Poet Amanda Gorman, who captured the world's attention at President Joe Biden's inauguration last month, delivered a poem honoring essential workers at Sunday's Super Bowl.
The 22-year-old from Los Angeles performed just moments before the coin toss between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Kansas City Chiefs.
Her poem was written to honor the three everyday heroes picked as honorary captains for this year's Super Bowl coin toss: educator Trimaine Davis, nurse manager Suzie Dorner, a nurse, and Marine veteran James Martin.
"Poetry at the Super Bowl is a feat for art & our country, because it means we're thinking imaginatively about human connection even when we feel siloed," wrote Gorman on Twitter.
Poetry at the Super Bowl is a feat for art & our country, because it means we’re thinking imaginatively about human connection even when we feel siloed. I’ll honor 3 heroes who exemplify the best of this effort. Here’s to them, to poetry, & to a #SuperBowl like no other 💛
"I also can't reiterate how exciting it is for me that others are excited to see poetry at a football game," tweeted Gorman just hours before her recorded performance was played. "What a time to be alive."
Gorman garnered international attention for her powerful poem "The Hill We Climb" (and her incredible yellow coat) at Biden's inauguration last month, where she became the breakout star of the day.
On Sunday afternoon, Gorman posted a snippet from an interview she did with Trevor Noah. She spoke about how even she was surprised at the appearance of poetry at the Super Bowl, but how critical it is for the art form.
“It’s not an extant possibility that a poet will be at something like the Super Bowl, it’s just nothing I have really heard about before," said Gorman. "And so these are the moments I strive for in my lifetime, which is to bring poetry into the spaces that we least expect it, so that we can fully kind of grapple with the ways in which it can heal and kind of resurrect us."
Here's Gorman's Super Bowl poem in full:
Today we honor our three captains
For their actions and impact in a time of uncertainty and need.
They've taken the lead,
Exceeding all expectations and limitations,
Uplifting their communities and neighbors
As leaders, healers, and educators.
James has felt the wounds of warfare,
But this warrior still shares his home with at-risk kids.
During COVID, he's even lent a hand,
Livestreaming football for family and fans.
Trimaine is an educator who works nonstop,
Providing his communities with hot spots, laptops, and tech workshops
So his students have all the tools they need to succeed in life and in school.
Suzie is the ICU nurse manager at a Tampa hospital.
Her chronicles prove that even in tragedy, hope is possible.
She lost her grandmothers to the pandemic
And fights to save other lives in the ICU battle zone,
Defining the frontline heroes risking their lives for our own.
Let us walk with these warriors,
Charge on with these champions,
And carry forth the call of our captains.
We celebrate them by acting with courage and compassion,
By doing what is right and just,
For while we honor them today,
It is they who every day honor us.