"Altitude" by Cyrus Cassells

View this email on a browser Forward to a friend Support Poem-a-Day December 30, 2019   Altitude   Cyrus Cassells

You've just died in my arms, But suddenly it seems we're eternal Cali boys, Afro-haired cohorts in crime, Racing through intricate lattices Of quince and lemon tree shadows, Corridors of Queen Anne's lace— On the skip-church Sunday you dubbed me "Sir Serious" instead of Cyrus— Then, swift as a deer's leap, we're devotees Of goatees and showy Guatemalan shirts, Intoxicated lovers for a month On the northwest coast of Spain— Praising the irrepressible sounds Of a crusty Galician bagpiper On La Coruña's gripping finisterre, Then gossiping and climbing (Like the giddy Argonauts we were) The lofty, ancient Roman lighthouse, All the way—Keep on truckin', we sang— To the top of the Tower of Hercules—            Copyright © 2019 by Cyrus Cassells. Originally published in Poem-a-Day on December 30, 2019, by the Academy of American Poets. About this Poem   "Written in Spain, this ecstatic, life-flashing-before-your-eyes elegy is dedicated to the memory of D. Barbiery. It's from a new volume, Is There Room For Another Horse on Your Horse Ranch? forthcoming from Four Way Books." —Cyrus Cassells   Cyrus Cassells is the author of The Gospel according to Wild Indigo (Southern Illinois University Press, 2018). A 2019 Guggenheim Fellow, he lives in Austin and teaches at Texas State University. Poetry by Cassells   The Gospel according to Wild Indigo (Southern Illinois University Press, 2018) "'The world is a beautiful place'" by Lawrence Ferlinghetti "At a Days Inn in Barstow, California" by Chloe Honum "Face" by Tom Sleigh December Guest Editor: Paisley Rekdal   Thanks to Paisley Rekdal, author of Nightingale (Copper Canyon Press, 2019), who curated Poem-a-Day for this month's weekdays. Read a Q&A with Rekdal about her curatorial 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   Unsubscribe here.   © Academy of American Poets 75 Maiden Lane, Suite 901, New York, NY 10038