It's August in New York
& my lover's alarm
siphons me into the kitchen
as the room fills with clouds.
I don't mind poetry, not even here,
telling you I forgot the glass bottle in the freezer
of all places, shards I'll have to pickaxe
with a butter knife.
How did I——when?
There is no question like the body.
I collect its fragments. My little butter knife /
chip / chip/ chips. Angel folds her arms
around me while I sift through blue freezer light.


Somewhere far beyond
jellyfish bob on a wave while I gather shrapnel.
My teeth chatter.
Tears polyp at the sudden thought,
Thanks to this double-edged salt,
by the time I'm 50, will I remember
anything at all?
The butter knife speaks: yield.
Yield.
Who needs memories when you have
arms around your waist?
I wed each wave
as it hits me.
from the bookODES TO LITHIUM/ Alice James Books
READ ABOUT TODAY'S POEM
Share Share
Tweet Tweet
Forward Forward
Portraits of John Fletcher and William Shakespeare
AI and Authorship: Who Wrote Henry VIII?

"Looking at the rhythms of the text, and the combination of words used, [the algorithm] indicated that Shakespeare had written the first two scenes of the play, with Fletcher responsible for the next four scenes. Shakespeare then picked up the pen, according to Plechac’s algorithm, with Fletcher taking over for Act II Scene III."

via THE GUARDIAN
READ ALL TODAY'S HEADLINES
What Sparks Poetry:
Vahni Capildeo on Martin Carter’s “This Is the Dark Time My Love”


“When did you—when does anyone—start writing poetry; or, when would you call the things, the scribbles, the utterances that you make or break, “poetry?” When they are very young, a lot of people make up rhymes, or become attached to reciting mundane or magical-seeming phrases. Children may take pleasure in exclamations, swear words, and other fragments collaged from the grown-up world of overheard speech. If those contain the early sparks of poetry, for many Caribbean readers Martin Carter is a contributor to the flame."
READ THIS WEEK'S ISSUE
Poetry Daily logo
Poetry Daily Depends on You

We make reading the best contemporary poetry a treasured daily experience. Consider a contribution today.
You have received this email because you submitted your email address at www.poems.com
If you would like to unsubscribe please click here.

© 2019 Poetry Daily, Poetry Daily, MS 3E4, 4400 University Dr., Fairfax, VA 22030

Design by the Binding Agency