Eye Against Eye [excerpt]
As if nothing were wrong egrets dip-feed in near shore channels
the human genome reveals chromosomes from parasites
annexed by our DNA long ago
mongrels to the core and tourists
with cameras take the front pews
the enemy blows himself up at Passover dinner
the enemy trembles in a cave starving
the enemy lets go a daisy cutter
a million cubic feet of mud slides down the slope
toward a single bungalow in Laguna Beach
Various excerpts from Eye Against Eye, by Forest Gander, copyright © 2001, 2002, 2004, 2005 by Forest Gander. Reprinted by permission of New Directions Publishing Corp.
Forrest Gander
Forrest Gander is the author of several poetry collections, including Be With (New Directions, 2018), winner of the 2019 Pulitzer Prize in Poetry. He currently serves on the Board of Chancellors of the Academy of American Poets.