-and-a-shake-and-a-wop-wop-drop, my body's got move yall, like it sleeps in a waterbed. What I mean is my body sleeps in itself. I am best prepared for the worst case scenario. the best case scenario scares me; flight response. My mother tells me I am a bird, but when she says I am a bird, she means the whole world is my cage. In my dreams, I can fly, and there is no such thing as cage, meaning there is no such thing as time. I have been here before. I mean I recognize that moon, and I know, I know there are many moons, and my gratitude eclipses them all, so, I say thank you. I say thank you, but I guess I just mean- hello.

my heart is a messy bedroom I always distract myself from cleaning. my favorite line

I'm not sure if i got it right but what I understood is that she is going to a first date with some guy and she says "hello" while there are SO many things behind those words, she's carrying so much baggage with her, all of her story, a broken and sensitive heart, someone who is scared of love because it hasn't been nice to her lately, etc... But it's just a first date so she just says hello. What i don't get is why the hello also means thank you?

I've watched this an unhealthy amount of times because it just seems to explain how I feel in all situations

I think this is one of those poems where I think... I'll understand this better when I'm older...

I felt this so much my heart started racing. it's weird to see people call this a happy poem I didn't feel happy I felt manic. this felt like the beginning of a panic attack...its such a surreal experience to feel feelings your so familiar with through someone else

"I am a campfire, cold hearts like to sit around and roast their marshmallows in."

Her voice. I remember her voice. It's so great to hear her again. Her smile is beautiful.

The descritions and comparisons are out of this world

I love her and writing so much

Omg beautiful. "Love made me feel like I knew the answer but when I raised my hand I was the only one in the room."

She said that her mother told her she was a bird and what that meant was the the world was her cage and in her dreams she could fly and there was no such thin as a cage, but this was after she referenced having insomnia and that is just devastating.

"If i called the last person YOU said I love you to, could they tell me they felt it?"

glad to see another poem from her, love her and her poems so much

So happy she's happier. Beautiful poem!

she's practically explaining to you what her poem means

"I'm best prepared for the worst case scenario - the best case scenario scares me!" Shivers!!

i haven't got any favourite line because the entire poetry is too good to be true. love it.

how do you memorize a poem like this omg?? i'm honestly so in awe with her raw talent and poetry

"In my dreams I can fly, and there's no such things as cage." I can most definitely agree to that

Yes, I believe in the magic. You are the magic Sabrina.. It seems that you writes all your poems with the hearts of some humans in front of you,inside of you. Perceiving us. Thank you, Sabrina .

I love the way she always has so much passion and the words are so well considered and beautiful and cutting at the same time

i love her poems ooo

Okay, but that ending was really cute with the little bow and just--I squealed. I love this poet. She's so relatable and loveable.

I could listen to her forever

she makes my heart happy

love everything she writes❤️

That poem is out of this world ! How could anyone be so accurate and creative?! she left me speechless

I love this poem so much because it's like expressing like a million emotions through one word when you see the one you admire.

jesus christ, that was soo amazing. Button Poetry is one of my favorite channels and I normally watch them when I'm in a bad mood because I always find a great poem that matches how I'm feeling. But when I did that today, I came across this one and instead of matching my mood, it really just made me feel happy :)

My absolute favourite poem. There's just something about this one.

The beginning of the poem explains what the a relationship/dates are at the beginning [generally good feelings], as the poem keeps going, she understands she is alone and realizes that.

This woman has a very powerful way with words. I respect her so much.

This is such a beautiful poem. It actually hurts my heart every time I hear it. Magic.

this human creates magic/wonder. just astounded at how she forms her sentences and layers her words- so good m8!!!!

If this was a first date, I was in love in under one minute. And when I say minute I mean for a lifetime :D

Im crying . Too much of that made sense to me

She’s so good and articulate I really don’t understand how some people are so talented! Ugh you go girl!

Days and months keep going by, and I still come back to this poem. Simply stunning.

I love her poems so much omg

she completely describes me every time I absolutely love her trail of thought and her composition is flawless every time

7 years later and its still my favorite poem

I have listen to this poem a hundred times. Thank you

Oh my god I love this

Words can't express how much I love this! She has so much talent.

Her poems calms my anxiety almost immediately. Thank you, Sabrina.

I love Sabrina's work

"I always say I am a humming bird. But when I say I am a humming bird I mean sometimes my hands forget how to hold, become two tea cups in an earthquake" the perfect way to describe shaking hands when feeling anxious

Years later and this still makes my heart swell. Well done Sabrina.

I love her and her poems. She is so good.

She has such a unmistakable way that she writes her poems. Like it's easy to tell when it's her when you read or just hear her voice.

The New Beat Generation of Poets is Here 🙌🏾🙌🏾🙌🏾

She is my adhd and my love and my passion. Her words are beautiful and a mess and I enjoy every bit of it because its all so human. And i love rediscovering this work and her others.

I've never felt so understood in my life. You're wonderful Sabrina

Ugh I love her so much. Her poems just make me feel things. Idk that sounds weird

Beyond amazing

I lost count how many times I've watched this video, but it never gets old. :')

This is absolutely incredible!! Truly she is gifted!

wow... the imagery is just perfect. LOVED it!

She has such a way of words. What a beautiful girl with a beautiful creative mind.

i love her she's so full of passion

I adore Sabrina so much Her style is so impeccable

I'm half way through this and I adore it.

I come back to this piece so often

That was so different from what I was expecting from reading the title and I am so happy that it was so different.

I love the imagery. That was amazing.

This was such a great poem and performance. Thank you.

SUCH A QUEEN I LOVE YOU

We love you, Sabrina. I'm watching all your videos during the quarantine

I just bought her book this morning...I can’t wait to actually get it!!!

This is probably my favorite slam poem I've seen so far.

Some comments say it doesn't make sense but for me it does. they can actually form short poems when you split them per part. true it's a handful for a single poem but to me, I guess it illustrates ezacrly what the poem is about, the nerve-racking experience when you go on your first date. the wanting to tell so many things and not really knowing which to say. the spontaneity of the whole things, plus the awkwardness of out-of-the-blue topics. the last part wraps the theme peetty well too. what i mean is i love this girl and all her poems! go sab!

"I'm not sensetive, I'm just highly susceptible to feeling alot" . This line defines me 🙏

I keep finding myself getting back to this poem(:

Her words are so captivating.

Makes me cry every time

You're getting better all the time! Love you!

This is so beautiful. She described my whole life.

I feel like after learning about "the 100", this probably came out of those lists. The narrative she uses on any description is that artistic.

this poem is so incredibly beautiful

i dont get it but i like it

I'm so glad I found this channel

What a awesome poem Sabrina 😊😊

I love her omg

There needs to be a website like genius.com for poetry.

Love this.amazing