DAY UNTO DAY
ALSO BY MARTHA COLLINS
POETRY
White Papers
Blue Front
Some Things Words Can Do
A History of Small Life on a Windy Planet
The Arrangement of Space
The Catastrophe of Rainbows
POETRY CHAPBOOKS
Sheer
Gone So Far
TRANSLATIONS
Black Stars: Poems by Ngo Tu Lap
(co-translated with the author)
Green Rice: Poems by Lam Thi My Da
(co-translated with Thuy Dinh)
The Women Carry River Water: Poems by Nguyen Quang Thieu
(co-translated with the author)
EDITED BOOK
Critical Essays on Louise Bogan
DAY UNTO DAY
Poems
MARTHA COLLINS
© 2014, Text by Martha Collins
© 2014, Cover art by Jane Fulton Alt. www.JaneFultonAlt.com
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 Gretchen Achilles/Wavetrap Design
Cover art by Jane Fulton Alt
Author photo by Doug Macomber
14 15 16 17 18 5 4 3 2 1
First Edition
Milkweed Editions, an independent nonprofit publisher, gratefully acknowledges sustaining support from the Bush Foundation; the Patrick and Aimee Butler Foundation; the Driscoll Foundation; 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
Collins, Martha, 1940-
[Poems. Selections]
Day unto day : poems / Martha Collins. — First Edition.
pages cm
ISBN 978-1-57131-848-0 (ebook)
I. Title.
PS3553.O4752A6 2014
811’.54--dc23
2013045896
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. Day Unto Day was printed on acid-free 100% postconsumer-waste paper by Friesens Corporation.
for Ted
CONTENTS
COMING THROUGH
UNDER GREEN
MOVING STILL
AFTER WORK
GRAYED IN
Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night sheweth knowledge.
—Psalm 19:2
To live’s a Gift, to dye’s a Debt that we Each of us owe unto Mortality.
—PHILIP PAIN, Daily Meditations (1668)
October 2004
1
Not much. Less. Slip
of a finger, diminished
interval, maybe third
of three or two.
Water mirrors house with high
green door opening out (no
steps) into pure air.
2
Air pockets three
hawks. Cat got
the bird got the cat.
Overflown. A habit
of flight. Worn cloud
on
