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thisconnectionofeveryonewithlungs
NEW CALIFORNIA POETRY
For, by Carol Snow
Enola Gay, by Mark Levine
Selected Poems, by Fanny Howe
Sleeping with the Dictionary, by Harryette Mullen
Commons, by Myung Mi Kim
The Guns and Flags Project, by Geoffrey G. O’Brien
Gone, by Fanny Howe
Why/Why Not, by Martha Ronk
A Carnage in the Lovetrees, by Richard Greenfield
The Seventy Prepositions, by Carol Snow
Not Even Then, by Brian Blanchfield
Facts for Visitors, by Srikanth Reddy
Weather Eye Open, by Sarah Gridley
Subject, by Laura Mullen
This Connection of Everyone with Lungs, by Juliana Spahr
University of California Press
Berkeley and Los Angeles, California
University of California Press, Ltd.
London, England
© 2005 by the Regents of the University of California
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Spahr, Juliana.
This connection of everyone with lungs : poems / Juliana Spahr.
p. cm. — (New California poetry ; 15)
ISBN 0-520-24290-4 (cloth : alk. paper) — ISBN 0-520-24295-5
(pbk. : alk. paper)
1. September 11 Terrorist Attacks, 2001—Poetry. 2. Victims of terrorism—Poetry. 3. Protest poetry, American. 4. Terrorism—Poetry. I. Title. II. Series.
ps3569.p3356T46 2005
811'.54—dc22
2004008292
Manufactured in Canada
13 12 11 10 09 08 07 06 05
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of ANSI/NISO Z39.48-1992 (R 1997) (Permanence of Paper).
Thank yous to Bill Luoma and Charles Weigl for all sorts of help with these poems. Thanks also to Ida Yoshinaga for her associative critiques.
CONTENTS
Poem Written after September 11, 2001
Poem Written from November 30, 2002, to March 27, 2003
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Versions of these poems have previously appeared or will appear in various magazines.
“Poem Written after September 11” appeared with the title “Poem” in Lit 6 (2002).
“December 2, 2002” and “December 3, 2002” appeared in The Baffler 16 (2003).
“December 1, 2002,” “December 4, 2002,” “January 13, 2003,” “January 20, 2003,” “January 28, 2003,” “February 15, 2003,” “March 5, 2003,” “March 11, 2003,” and “March 16, 2003” appeared in syllogism 6 (2004).
“March 17, 2003” appeared in the Village Voice (May 21–27, 2003).
“March 27 and 30, 2003” appeared in War and Peace (Oakland: O Books, 2004).
“November 30, 2002” and “December 8, 2002” appeared in Bomb Magazine (summer 2004).
poemwrittenafterseptember11/2001
There are these things:
cells, the movement of cells and the division of cells
and then the general beating of circulation
and hands, and body, and feet
and skin that surrounds hands, body, feet.
This is a shape,
a shape of blood beating and cells dividing.
But outside of this shape is space.
There is space between the hands.
There is space between the hands and space around the hands.
There is space around the hands and space in the room.
There is space in the room that surrounds the shapes of everyone’s hands and body and feet and cells and the beating contained within.
There is space, an uneven space, made by this pattern of bodies.
This space goes in and out of everyone’s bodies.
Everyone with lungs breathes the space in and out as everyone with lungs breathes the space between the hands in and out
as everyone with lungs breathes the space between the hands and the space around the hands in and out
as everyone with lungs breathes the space between the hands and the space around the hands and the space of the room in and out
as everyone with lungs breathes the space between the hands and the space around the hands and the space of the room and the space of the building that surrounds the room in and out
as everyone with lungs breathes the space between the hands and the space around the hands and the space of the room and the space of the building that surrounds the room and the space of the neighborhoods nearby in and out
as everyone with lungs breathes the space between the hands and the space around the hands and the space of the room and the space of the building that surrounds
