The Poem by Alice Notley

View this email on a browser Forward to a friend February 12, 2016   The Poem   Alice Notley

They leave you up there he said calling you names As it gets dark remember for you’ve had the experience Retaining barely a consciousness the body’d shrink away But there’s only exposure the necessary fasting you are seen They want to watch you all humans being empathic predators   And then I said when there is no conventional body And little recognition of forms as in a violently painful half-sleep You become your other after they have had you like a feast This is done everywhere in many ways often subtly in an instant   You may so be done away with I had seen the impossibility Of living with others yet loving for that was my condition At the crossroads when they asked me to partake of rules as in A commune of pretension I left unruly Who stands by me now he or I say and I said last night Holding the world together by my total recall At anyone’s distress they are so sorry sounding like pigeons They who call themselves poets and have no letters            Copyright © 2016 Alice Notley. Used with permission of the author. About This Poem   “‘The Poem’ is a small excerpt from a very long work in progress called ‘The Speak Angel Series.’ This work contains a recurring crucifixion.” —Alice Notley   Alice Notley is the author of Benediction (Letter Machine Editions, 2015). She lives and works in Paris.   Photo credit: Matt Valentine   Poetry by Notley   Benediction (Letter Machine Editions, 2015) "A Certain Slant of Sunlight" by Ted Berrigan "Personal Poem" by Frank O'Hara "Echoes" by Barbara Guest Poem-a-Day   Launched during National Poetry Month in 2006, Poem-a-Day features new and previously unpublished poems by contemporary poets on weekdays and classic poems on weekends.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