Animal / Anima by Martha Collins

View this email on a browser Forward to a friend February 4, 2015   Animal / Anima   Martha Collins

all of us     all but us     only                               (but not us) the mammals     or only                                         us: animal in us     or only                                            the male of us:     brute                                           no animals     in the Bible                                       only beasts     as  of the field                                        not us:     it says    breathed                                    into     in our image     of the dust                                            anima breath     to anima                                            soul     but all animals                                         breathe the     same     one                                        long song     the same     air              Copyright © 2015 by Martha Collins. Used with permission of the author. About This Poem   “‘Animal / Anima’ is one of a number of similar poems that appear throughout my book Admit One: An American Scrapbook, to be published by the University of Pittsburgh Press in 2016. Beginning with the 1904 St. Louis World’s Fair and highlighting other dates, events, and places (including the Bronx Zoo) that extend into and beyond the 1920s, the book addresses racism, eugenics, immigration, and other related issues through a collage of documentary materials and lyrical explorations.” —Martha Collins   Martha Collins is the author of Day Unto Day (Milkweed Editions, 2014).  She is editor-at-large for Field magazine and an editor for the Oberlin College Press. Collins lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Most Recent Book by Collins   Day Unto Day (Milkweed, 2014) "Wilderness" by Carl Sandburg "The Future is an Animal" by Tina Chang "With Passing Wonder I Notice the Tracks of an Animal" by David Biespiel Poem-a-Day   Launched during National Poetry Month in 2006, Poem-a-Day features new and previously unpublished poems by contemporary poets on weekdays and classic poems on weekends.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