"Meadowlark" by David J. Daniels

View this email on a browser Forward to a friend March 4, 2019   Meadowlark   David J. Daniels

My brother, wanting to off himself, Took rope into a summer park. Rope, plus a knife For cutting it: a serrated hawkbill, Cushioned grip, with two-inch Curved, ignoble blade The manufacturers in their cruelty call A lightweight Meadowlark. Cruel because the meadowlark Is calm. They're calm This morning. Sure, they shaggle the corn a bit, But otherwise, when they're done, They perch on the fence in the golden sun, Heads down as if they're sleeping.            Copyright © 2019 David J. Daniels. Used with permission of the author. About This Poem   "'Meadowlark' is atypical of my work: my poetry often rhymes or employs strict metrical forms and syllabics. There are lingering hints here of earlier drafts ('park' / 'Meadowlark,' 'done' / 'sun'), but something about the content drove me against my usual tendencies to control and fashion things so carefully. In the end, I'm glad that the poem remains primarily about language, that it hinges on a single, fragile word, bearing the name of a bird and a weapon. And my brother (very much still alive, thankfully) told me he loves the poem." —David J. Daniels   David J. Daniels is the author of _Clean_ (Four Way Books, 2014), winner of the Four Way Books Intro Prize, and a finalist for the Kate Tufts Discovery Award and the Lambda Literary Award. He teaches composition at the University of Denver and lives in Denver, Colorado. Photo Credit: John Tiedemann Poetry by Daniels   Clean (Four Way Books, 2014) "God's Will" by Nick Flynn "Reverse Suicide" by Mat Rasmussen "Elegy with Icarus and the Heart of a Hummingbird" by James Hoch March Guest Editor: Maggie Smith   Thanks to Maggie Smith, author of Good Bones (Tupelo Press, 2017), who curated Poem-a-Day for this month's weekdays. Read a Q&A with Smith 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.   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