Tomaž Šalamun
Translated from the Slovenian by Brian Henry
A black vulture crushes my bones.
A white vulture in a photograph. 
Houses open their mouths, swallow
flowers. Lightning doesn't choose. I brushed
the spruces by hand. A car has a tire, a farmhand
a whip, trash cans are falling. We have
two natures. The vulture circles the belfry
at Ptujska Gora. Gingerbread hearts, red
blood, something awaits! Dawn bangs into
the bricks of Brooklyn. I'm still asleep
in silvery milk. When the wind strokes the grass,
I'll be in front of the house. Crickets will burn the air.
The sound will be like in the hall where
there's plush lining in Christ's tomb.
READ ABOUT TODAY'S POEM
Share Share
Tweet Tweet
Forward Forward
Confronting Grief, Mental Illness and Marginalization, in Verse

Emilia Phillips discusses four recently published titles, including work by Carmen Giménez Smith, Shira Erlichman, Prageeta Sharma, and Jake Skeets.  In writing about Giménez Smith's collection, she argues that as, "A work of lyric activism, Be Recorder wants to know 'what parables became policy' and 'are counter- / histories in your allusions'—that is, she wants to know who’s telling the stories and how these stories affect public perception of others’ humanity, especially that of immigrants."

viaTHE NEW YORK TIMES
READ ALL TODAY'S HEADLINES

"When I first encountered the poem several years ago, what stood out first to me was that an Asian poet was writing a contemporaneous poem about a defining tragedy of modern American history. 'In Memoriam' documents the intersectionality of grief. It determines the distance between marginalized perspectives, between elation and devastation, as no greater than an enjambed line. Consider the resonances between the poem and the slain minister’s final speech"
READ THIS WEEK'S ISSUE
Poetry Daily logo
Poetry Daily Depends on You

We make reading the best contemporary poetry a treasured daily experience. Consider a contribution today.
You have received this email because you submitted your email address at www.poems.com. 
If you would like to unsubscribe please click here.

© 2019 Poetry Daily, Poetry Daily, MS 3E4, 4400 University Dr., Fairfax, VA 22030

Design by the Binding Agency