Dirt Being Dirt by Carl Phillips

View this email on a browser Forward to a friend April 6, 2017   Dirt Being Dirt   Carl Phillips

The orchard was on fire, but that didn't stop him from slowly walking straight into it, shirtless, you can see where the flames have foliaged—here, especially—his chest. Splashed by the moon, it almost looks like the latest proof that, while decoration is hardly ever necessary, it's rarely meaningless: the tuxedo's corsage, fog when lit scatteredly, swift, from behind—swing of a torch, the lone match, struck, then wind-shut…How far is instinct from a thing like belief? Not far, apparently. At what point is believing so close to knowing, that any difference between the two isn't worth the fuss, finally? A tamer of wolves tames no foxes, he used to say, as if avoiding the question. But never meaning to. You broke it. Now wear it broken.            Copyright © 2017 Carl Phillips. Used with permission of the author. About This Poem   "I think this poem is circling the idea of refusing to change the self, even when it's understood as deeply flawed, given that we have to believe in something…" —Carl Phillips   Carl Phillips is the author of Reconnaissance (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2015). He teaches at Washington University and lives in St. Louis, Missouri. Poetry by Phillips   Reconnaissance (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2015) "California Plush" by Frank Bidart "The Visitation" by Brigit Pegeen Kelly "The Dry Spell" by Kevin Young Poem-a-Day   Launched during National Poetry Month in 2006, Poem-a-Day features new and previously unpublished poems by contemporary poets on weekdays and classic poems on weekends.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