I Am Not a Myth by Matthew Hittinger

View this email on a browser Forward to a friend September 12, 2014   I Am Not a Myth   Matthew Hittinger

Marlene Dietrich remembers the night of the Marilyn Monroe Productions press conference, New York City, January 1955 I wanted to be that trace of scarlet lipstick when you arrived, tipsy, a bit chartreuse a subdued platinum angel, a white mink stole. I am at heart—Come up for a drink— a gentleman. You, a question here to seduce, a pink thought traced by scarlet lipstick a deer drawn to a salt lick. I am the brick- back, brick-thrown widow of a caboose. I lift my black veil. I drop my black mink. To the bird, flown—we toast with a clink. You created ‘the girl.’ “Their golden goose is now a scarlet smudge.” Your lips stick to the wine glass and all I can do is wink out a song, the tricks of an aging chanteuse. You call a cab and grab your white mink while I play my saw, and all I can think is I am not a myth a recluse who will recuse you to remain a trace of scarlet lipstick caught on the collar of a white mink.            Copyright © 2014 by Matthew Hittinger. Used with permission of the author. About This Poem   “According to Barbara Leaming’s biography of Marilyn, Dietrich invited Monroe up for a drink at her Park Avenue apartment that night and found the sight of a lipstick trace on the collar of Marilyn’s white fur ‘maddeningly erotic.’ Dietrich’s voice lent itself well to the villanelle, perhaps the most ‘maddeningly erotic’ of the poetic forms.” —Matthew Hittinger   Matthew Hittinger’s most recent book is The Erotic Postulate (Sibling Rivalry Press, 2014). He lives in Queens, New York. Most Recent Book by Hittinger   The Erotic Postulate (Sibling Rivalry Press, 2014) "Year of the Tiger" by Miguel Murphy "corydon & alexis, redux" by D. A. Powell "Elegy in Joy [excerpt]" by Muriel Rukeyser Poem-a-Day   Launched during National Poetry Month in 2006, Poem-a-Day features new and previously unpublished poems by contemporary poets on weekdays and classic poems on weekends.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