A Place in the Country by Toi Derricotte

View this email on a browser Forward to a friend April 4, 2017   A Place in the Country   Toi Derricotte

We like the houses here. We circle the lake turning into dark cleavages, dense-packed gleamings. We could live here, we say. We're smiling, but thinking of the houses at the last resort: The real estate agent looked surprised when she saw Bruce's face; then flipped  quickly through the glossy pictures— I'm sure you won't like this one; I can tell it's not your kind. Our house in Essex Fells took a year to sell and sold to a black family. A friend explained, once a house is owned by black people, they're the only ones they'll show it to. Do we want to live some place with a view overlooking the politics?  When we pass an exit named "Negro Mountain,"  Bruce smiles and jerks the wheel as if we almost missed our turn.  Why must everything we want come by stealth? Why is every road in this bright country furnished with its history of hatred? Yet we keep smiling, driven by a desire beyond the logic of if we can afford it, and whether we would love or hate it if we did buy.            Copyright © 2017 Toi Derricotte. Used with permission of the author. About This Poem   "Teaching an all-day workshop, after a conversation about a poem or subject, I often ask participants to write for two hours. I write too during this time, and I wrote this poem after a discussion of poems by Audre Lorde." —Toi Derricotte   Toi Derricotte is the author of The Undertaker's Daughter (University of Pittsburgh Press, 2011).  She is a cofounder of Cave Canem and lives in Pittsburgh. Poetry by Derricotte   The Undertaker's Daughter (University of Pittsburgh Press, 2011) "The Gardenia" by Cornelius Eady "Duende" by Tracy K. Smith "Hurricane Song" by Kevin Young Poem-a-Day   Launched during National Poetry Month in 2006, Poem-a-Day features new and previously unpublished poems by contemporary poets on weekdays and classic poems on weekends.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

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