Leviathan by Laura Da’

View this email on a browser Forward to a friend October 1, 2015   Leviathan   Laura Da’

In Westport the small French cart of the voyageurs earned the name mule-killer.   Once Shawnee was the lingua franca up and down the Mississippi,   then mollassi became molasses. For the bringing of the horse   it is said much can be forgiven: burn of Missouri whiskey and aching molars,   lunatic fevers of cholera, even those men   born astride. Rare beast to share that weight on such fine and slender legs.            Copyright © 2015 by Laura Da'. Used with permission of the author. About This Poem   “‘Leviathan’ is drawn from a manuscript that examines the human consequences of the mapping and surveying of the American West and the politics of the Indian Removal Act of 1830. This poem references events and language pertaining to the removal of the Shawnee tribe from their traditional homelands to Indian Territory.” —Laura Da’   Laura Da’ is the author of Tributaries (University of Arizona Press, 2015). She works as a public school teacher and lives in Newcastle, Washington. Poetry by Da'   Tributaries (University of Arizona Press, 2015) "Horse Latitudes " by Jo Sarzotti "bible belted: history" by Quraysh Ali Lansana "Holding Posture" by Howard Altmann Poem-a-Day   Launched during National Poetry Month in 2006, Poem-a-Day features new and previously unpublished poems by contemporary poets on weekdays and classic poems on weekends. 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