Love
Love is a key theme of Kay's poetry. She often writes from the perspective of women in her poetry, covering things that women might experience in their love lives. For example, in "B" Kay considers the somewhat common approach of females in trying to "save" or "change" their partners:
"I know that trick, you're just smelling for smoke so you can follow the trail back to a burning house so you can find the boy who lost everything in the fire to see if you can save him. Or else, find the boy who lit the fire in the first place to see if you can change him."
Overall, Kay offers some great advice in her poetry to empower women in their love lives and encourages them to have kindness towards themselves.
Heartbreak
Heartbreak is another key theme in Kay's poetry. She suggests that heartbreak is pretty much a given in life, and in "B" the speaker tells us that she will look after her daughter when she inevitably experiences heartbreak:
"So instead I'll always keep an extra supply of chocolate and rain boats nearby, 'cause there is no heartbreak that chocolate can't fix. Okay, there's a few heartbreaks chocolate can't fix."
This is also a theme of Kay's other poems, including "The Type," where she compares leaving a bad relationship to the ocean: "It is hard to stop loving the ocean even after it has left you gasping, salty."
Self-compassion
Kay promotes self-compassion in her poetry and is considerate of her audience. For example, in "The Type" she tells her reader that "You have always been the place, you are the kind of woman who can build it yourself. You were born to build."
In her poetry, Kay inspires and encourages her readers, telling them they are valuable and are enough on their own. She uses her own personal experiences to shine a light on things many people experience, offering a sense of clarity, hope, and encouragement.
