pidgin toe by LaTasha N. Nevada Diggs

View this email on a browser Forward to a friend July 30, 2014   pidgin toe   LaTasha N. Nevada Diggs

on di saké menu no descriptive like quiet & smooth. lean & firm. dry seems redundant. di comedic pause dat carry so much inna tree letas. wen di flesh breaks, a ranginamu glimma free itself to become sky misty aan di temple. a strait of islands set against a hazel setting inna di west. kolo pollo. morning is belated aftanoon whey mourning dove & starling sing der medley of five songs wich scratch at nickel clouds. showcase loose silver reatas. aroha. der claws carving tools. der beaks pick & sift gravel. it said inna myth dat di rooster was sent down from heaven to shape di earth. dat di world was once all wata. dat di rooster no call out ‘pōkokohua’. wat yuh create w/ yrs out of wood, metal & lacquer? di descriptive begin again. dreamy. reka reka engari ia mīere. ae, dry is practical. perhaps necessary for di lineage. di sky neither dusk nor honolulu azure. di sparrow medley now tree or two. di manner of tings arrive wen di sun cracks di pastel smear. in di end, e taku hoa pūmau purotu, e taku tamatāne ngaro mokemoke, in di end, gochira get devoured by sand dollah. di hair gladly protest shampoo.               e taku tamatāne ngaro mokemoke,   in di end, gochira get devoured by sand dollah.            Copyright © 2014 by LaTasha N. Nevada Diggs. Used with permission of the author. About This Poem   “‘pidgin toe’ is a play off of the term ‘pigeon toe’ which describes a medical condition where a person’s toes will point inward when walking. Using this as a prompt, the poem acts as a kind of whimsical ‘self corrective’ for the reader/subject whose vision might be in need of ‘straightening.’ I complicate this curious praise poem with my desire for linguistic and cultural discourse by writing in English and a loose Pidgin with occasional moments of Maori, Japanese and Spanish. The additional layering of Yoruba folklore, geography, Godzilla movies, birds from an urban wildlife guide and use of caesurae help to further shape meaning where meaning is but a nickname for chance encounters.”   —LaTasha N. Nevada Diggs   LaTasha N. Nevada Diggs is the author of TwERK (Belladonna*, 2013). She lives in Harlem, New York. Most Recent Book by Diggs   TwERK (Belladonna*, 2013) "The Dream of a Common Language" by Leigh Stein "The End of the Alphabet [Difficult to pinpoint]" by Claudia Rankine "Still I Rise" by Maya Angelou 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