First Love by Jennifer Franklin

View this email on a browser Forward to a friend June 9, 2015   First Love   Jennifer Franklin

The boy beside me is not you but he is familiar in all   the important ways. I pass through life finding you over   and over again— oppress you with love. And every   surrogate? Afflicted by my kindness, they leave   me with my music. I loved you before I ever loved you.            Copyright © 2015 by Jennifer Franklin. Used with permission of the author. About This Poem   “This poem was written on a napkin in Brandy’s Piano Bar in New York’s upper east side. Brandy’s is a remnant of old(er) New York where a solo featured pianist and a handful of bartenders take turns playing 80s ballads, Bob Dylan, and standards. We arrived, close to last call on a bitterly cold February night, after a new friend and I filled in on my brother’s Wednesday night trivia team at the Banshee Pub nearby. Just before close, two patrons asked if they could usurp the piano and mic for a three-song set. They were brilliant. Their set happened to be the nostalgia of my childhood jukebox, presented as spontaneous and ironic, but nonetheless sincere and therefore sad.” —Jennifer Franklin   Jennifer Franklin is the author of Looming (Elixir Press, 2015). She teaches at The Hudson Valley Writers Center and lives in New York City. Most Recent Book by Franklin   Looming (Elixir Press, 2015) "You are perfect for me" by Rebecca Wolff "Beside You on Main Street" by Jillian Weise "The Emperor" by Matthew Rohrer Poem-a-Day   Launched during National Poetry Month in 2006, Poem-a-Day features new and previously unpublished poems by contemporary poets on weekdays and classic poems on weekends.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