"Eccles. 9:7" by Chase Berggrun

View this email on a browser Forward to a friend January 9, 2019   Eccles. 9:7   Chase Berggrun

In my favorite fantasy I am given permission I am prone face toward the light beach queen bathed in body A thought that comes from a coming-from the sweet place where a sunset isn't indescribable something simply looked at The sun sets I sit sinless in sand I sip only once            Copyright © 2019 Chase Berggrun. Used with permission of the author. About This Poem   "Ecclesiastes 9:7 reads, 'Go, eat your bread in gladness, and drink your wine in joy; for your action was long ago approved by God.' I think for some alcoholics, our wildest dream is to be able to live consequence-free, to be able to feed one's own unimaginably loud desires without the inevitable pain, resentment, regret, and instability that feeding must result in. Or, to be rid of those desires. To not have to nosedive into the glass. The very idea of moderation is a foreign one to me: this poem imagines an impossible dream." —Chase Berggrun   Chase Berggrun is a trans poet and the author of R E D (Birds, LLC, 2018). She works as an assistant to the poet Gerald Stern and lives in New York City. Poetry by Berggrun   R E D (Birds, LLC, 2018) "I Wouldn't Even Know What to Do with a Third Chance" by Kaveh Akbar "When I Grow Up I Want to Be a List of Further Possibilities" by Chen Chen "Survival Guide" by Joy Ladin January Guest Editor: TC Tolbert   Thanks to TC Tolbert, author of Gephyromania (Ahsahta Press, 2014), who curated Poem-a-Day for this month's weekdays. Read a Q&A with Tolbert about their curating approach this month and find out more about our guest editors for the year. 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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