"Traces" by Matthew Shenoda

View this email on a browser Forward to a friend Support Poem-a-Day November 13, 2019   Traces   Matthew Shenoda

In the hard shadow of the moon when the recesses of light have gone  and the faint red of the hawk's shoulder has disappeared from the sky in the growing pulse of the praying mantis when the city has come into its own new light it is here where I often remember: the weaving of ocean vines the trails of history, cemented by touch the small ridged blossom of the cowry shell the indigo dye made radiant by the seller's basket. The way the long grass  emerges at the shore. Something of that meeting. These are memories both distant and near traces of them lived and felt  laughing in the company of the ones who came holding the silence of the moment, as we stare  with wonder, at the bubbling ruptures of a painter's canvas, pull, with care, the clinging skin of a stubborn fruit. I recall these moments  not from the grand gesture of a thing once known,  but from a small place the place where my child's hand is hidden warmly inside my own.            Copyright © 2019 by Matthew Shenoda. Originally published in Poem-a-Day on November 13, 2019, by the Academy of American Poets. About this Poem   "The relationship between memory and quiet meditation has always felt like a space of fruition for me as a writer. In that quiet, I am particularly interested in the ways we construct a sense of ourselves and our lineage in relation to place, to history, and to one another; especially those who shape our sense of self—past and present—and remind us that we've never been alone. This poem is a small piece of that." —Matthew Shenoda   Matthew Shenoda is the author of three books, most recently Tahrir Suite: Poems (TriQuarterly Books, 2014). The recipient of an Arab American Book Award, Shenoda is associate provost for social equity & inclusion and a professor of literary arts and studies at Rhode Island School of Design. Poetry by Shenoda   Tahrir Suite: Poems (TriQuarterly Books, 2014) "Writing Home" by Wendy Xu "Animals Imagined" by Bin Ramke "This City I Come From" by Agnes Lam 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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