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.

      [phone]

       www.milkweed.org

      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

        Title Page

        Copyright

        Dedication

      1  The Debt

      2  Post-Elegy

      3  Swallows

      4  The First Year

      5  Inside the Book

      6  The People’s History

      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

        About the Author

       [T]he past is not closed, it receives meaning from our present actions.

      CZESŁAW MIŁOSZ

      POST-

THE