nocturnal heritage by Roberto Harrison

View this email on a browser Forward to a friend March 11, 2015   nocturnal heritage   Roberto Harrison

then when they offered something of command, the night received them to confirm   a change of season. they were not standing on the earth, or   they remembered that the fields of rice would not harvest them, people of the ashes. their directions   would not receive the ancient winds or the doorway to the past brought them firmly to the soil. they were often   not known by number, and they were once attached to the after years   of service. they did not announce themselves   as their words would not serve the ashes. and they once had their memories   grown for the fields of their pockets. no one   could speak   after they moved on the soil through the oceans            Copyright © 2015 by Roberto Harrison. Used with permission of the author. About This Poem   “This poem, framed by ritual and its ashes, reflects upon Panamá as a spiritual state beyond geographic borders and on its infinite animate and inanimate population with roots in every imaginable dimension.” —Roberto Harrison   Roberto Harrison’s new book bicycle is forthcoming from Noemi Press this year. He is also the author of Counter Daemons (Litmus Press, 2006) and lives in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, with his wife, the poet Brenda Cárdenas. Most Recent Book by Harrison   Counter Daemons (Litmus Press, 2006) "Ancestors" by Cesare Pavese "The Multitude" by Ellen Hinsey "On this Very Street in Belgrade" by Charles Simic Poem-a-Day   Launched during National Poetry Month in 2006, Poem-a-Day features new and previously unpublished poems by contemporary poets on weekdays and classic poems on weekends.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