Publicity
Yoked to what? To whom? Calibration. Checkmate. Thunderous blowhard, tiny tea kettle. Boom. Bastion at the market, flashlight mimicry. Look at my phrase making, batting eyes. Whose hand do you hold? Whose hand do you want? Enough of this, ruiner. What’s the gift of talk, talk, talk. Where’re your minions, battle stations. Take out your troubled photocopies and burn the Pilgrim’s kiss. There’s only one story. It always ends.
Credit
Copyright © 2018 by Ada Limón. Originally published in Poem-a-Day on December 28, 2018, by the Academy of American Poets.
About this Poem
“The poem came out of a sort of commentary on the social media echo chamber but also serves as a reminder to myself that all art comes out of an honoring of death and what might live beyond the self.”
—Ada Limón
Author
Ada Limón
Ada Limón is the author of The Carrying (Milkweed Editions, 2018) and Bright Dead Things (Milkweed Editions, 2015), which was a finalist for the National Book Award.
Date Published
12/28/2018