Geode by Alicia Jo Rabins

View this email on a browser Forward to a friend October 2, 2015   Geode   Alicia Jo Rabins

The plagues we wished upon ourselves With aloe juice and cayenne The planets we strained to reach That was how being young tasted Each of us a geode looking to be cracked open And to crack each other open Over and over I am no longer young except to those who are older In the way that youth moves along The conveyor belt At a consistent distance I drink water now I try to be gentle The years crack you open enough            Copyright © 2015 by Alicia Jo Rabins. Used with permission of the author. About This Poem   “This poem is from ‘Fruit Geode,’ a manuscript in progress that meditates on the experience of pregnancy, birth, and early motherhood. As I grow older, and life bangs me up a little bit, I learn how to be a little bit gentler towards others and towards myself. Much as I love and respect the wildness of youth, saying goodbye to that is the subject of this poem.” —Alicia Jo Rabins   Alicia Jo Rabins is the author of Divinity School (Copper Canyon Press, 2015). She is a composer, performer, and Torah teacher based in Portland, Oregon.   Photo credit: Shannon Wolf Poetry by Rabins   Divinity School (Copper Canyon Press, 2015) "from The Uses of the Body" by Deborah Landau "My Skeleton" by Jane Hirshfield "Manic Panic" by Marisa Crawford Poem-a-Day   Launched during National Poetry Month in 2006, Poem-a-Day features new and previously unpublished poems by contemporary poets on weekdays and classic poems on weekends.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