"Łčíčšeʔ" by Heather Cahoon

View this email on a browser Forward to a friend Support Poem-a-Day November 5, 2019   Łčíčšeʔ   Heather Cahoon

She is a wood warbler  hatched          into madness.             She emerged from milky shell   earthen brown blotches not Rorschach   not robin   but warbler. Open-mouthed          swallow of hard- chipped notes, calls smothered inside               her smoke-gray chamber of throat. Dis/appearing between branches muted yellow-green            tail feathers and body dainty   clawed toes white lines half-circle          her eyes sense but can't see at the center of night     movements misfire misreads the body                                                  responds on its own.            Copyright © 2019 by Heather Cahoon. Originally published in Poem-a-Day on November 5, 2019, by the Academy of American Poets. About this Poem   "This poem describes the body's response to trauma, which is one of many related themes explored in more detail in my forthcoming collection of poems Horsefly Dress, named for the only daughter of Coyote, an important figure in my tribe's oral traditions. The poems—including 'Łčíčšeʔ', which means older sister—deal with issues stemming from Coyote's transformation of the world and his decision to leave present certain 'evils' including cruelty, greed, hunger, death, etc. In more specific terms, these topics are explored through first-person experiences and the experiences of my family and larger tribal community."          —Heather Cahoon   Heather Cahoon's first collection of poems, Horsefly Dress, is forthcoming from the University of Arizona Press in the fall of 2020. She is an Assistant Professor of Native American Studies at the University of Montana and lives in Missoula. "A Field of Finches Without Sight Still Singing" by Grace Cavalieri "Roar Shack" by Alice Fulton "The Woodlice" by Aracelis Girmay 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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