Mistake
For years I have seen
dead animals on the highway
and grieved for them
only to realize they are
not dead animals
they are t shirts
or bits of blown tire
and I have found
myself with this
excess of grief
I have made with
no object to let
it spill over and
I have not known
where to put it or
keep it and then today
I thought I know
I can give it to you
Credit
Copyright © 2017 by Heather Christle. Originally published in Poem-a-Day on September 18, 2017, by the Academy of American Poets.
About this Poem
“What if a poem were a place where you could put an idea—and, were you to do so—the idea would no longer remain present in your own body? Would the poem contain the idea, or try to shift it elsewhere?”
—Heather Christle
Author
Heather Christle
Heather Christle is the author of The Crying Book (Catapult, 2019) as well as four poetry collections, including Heliopause (Wesleyan University Press, 2015) and What Is Amazing (Wesleyan University Press, 2012). She is an assistant professor of creative writing at Emory University and lives in Decatur, Georgia.
Date Published
09/18/2017