"Unmarked" by Tim Seibles

View this email on a browser Forward to a friend October 1, 2018   Unmarked   Tim Seibles

for Natalie   So much like sequins the sunlight on this river. Something like that kiss— remember? Fourth of July, with the moon down early      the air moved as if it were thinking, as if it had begun to understand how hard it is to feel at home in the world, but that night she found a place just above your shoulder and pressed her lips there. Soft rain had called off the fireworks: the sky was quiet, but back on Earth two boys cruised by on bikes trying out bad words. You turned to reach her mouth, at last, with yours      after weeks of long walks, talking about former loves gone awry— how the soul finally falls down and gets up alone once more finding the city strange, the streets unmarked.   Every time you meet someone it's hard not to wonder who they've been—one story breaking so much into the next: memory engraves its hesitations— but that night you found yourself unafraid. Do you remember what the wind told the trees about her brown hair?— how the cool dark turned around: that first kiss, long as a river. Didn't it seem like you already loved her? Off the sidewalk: a small pond, the tall cattails, all those sleepy koi coloring the water.                Copyright © 2018 Tim Seibles. Used with permission of the author. About This Poem   "This poem was inspired by one long kiss that began a romance that has continued to this day. While working the drafts, it came to me that every love is quietly (or not-so-quietly) in dialogue with past loves. I think this is what baggage refers to. In simple terms, I just hope this poem offers a clear snapshot of a perfect beginning." —Tim Seibles   Tim Seibles is the author of several books of poetry, including One Turn Around the Sun (2017) and Fast Animal (2012), which was a finalist for the National Book Award, both published by Etruscan Press. He is a professor of English at Old Dominion University and lives in Norfolk, Virginia. Phot Credit: Jennifer Fish Poetry by Seibles   One Turn Around the Sun (Etruscan Press, 2017) "Einstein Defining Special Relativity" by A. Van Jordan "At night, by marriage:" by Lisa Ciccarello "Passing Through" by D.A. Powell October Guest Editor: Ross Gay   Thanks to Ross Gay, author of Catalog of Unabashed Gratitude (University of Pittsburgh Press, 2015), who curated Poem-a-Day this month. Read more about Gay and 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

From Our Advertisers