Hello Friends,
The form of today’s poem by Clint Smith (from his 2023 collection Above Ground) is important and difficult to preserve for mobile phones, so I have included an image of the poem as well as the text below. The image comes from an outstanding poetry Instagram account @poetryisnotaluxury.
Enjoy.
— Ællen
The form of today’s poem by Clint Smith (from his 2023 collection Above Ground) is important and difficult to preserve for mobile phones, so I have included an image of the poem as well as the text below. The image comes from an outstanding poetry Instagram account @poetryisnotaluxury.
Enjoy.
— Ællen
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Cartography
In has been brought to my attention that Louisiana’s coastline in eroding
so quickly that it is losing a football field of marshland every hundred
minutes. All the while the map of Louisiana has remained the same
for several decades, though if it were accurate, hundreds of
miles of land would disappear into the Gulf of Mexico.
I think about how difficult it is for any of us to
admit that we’re not who we used to be.
That something in us has been lost
over time and will probably never
come back. It’s so hard to
disappear without anyone
noticing. It’s so hard to
be honest about the
changing contours
of your past with-
out the sky
murmuring
under its
breath.
■
In has been brought to my attention that Louisiana’s coastline in eroding
so quickly that it is losing a football field of marshland every hundred
minutes. All the while the map of Louisiana has remained the same
for several decades, though if it were accurate, hundreds of
miles of land would disappear into the Gulf of Mexico.
I think about how difficult it is for any of us to
admit that we’re not who we used to be.
That something in us has been lost
over time and will probably never
come back. It’s so hard to
disappear without anyone
noticing. It’s so hard to
be honest about the
changing contours
of your past with-
out the sky
murmuring
under its
breath.
■