Poem-A-Day: [I'm not with my] by Joshua Beckman

[I'm not with my]  by Joshua Beckman     I'm not with my blue toes or my doggies  nor am I under any arched roof rotting blossoms  in my drain, sunlight pouncing upon me,  nor am I fixed like a tree, nor am I unfixed  like a wind. I ate an apple, that's fine  and after Anthony left I got a whiskey.  I stared a bit like a shadow at a book,  a fold in my shirt showed a monk's bowing head  in a column of dusty light, but I just basically  used it to cover up my arm which was prickling  now because of some awful thing within me.  Big nasty sun making me feel old and then  this lovely gold bird flew up to my lunch.  An actual family of little white turnips  rolling over in the boiling pot like some  clouds is how I act. A great blue sky for a bed  and that beauty make me happy again.        Copyright © 2013 by Joshua Beckman. Used with permission of the author.   About This Poem "This poem appeared at a time when I was writing fragmented short poems with short lines like 'moon / lights / out / windows / and seas' or 'light sand / which blows up / with air,' and it felt, in comparison, almost like a long narrative exposition on a moment of emotion. As far as I can remember, I started writing it in my apartment in Seattle and finished writing it in the park about a mile away. Like most of my poems, I prefer this to be read aloud."    --Joshua Beckman Most Recent Book by Beckman The Inside of an Apple (Wave Books, 2013)   August 23, 2013 Joshua Beckman's most recent book of poems is The Inside of an Apple (Wave Books, 2013). Beckman is also an editor at Wave Books. He lives in Seattle and New York. Related Poems Where I Live by Maxine Kumin The Pain by Laura Kasischke sugar is smoking by Jason Schneiderman Poem-A-Day Launched during National Poetry Month in 2006, Poem-A-Day features new and previously unpublished poems by contemporary poets on  weekdays and classic poems  on weekends. Browse the  Poem-A-Day Archive.         Thanks for being a part of the Academy of American Poets community. To learn about other programs, including National Poetry Month, Poem in Your Pocket Day, the annual Poets Forum, and more, visit Poets.org.

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