The Tradition by Jericho Brown

View this email on a browser Forward to a friend August 7, 2015   The Tradition   Jericho Brown

Aster. Nasturtium. Delphinium. We thought Fingers in dirt meant it was our dirt, learning Names in heat, in elements classical Philosophers said could change us. Star Gazer.  Foxglove. Summer seemed to bloom against the will Of the sun, which news reports claimed flamed hotter On this planet than when our dead fathers Wiped sweat from their necks. Cosmos. Baby’s Breath.  Men like me and my brothers filmed what we Planted for proof we existed before Too late, sped the video to see blossoms Brought in seconds, colors you expect in poems Where the world ends, everything cut down. John Crawford. Eric Garner. Mike Brown.            Copyright © 2015 by Jericho Brown. Used with permission of the author. About This Poem   “The poet’s relationship to language and form is an addiction where what’s past is present, a video on loop. Not watching won’t make what that video says about our future go away.” —Jericho Brown   Jericho Brown is the author of The New Testament (Copper Canyon Press, 2014). He is an associate professor at Emory University in Atlanta. Poetry by Brown   The New Testament (Copper Canyon Press, 2014) "Let America Be America Again" by Langston Hughes "America" by Robert Creeley "Black Laws" by Roger Reeves Poem-a-Day   Launched during National Poetry Month in 2006, Poem-a-Day features new and previously unpublished poems by contemporary poets on weekdays and classic poems on weekends.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