Long As a Quart of Milk by Kevin Pilkington

View this email on a browser Forward to a friend May 18, 2015   Long as a Quart of Milk   Kevin Pilkington

Once I undressed a tree, got a splinter in my thumb and decided that was it for one night stands.   The woman next door who dresses in clothes that make her look like the English countryside keeps yelling at her son about being spoiled.   I wish I could help him, tell her of course he’s spoiled it’s hot out so she should keep him in a room with the a.c. on. It would keep him fresh longer or at least as long as a quart of milk.   I rent a small studio in the tenement building next door that looks like Lou Reed. I’ve lived here for awhile and have no plans of moving. There really isn’t any point now that I know this neighborhood so well I can recite any street by heart to anyone who will listen.            Copyright © 2015 by Kevin Pilkington. Used with permission of the author. About This Poem   “The urban landscape informs many of my poems. This narrative is a retelling of an experience with a neighbor and her child blended with the imagination.” —Kevin Pilkington   Kevin Pilkington is the author of The Unemployed Man Who Became a Tree (Black Lawrence Press, 2011). He teaches at Sarah Lawrence College and lives in New York City. Most Recent Book by Pilkington   The Unemployed Man Who Became a Tree (Black Lawrence Press, 2011) "Sunset Park" by Patrick Phillips "Move to the City" by Nathaniel Bellows "This City" by Liam Rector Poem-a-Day   Launched during National Poetry Month in 2006, Poem-a-Day features new and previously unpublished poems by contemporary poets on weekdays and classic poems on weekends.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