Kelly Sleeping by David Bottoms

View this email on a browser Forward to a friend April 7, 2014   Kelly Sleeping   David Bottoms

Sometimes when she sleeps, her face against the pillow (or sheet) almost achieves an otherworldly peace. Sometimes when the traffic and bother of the day dissolve and her deeper self eases out, when sunlight edges through curtains and drapes the bed, I know she’s in another place, a purer place, which perhaps doesn’t include me, though certainly includes love, which may include the possibility of me. Sometimes then her face against the sheet (or pillow) achieves (almost) an otherworldly calm, (do I dare say that?) and glows (almost) as it glowed years ago just after our daughter’s head slipped through the birth canal. I remember that wet sticky swirl of hair turning slightly so the slick body might follow more easily, and how the midwife or nurse or doctor (or someone) laid an firm open hand under that head and guided our child into the world. When that hand laid our daughter on her mother’s breast, such a sigh followed, a long exhausted breath, and (stunned) I saw in my wife’s face an ecstasy I knew I’d never (quite) see again.             Copyright © 2014 by David Bottoms. Used with permission of the author. About This Poem   “Twenty-five years now and I still love to watch my wife sleep. I’m fascinated by the way the unconscious self (the deeper self) rises when consciousness falls away and often expresses itself in the face of a sleeper.” —David Bottoms   David Bottoms’s most recent book is We Almost Disappear (Copper Canyon Press, 2011). He holds the Amos Distinguished Chair in English Letters at Georgia State University. Most Recent Book by Bottoms   We Almost Disappear (Copper Canyon Press, 2011) "Everyone Is Asleep" by Enomoto Seifu-jo "Great Sleeps I Have Known" by Robin Becker "Tears in Sleep" by Louise Bogan Poem-a-Day   This week’s Poem-a-Day is curated by Academy of American Poets Chancellor Edward Hirsch. Launched during National Poetry Month in 2006, Poem-a-Day features new and previously unpublished poems by contemporary poets on weekdays and classic poems on weekends. 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.   You are receiving this e-mail because you elected to subscribe to our mailing list. If you would like to unsubscribe, please click here.   © Academy of American Poets 75 Maiden Lane, Suite 901, New York, NY 10038