Collins - Day unto day: poems

DAY UNTO DAY ALSO BY MARTHA COLLINS POETRY White Papers Blue Front Some Things Words Can Do A History of Small Life on a Windy Planet The Arrangement of Space The Catastrophe of Rainbows POETRY CHAPBOOKS Sheer Gone So Far TRANSLATIONS Black Stars: Poems by Ngo Tu Lap (co-translated with the author) Green Rice: Poems by Lam Thi My Da (co-translated with Thuy Dinh) The Women Carry River Water: Poems by Nguyen Quang Thieu (co-translated with the author) EDITED BOOK Critical Essays on Louise Bogan DAY UNTO DAY Poems MARTHA COLLINS 2014, Text by Martha Collins 2014, Cover art by Jane Fulton Alt. www.JaneFultonAlt.com All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations in critical articles or reviews, no part of this book may be reproduced in any manner without prior written permission from the publisher: Milkweed Editions, 1011 Washington Avenue South, Suite 300, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55415. (800) 520-6455 www.milkweed.org Published 2014 by Milkweed Editions Cover design by Gretchen Achilles/Wavetrap Design Cover art by Jane Fulton Alt Author photo by Doug Macomber 14 15 16 17 18 5 4 3 2 1 First Edition Milkweed Editions, an independent nonprofit publisher, gratefully acknowledges sustaining support from the Bush Foundation; the Patrick and Aimee Butler Foundation; the Driscoll Foundation; the Jerome Foundation; the Lindquist & Vennum Foundation; the McKnight Foundation; the National Endowment for the Arts; the Target Foundation; and other generous contributions from foundations, corporations, and individuals. Also, this activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a Minnesota State Arts Board Operating Support grant, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund, and a grant from the Wells Fargo Foundation Minnesota. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Collins, Martha, 1940- [Poems. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Collins, Martha, 1940- [Poems.

Selections] Day unto day : poems / Martha Collins. First Edition. pages cm ISBN 978-1-57131-848-0 (ebook) I. Title. PS3553.O4752A6 2014 811.54--dc23 2013045896 Milkweed Editions is committed to ecological stewardship. We strive to align our book production practices with this principle, and to reduce the impact of our operations in the environment.

We are a member of the Green Press Initiative, a nonprofit coalition of publishers, manufacturers, and authors working to protect the worlds endangered forests and conserve natural resources. Day Unto Day was printed on acid-free 100% postconsumer-waste paper by Friesens Corporation. for TedCONTENTSDay unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night sheweth knowledge.Psalm 19:2To lives a Gift, to dyes a Debt that we Each of us owe unto Mortality.PHILIP PAIN, Daily Meditations (1668)October 2004Not much. Less. Slipof a finger, diminishedinterval, maybe thirdof three or two.Water mirrors house with highgreen door opening out (nosteps) into pure air.Air pockets threehawks. Cat gotthe bird got the cat.Overflown.

A habitof flight. Worn cloudon the edge of edge.Wisps. Little tongues.Tongues at work. Talk TodayShe could did for an hour or more.My first her, who gave me words.Then at the end, before, merely Oh!A moment of... of more, perhaps.Oh sweet and blessd could be.Oh my soulSoul slept, called in sick.Late sun cloudsthe lake with clouds.Katydid downto diddid.Nothing to be done.Little sun, quarter moon.Moon covered, un-covered, covered again, cold.Cold and hot, very and both.Disturbed the Sea of Tranquility.Distributed by the Moon Shop.Distributed self in pieces.Oh my broken.Broken down, or out, as inwar, or into, soon: my own him.How much we carry aroundunder our skins, manywe were, girls and boysNow nowAnd then then.Then gone and then to come:all the time, except the splitsecond, exceptAll the time in the world.And out of this world?Oh little heart on my wrist,where are we going?Going home: packed her bagsto go back ninety yearsburning skirt broken forkslow train the old housecurrent counter under crossThe one who gave me timeis out of time.Time to shut the rattlingwindows slamming doorsAnd if at first you dont and ifyou try again and dont youslip a little slideRope burns hands overthe book the pages overOver time sheOvertime. Timershe was Click I meanI.

Would work the weeklong song bird in theBurning bush ahead, redsumac jeweled by sun.Sun, here come the cloudsagain. Between us. Youcould care: youll swallowus up on your way out.Youre almost halfwaythere, and heream I, way past half.Half-life, half-light, half-moon, half-mast: lowflag, and every evening down.Discovered a world of greenin him, on the shoreof newfound skinHis different handHand over handover: changefor an emptyEnter the bare pageOh keep him safein his thin shifton his metal bedBed for one, my veryone, own, oh lethim let himSomeones deep insidehim now, somethinginside hims taken is