Put Down that TV Tray by Sina Queyras

View this email on a browser Forward to a friend September 17, 2014   Put Down That TV Tray   Sina Queyras

All I ever wanted was that living room, Sunday evening, chicken In the roaster, that deep orange sofa, that maple table Spread out like a wagon wheel upon which cups of tea floated And macramé or puzzles could be assembled. Don’t tell me   Disney isn’t reality: whole cities have ticked by in nylon print T-shirts, under lithographs of the Blue Boy in plastic K-Mart frames. Poets, don’t let your poems grow up to be idealists. I want in. I agree we need to rethink everything from landfills to the      accumulation   Of fat around the heart, but there really is nothing like a castle Under a neon moon ringed with LED flowers. Also, dogs do Find their way home, and while beds can’t fly you can wake From a good trip around the Internet and be hungry for a Pop-Tart.   Don’t say you can’t, or won’t, or that my dream is flimsy: there is      nothing Less thrilling than a critique of others, how they do or do not, twirl.            Copyright © 2014 by Sina Queyras. Used with permission of the author. About This Poem   “This poem, perhaps the clearest one I have ever written, is from a manuscript in progress titled ‘Motherhood Is a Young Woman’s Game.’ Having twins has made me reassess everything.” —Sina Queyras   Sina Queyras is the author of MxT (Coach House Books, 2014). She lives in Montreal, Canada, and teaches creative writing at Concordia University. Most Recent Book by Queyras   MxT (Coach House Books, 2014) "understory (week 35)" by Craig Santos Perez "Chorus" by Catherine Barnett "Giraffes" by Kimiko Hahn Poem-a-Day   Launched during National Poetry Month in 2006, Poem-a-Day features new and previously unpublished poems by contemporary poets on weekdays and classic poems on weekends.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