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2022 Academy of American Poets Prize

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Let's Go Down

by Desiree Santana





 

i. It is known that words come up from such soil crack like husks brand like cast iron corn bread tastes like centuries removed from magic yet it is true stale states take up serpents for salvation here moaning is mistaken for Sunday’s choir singing O’ Sisters let’s go down down to the river to pray ii. It is imagined that he was a seventh son of a seventh son a healer blowing smoke into thrush throats making hot toddies at night sweating off sickness we would play blind man’s bluff in the shadow of his castle now over to the open casket we go an angel howls O’ Mourners let’s go down down to the river to pray iii. It is remembered that father walked from a burning house waddled through the snow they say if you’re born on a mountain one leg is shorter than the other to account for the slope already unsteady on feet from birth his suboxone knees couldn’t hold his weight they moaned O’ Fathers let’s go down down to the river to pray

iv. It is said that I could roll a cigarette before I could write suckled coffee from the bottle could curse you up and down but other words didn’t come easy like pulling teeth no like a silver cap over the rotting root still this mouth redeeming O’ Sinners let’s go down down to the river to pray v. I say to you that mythologies are all we have take Samuel learned his letters from his wife on a puncheon floor some white sand scrubbed and charcoal take Tempie died from a snakebite picking apples there’s a picture of her eyes hard husband with a fiddle up ready to play O’ Brothers let’s go down down to the river to pray vi. It is true: I have not been honest in a way history recognizes such stories like lightning bugs press their light against the cool sides of the dark an audience of children catching, singing O’ Mothers lets go down down to the river to pray

 





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