© 2014, Text by Sara Eliza Johnson
Cover art by George Stubbs (public domain)
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 2014 by Milkweed Editions
Cover design by Mary Austin Speaker
Author photo by Fotofly Studio
14 15 16 17 18 5 4 3 2 1
First Edition
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Johnson, Sara Eliza.
[Poems. Selections]
Bone Map : poems / Sara Eliza Johnson. -- First edition.
pages cm. -- (National Poetry Series)
ISBN 978-1-57131-919-7 (ebook)
I. Title.
PS3610.O3764A6 2014
811'.6--dc23
2014004616
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. Bone Map was printed on acid-free 30% postconsumer-waste paper by Edwards Brothers Malloy.
CONTENTS
As the Sickle Moon Guts a Cloud
Lesson
Me Tangere
Rapture
View From the Fence, On Which I Sit and Dangle My Legs
Confession
Frühlingstraum
The Last Przewalski’s Horse
The Dream of Water
Parable of the Flood
When There Is Burning Instead
Purgatory
Epilogue
Pathfinder
Sea Psalm
Question
Elegy Surrounded by Water
Archipelago: Island of Sheep
Archipelago: The Paradise of Birds
Archipelago: Tabula Rasa
Archipelago: The Soporific Well
Instructions for Wintering on the Ice Field
Letter from the Ice Field, October
Letter from the Ice Field, December
Letter from the Ice Field, January
Letter from the Ice Field, March
Archipelago: Ultima Thule
The City Where Men Are Mended
Let Us Consider Where We Might Have a Home
How the World Was Made
Equinox
A god steps down from the mountain. He walks through the dark forest. There are wild beasts everywhere in the silent darkness. It must be real. I’m not dreaming. I’m telling the truth.
INGMAR BERGMAN
Through a Glass Darkly
In the forest, the owl releases a boneless cry.
I know the names of things here
and I can hold them.
I hold your hand:
a
