The Poem
Alice Notley
They leave you up there he said calling you names
As it gets dark remember for you’ve had the experience
Retaining barely a consciousness the body’d shrink away
But there’s only exposure the necessary fasting you are seen
They want to watch you all humans being empathic predators
And then I said when there is no conventional body
And little recognition of forms as in a violently painful half-sleep
You become your other after they have had you like a feast
This is done everywhere in many ways often subtly in an instant
You may so be done away with I had seen the impossibility
Of living with others yet loving for that was my condition
At the crossroads when they asked me to partake of rules as in
A commune of pretension I left unruly
Who stands by me now he or I say and I said last night
Holding the world together by my total recall
At anyone’s distress they are so sorry sounding like pigeons
They who call themselves poets and have no letters
About this poem
“‘The Poem’ is a small excerpt from a very long work in progress called ‘The Speak Angel Series.’ This work contains a recurring crucifixion.” – Alice Notley
About Alice Notley
Alice Notley is the author of “Benediction” (Letter Machine Editions, 2015). She lives and works in Paris.
The Academy of American Poets is a nonprofit, mission-driven organization, whose aim is to make poetry available to a wider audience. Email The Academy at poem-a-day@poets.org.
(c) 2016 Alice Notley. Originally published by the Academy of American Poets, www.poets.org. Distributed by King Features Syndicate.
