Ada Limón (born March 28, 1976) is an American poet.
Limón grew up in Sonoma, California, before attending The University of Washington where she studied theater at the University of Washington School of Drama. After taking writing courses from professors, including Colleen J. McElroy, she went on to receive her MFA from New York University in 2001, where she studied with Sharon Olds, Philip Levine, Marie Howe, Mark Doty, Agha Shahid Ali, and Tom Sleigh. Her graduate class included the noted poets, Jennifer L. Knox, Gregory Pardlo, Jason Schneiderman, Kazim Ali, and Kathleen Graber.
Upon graduation, she received a fellowship to live and write at the Provincetown Fine Arts Work Center. In 2003, she received a grant from New York Foundation for the Arts.
After 12 years in New York City, where she worked for various magazines such as Martha Stewart Living, GQ, and Travel + Leisure, she now lives in Lexington, Kentucky and Sonoma, California where she writes and teaches.
Now, we take the moon
into the middle of our brains
so we look like roadside stray cats
...
We'll say unbelievable things
to each other in the early morning—
our blue coming up from our roots,
...
Witness the wet dead snake,
its long hexagonal pattern weaved
around its body like a code for creation,
...
I like the lady horses best,
how they make it all look easy,
like running 40 miles per hour
...
Say tomorrow doesn't come.
Say the moon becomes an icy pit.
Say the sweet-gum tree is petrified.
...