Alexandr Blok by David St. John

View this email on a browser Forward to a friend January 29, 2016   Alexandr Blok   David St. John

One snowy night I was smiled upon by Russian gods           & found myself at dinner opposite   The Moscow scholars a married couple—he only           the world’s authority on Pasternak   & she the final word on her beloved Alexandr Blok           & as we talked the evening gathered    Along the length of the white table & I could only keep           drinking the conversation in so deeply   I felt myself reaching back into the dark century & at last           I got up to leave in my black cashmere   Overcoat I’d found hanging on the back rack of a Venice           thrift store & became just another shadow   About to slide wordlessly into the night & yes it’s true           it was snowing just in upstate New York          Not Moscow or St. Petersburg nor in any ancient page            yet to anyone who saw me walking   I imagined myself as the most lyrical shadow alive            Copyright © 2016 David St. John. Used with permission of the author. About This Poem   “This poem recounts a dinner that became one of the most enjoyable evenings of my life after having been unexpectedly introduced to the two remarkable Russians scholars the poem introduces. Also, it allows me to indulge my love of and to celebrate the famously untranslatable poet of the Silver Age, Alexandr Blok.” —David St. John   David St. John is the author of The Window (Arctos Press, 2014). He teaches in the PhD Program in Creative Writing and Literature and is the Chair of English at the University of Southern California.   Photo credit: Roger Snider Poetry by St. John   The Window (Arctos Press, 2014) "To Dorothy" by Marvin Bell "Imaginary Morning Glory" by C. D. Wright "For What Binds Us" by Jane Hirshfield Poem-a-Day   Launched during National Poetry Month in 2006, Poem-a-Day features new and previously unpublished poems by contemporary poets on weekdays and classic poems on weekends.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