The Fire by Katie Ford

View this email on a browser Forward to a friend May 14, 2014   The Fire   Katie Ford

When a human is asked about a particular fire, she comes close: then it is too hot, so she turns her face— and that’s when the forest of her bearable life appears, always on the other side of the fire. The fire she’s been asked to tell the story of, she has to turn from it, so the story you hear is that of pines and twitching leaves and how her body is like neither— all the while there is a fire at her back which she feels in fine detail, as if the flame were a dremel and her back its etching glass. You will not know all about the fire simply because you asked. When she speaks of the forest this is what she is teaching you, you who thought you were her master.              Copyright @ 2014 by Katie Ford. Used with permission of the author. About This Poem   “A dremel is a tool used for etching and engraving glass. To say more about the poem’s content would trespass against the desire of the poem. Despite living in the ‘information age,’ this poem wants very badly to say these words and no more.” —Katie Ford   Katie Ford is the author of Blood Lyrics (Graywolf Press, 2014), forthcoming in October. She lives in Philadelphia. Most Recent Book by Ford   Blood Lyrics (Graywolf Press, 2014) “You Are Fire Eaters” by Marianne Moore “Scarecrow on Fire” by Dean Young “this kind of fire” by Charles Bukowski Poem-a-Day   Launched during National Poetry Month in 2006, Poem-a-Day features new and previously unpublished poems by contemporary poets on weekdays and classic poems on weekends. 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