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BRIGHT DEAD THINGS
ALSO BY ADA LIMÓN
Lucky Wreck
This Big Fake World
Sharks in the Rivers
© 2015, Text by Ada Limón
© 2015, Cover art by Stacion Brady
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 2015 by Milkweed Editions
Printed in Canada
Cover design by Gretchen Achilles
Author photo by Jude Domski
15 16 17 18 19 5 4 3 2 1
FIRST EDITION
Milkweed Editions, an independent nonprofit publisher, gratefully acknowledges sustaining support from 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
Limón, Ada.
[Poems. Selections]
Bright dead things / Ada Limón. -- First edition.
pages cm
ISBN 978-1-57131-471-0 (alk. paper) -- ISBN 978-1-57131-925-8 (ebook)
I. Title.
PS3612.I496A6 2015
811’.6--dc23
2015000088
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. Bright Dead Things was printed on acid-free 100% postconsumer-waste paper by Friesens Corporation.
For Lucas & Lily Bean
CONTENTS
• Title Page • Copyright • Dedication 1: 1. How to Triumph Like a Girl 2. During the Impossible Age of Everyone 3. The Last Move 4. Mowing 5. The Rewilding 6. The Good Wave 7. Down Here 8. How Far Away We Are 9. The Quiet Machine 10. I Remember the Carrots 11. The Tree of Fire 12. Someplace Like Montana 13. State Bird 14. Downhearted 15. Miracle Fish 16. The Saving Tree 17. What It Looks Like to Us and the Words We Use 2: 18. Bellow 19. What Remains Grows Ravenous 20. In a Mexican Restaurant I Recall How Much You Upset Me 21. Cower 22. Relentless 23. The Riveter 24. The Vine 25. After You Toss Around the Ashes 26. The Noisiness of Sleep 27. We Are Surprised 28. The Long Ride 29. Before 30. Torn 31. Field Bling 32. In the Country of Resurrection 3: 33. Glow 34. The Wild Divine 35. Day of Song, Day of Silence 36. Oranges & the Ocean 37. Play It Again 38. Long Ago & the Cow Comes Back 39. Accident Report in the Tall, Tall Weeds 40. Service 41. The Plunge 42. The Good Fight 43. Drift 44. Midnight, Talking About Our Exes 45. Nashville After Hours 46. Oh Please, Let It Be Lightning 4: 47. Adaptation 48. Roadside Attractions with the Dogs of America 49. Prickly Pear & Fisticuffs 50. The Whale & the Waltz Inside of It 51. A Trick of the Light 52. Tattoo Theory 53. The Problem with Travel 54. Outside Oklahoma, We See Boston 55. The Great Blue Heron of Dunbar Road 56. Lies About Sea Creatures 57. Call to Post 58. Lashed to the Helm, All Stiff and Stark 59. Home Fires 60. After the Ice Storm 61. The Other Wish 62. The Conditional • Acknowledgments • About the Author
