Possums by Sheila Black

View this email on a browser Forward to a friend February 7, 2017   Possums   Sheila Black

A kind of thrill—to lie on a road and flatten yourself,   white fur like a ball of winter,   like the March blossoms on the fruit trees, each one folded in like   the fledgling that never made it from the nest.   They do this when they feel threatened, remain motionless   even when curious people come prod them with sticks,   stiffening their pearly claws as a tree stiffens its twigs for winter. What is it to be dead?   The possums know—that eternal watchfulness by which the dead in their stately wisdom   watch us who keep moving.            Copyright © 2017 Sheila Black. Used with permission of the author. About This Poem   "This poem is a riff on the idea of 'playing dead,' which has always fascinated me a little—what would it feel like, could it feel like, not to be in motion of one kind or another? Plus, where I live in Texas we have a lot of possums. Recently one chose to play dead on top of a fence in my backyard—frightened by my dogs. I was amazed how motionless the possum remained, how she fooled me—utterly—until she upped and ran." —Sheila Black   Sheila Black is the author of Iron, Ardent (Educe Press, 2017). She directs Gemini Ink, a literary arts center in San Antonio, Texas. Poetry by Black   Iron, Ardent (Educe Press, 2017) "Plague of Dead Sharks" by Alan Dugan "The Radio Animals" by Matthea Harvey "Me and the Otters" by Dorothea Lasky Poem-a-Day   Launched during National Poetry Month in 2006, Poem-a-Day features new and previously unpublished poems by contemporary poets on weekdays and classic poems on weekends. If you enjoy Poem-a-Day, please consider making a donation to help make it possible. 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