"Nope Not Today" by Tina Cane

View this email on a browser Forward to a friend Support Poem-a-Day November 15, 2019   Nope Not Today   Tina Cane

I didn't want to break     my own heart      oh no you didn't      exist as a point on a plane      in a modern philosophy of time     my new thing       nope not today     in a world where transcendent  incompetence is easy to spot     if that's what you want to see      and efficiency is still the enemy     of poetry and of love       oh no you didn't write    poems on forgetting  fearsome leave- taking      or crypto-amnesia     that act of forgetting     to cite fierce attachment      nope     today is a day to be free     to transcend pedestrian realities       O ethical imperative     dire as plagiarism nope      O emotional appropriation     not today      one form of redress     is if you write me a letter       I will write you back      give and take means  no hearts broken     if we concede to exist      as a sudden broken thing     not fearful enemies of love       we grow fierce as yes     transcendence yes      on a plane in the sky     or in my mind      no you didn't forget     nor did I     nope not today            Copyright © 2019 by Tina Cane. Originally published in Poem-a-Day on November 15, 2019, by the Academy of American Poets. About this Poem   "I wrote this poem during my trip home from AWP 2019, during two layovers. It came from notes I took at a panel called The Influence Lab on literary appropriation, borrowing, and theft. It also has to do with the nature of emotional and intellectual attachment. I stole the poem's title and refrain from this t-shirt I love and bought for $4.99 at Rainbow Shop which says in sequins: Nope Not Today. This poem is part of a manuscript called Dog Whistle, in which I wish to explore the nature of language and its use, code-switching, register, emotional and intellectual appropriation, modes of communication, and politics." —Tina Cane   Tina Cane's most recent book is Body of Work (Veliz Books, 2019). Cane is the founder and director of Writers-in-the-Schools, Rhode Island, and currently serves as poet laureate of Rhode Island. Poetry by Cane   Body of Work (Veliz Books, 2019) "forgetting something" by Nick Flynn "Feel Piece 4" by Laura Wetherington "Duplex" by Jericho Brown November Guest Editor: Sherwin Bitsui   Thanks to Sherwin Bitsui, author of Dissolve (Copper Canyon Press, 2018), who curated Poem-a-Day for this month's weekdays. Read a Q&A with Bitsui about his curatorial approach this month and find out more about our guest editors for the year. A culture break, a source of daily renewal...   If reading Poem-a-Day has become a meaningful part of your day, please consider supporting this free series with a donation. Your gift makes publishing Poem-a-Day 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   Unsubscribe here.   © Academy of American Poets 75 Maiden Lane, Suite 901, New York, NY 10038

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