The National Poetry Series was established in 1978 to ensure the publication of five collections of poetry annually through five participating publishers. Publication is funded annually by the Lannan Foundation, Amazon Literary Partnership, Barnes & Noble, the Poetry Foundation, the PG Family Foundation and the Betsy Community Fund, Joan Bingham, Mariana Cook, Stephen Graham, Juliet Lea Hillman Simonds, William Kistler, Jeffrey Ravetch, Laura Baudo Sillerman, and Margaret Thornton. For a complete listing of generous contributors to the National Poetry Series, please visit www.nationalpoetryseries.org.
2015 COMPETITION WINNERS
Not on the Last Day, but on the Very Last
by Justin Boening of Iowa City, IA
Chosen by Wayne Miller, to be published by Milkweed Editions
The Wug Test
by Jennifer Kronovet of New York, NY
Chosen by Eliza Griswold, to be published by Ecco
Scriptorium
by Melissa Range of Appleton, WI
Chosen by Tracy K. Smith, to be published by Beacon Press
Trébuchet
by Danniel Schoonebeek of Brooklyn, NY
Chosen by Kevin Prufer, to be published by University of Georgia Press
The Sobbing School
by Joshua Bennett of Yonkers, NY
Chosen by Eugene Gloria, to be published by Penguin
© 2016, Text by Justin Boening
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 2016 by Milkweed Editions
Printed in the United States of America
Cover design by Gretchen Achilles
Cover illustration by Ekely / Getty Images
Author photo by Devon Walker-Figueroa
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
Names: Boening, Justin, author.
Title: Not on the last day, but on the very last : poems / Justin Boening.
Description: Minneapolis, Minnesota : Milkweed Editions, 2016.
Identifiers: LCCN 2016013643 (print) | LCCN 2016014063 (ebook) | ISBN 9781571314871 (paperback) | ISBN 9781571319517 (e-book)
Subjects: | BISAC: POETRY / American / General.
Classification: LCC PS3602.O42274 A6 2016 (print) | LCC PS3602.O42274 (ebook) | DDC 811/.6--dc23
LC record available at http://lccn.loc.gov/2016013643
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. Not on the Last Day, but on the Very Last was printed on acid-free 100% postconsumer-waste paper by Edwards Brothers Malloy.
CONTENTS
1 When I Cannot Sleep—Day Six—a Letter
4 On the Mysterious Disappearance of Fortunetellers
5 Self-Portrait in Which I Resemble the Man next to Me
6 Nobody
7 The Jukebox That Ended the World Twice
8 Proxy Baptism
9 The Opera Singer
1 The Banquet
2 The Mistake
3
