"Old Selves" by Ira Sadoff

View this email on a browser Forward to a friend August 29, 2017   Old Selves   Ira Sadoff

Ok, I no longer want them, the many selves I had to manage   that once exhausted friends. I believed   in angels then, thought I might be an angel—that was me, flying off   on a tangent, just so we could land on one of my many balconies   so we could look down on everyone.            Copyright © 2017 Ira Sadoff. Used with permission of the author. About This Poem   "When I was younger I believed in that Arthurian quest for self, as if—with sufficient consciousness—I might arrive at some place authentic and fixed. But of course, over time, we have many selves with as many false endings as Beethoven's Eroica symphony. Every certainty is accompanied by a contingency, a misjudgment, a defensive self-deception, a transformative relationship, a mutable epiphany. So I see 'Old Selves' as a tribute to humility, the great gift of time." —Ira Sadoff   Ira Sadoff is the author of True Faith (BOA Editions, 2012). He lives in Ulster County, New York. Poetry by Sadoff   True Faith (BOA Editions, 2012) "Magnolia" by Gerald Stern "Artificer" by Czeslaw Milosz "Personal Poem" by Frank O'Hara Help Support Poem-a-Day   If you value Poem-a-Day, please consider a monthly donation or one-time gift to help make it possible. Poem-a-Day is the only digital series publishing new, previously unpublished work by today's poets each weekday morning. The free series, which also features a curated selection of classic poems on weekends, reaches 450,000+ readers daily. Thank you! 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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