POST-
ALSO BY WAYNE MILLER
POETRY COLLECTIONS
The City, Our City
The Book of Props
Only the Senses Sleep
TRANSLATIONS
Zodiac
by Moikom Zeqo
I Don’t Believe in Ghosts
by Moikom Zeqo
EDITED BOOKS
Literary Publishing in the Twenty-First Century
with Travis Kurowski and Kevin Prufer
Tamura Ryuichi: On the Life & Work of a 20th Century Master
with Takako Lento
New European Poets
with Kevin Prufer
© 2016, Text by Wayne Miller
© 2016, Cover art by Lisa Gilman
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 2016 by Milkweed Editions
Printed in Canada
Cover design by Adam B. Bohannon
Cover photos by Lisa Gilman
Author photo by Jennifer Drake
16 17 18 19 20 5 4 3 2 1
First Edition
Milkweed Editions, an independent nonprofit publisher, gratefully acknowledges sustaining support from the Jerome Foundation; the Lindquist & Vennum Foundation; the McKnight Foundation; the National Endowment for the Arts; the Target Foundation; and other generous contributions from foundations, corporations, and individuals. Also, this activity is made possible by 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, and a grant from the Wells Fargo Foundation Minnesota. For a full listing of Milkweed Editions supporters, please visit www.milkweed.org.
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA
Miller, Wayne, 1976-
[Poems. Selections]
Post-poems / Wayne Miller. — First edition.
pages; cm
ISBN 978-1-57131-470-3 (alk. paper) — ISBN 978-1-57131-921-0 (ebook)
I. Title.
PS3613.I56245A6 2016
811’.6—dc23 2015029240
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. Post- was printed on acid-free 100% postconsumer-waste paper by Friesens.
For Sean & Harper & Jeanne
my City
CONTENTS
1 The Debt
3 Swallows
7 House Near the Airport
8 Consumers in Rowboat
9 Post-Elegy
10 Marriage
11 The Next Generation
12 The Mind Sliding
13 Leaving the Hospital
14 A Bit about the Soul
15 The Affair
16 Prayers (w/Answers)
17 Report from the Provinces
18 Image: Postmodernity
19 Post-Elegy
20 On Language
21 A Breath in the Record
22 Allegory of the House
23 Post-Elegy
24 Landings
25 Ballad (American, 21st Century)
26 Hoax Bomb
27 Some Notes on Human Relations
28 Image: Psychotherapy
29 21st Century Museum
30 For Harper, 20 Months Old
31 Allegory of the Boat
32 Post-Elegy
33 On Breathing
34 Envoi
Notes
Acknowledgments
[T]he past is not closed, it receives meaning from our present actions.
CZESŁAW MIŁOSZ
POST-
THE