The National Poetry Series was established in 1978 to ensure the publication of five poetry books annually through five participating publishers. Publication is funded by the Lannan Foundation; Stephen Graham; Joyce & Seward Johnson Foundation; Juliet Lea Hillman Simonds; The Poetry Foundation; and, Olafur Olafsson.
2012 Competition Winners
the meatgirl whatever, by Kristin Hatch of San Francisco, CA
Chosen by K. Silem Mohammad, to be published by Fence Books
The Narrow Circle, by Nathan Hoks of Chicago, IL
Chosen by Dean Young, to be published by Penguin Books
The Cloud that Contained the Lightning, by Cynthia Lowen of Brooklyn, NY
Chosen by Nikky Finney, to be published by University of Georgia Press
Visiting Hours at the Color Line, by Ed Pavlić of Athens, GA
Chosen by Dan Beachy-Quick, to be published by Milkweed Editions
Failure and I Bury the Body, by Sasha West of Austin, TX
Chosen by D. Nurkse, to be published by HarperCollins Publishers
visiting hours at the color line
More by Ed Pavlić
But Here Are Small Clear Refractions
Winners Have Yet to Be Announced: A Song for Donny Hathaway
Labors Lost Left Unfinished
Crossroads Modernism: Descent and Emergence in African American Literary Culture
Paraph of Bone & Other Kinds of Blue
VISITING HOURS AT THE COLOR LINE
poems
Ed Pavlić
milkweed
editions
© 2013, Text by Ed Pavlić
All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations in critical articles or reviews, no part of this book may be reproduced in any manner without prior written permission from the publisher: Milkweed Editions, 1011 Washington Avenue South, Suite 300, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55415.
(800) 520-6455
Published 2013 by Milkweed Editions
Cover design by Jeenee Lee
Cover art © Henry Jackson, “Untitled #26-10”
Author photo by Sunčana Pavlić
13 14 15 16 17 5 4 3 2 1
First Edition
Milkweed Editions, an independent nonprofit publisher, gratefully acknowledges sustaining support from the Bush Foundation; the Patrick and Aimee Butler Foundation; the Dougherty Family Foundation; the Driscoll Foundation; the Jerome Foundation; the Lindquist & Vennum Foundation; the McKnight Foundation; the voters of Minnesota through a Minnesota State Arts Board Operating Support grant, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund; the National Endowment for the Arts; the Target Foundation; and other generous contributions from foundations, corporations, and individuals. For a full listing of Milkweed Editions supporters, please visit www.milkweed.org.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Pavlic, Edward M. (Edward Michael).
[Poems. Selections]
Visiting hours at the color line : poems / Ed Pavlic. -- First edition.
pages cm
Includes bibliographical references.
ISBN 978-1-57131-901-2
I. Title.
PS3616.A9575V57 2013
811’.6--dc23
2012051805
Milkweed Editions is committed to ecological stewardship. We strive to align our book production practices with this principle, and to reduce the impact of our operations in the environment. We are a member of the Green Press Initiative, a nonprofit coalition of publishers, manufacturers, and authors working to protect the world’s endangered forests and conserve natural resources. Visiting Hours at the Color Line was printed on acid-free 30% postconsumer-waste paper by Versa Press, Inc.
For Stacey. For Adrienne, in continued presence. And, for Glo.
“There’s always a ‘more,’ always a ‘soon’.”
Contents
All American Erotica : A .38 Slug in My Vocal Chords and the One That Got Away
Flight 577 : Atlanta to Chicago : Seat 27 F
Waking Up in Chicago after Dream Song 29
Verbatim II
2.
Written in Oakland, Written Down
Bright Blindness October 8, 1871 : A Chant
“Out” : June 11, 2011 2:24 a.m.—A Translation in Approaching Sonnets
Call It in the Air
And, But And : Decaying Sonnets
Freeze
Verbatim III
3.
Basso Ostinato
Soul Music and Firearms and the Blue Light on My Stoop That’s S’posed to Cool Motherfuckers Out but Maybe It Doesn’t Work
63rd Street Station and / or a Quiz : Pronounce the Word Spelled : Close
Give and Go Gave and Gone
It’s a Dream Wherein Finally—and by that I mean right away, which is to say, just in time—I Understand Circular Breathing
Verbatim IV
4.
Visiting Hours at the Color Line
Ornette Coleman’s Out-of-Office Reply
From : Arachnida Speak
Alibis for the Heavy Part of Rain That Stays in the Sky
Verbatim V : You Two Talk or In Flew Itity : Epilogue