smith


Mike Smith

US—An Anagram



I. Day

Having slept in again, in and on,
in a haze we wake, rise,
look as one on war, despair
and a thunderous applause.

Our cities roar in a civil ruin.
Many brace themselves, or link arm
in arm, as at work (lost in a cooked ink)
I ask what occurs in me

that can lash me so low
when all say join in and agree.
As soon as our watching “A…A…Ayes”

all have it, I say I can’t breathe.

II. Night

In my car, awash as on a main
divide, I am choosing to miss
my exit; I am sailing home
on a sour air; I am looking hard

for a song on a station I know exists
and know I cannot find.

~    ~    ~    ~    ~    ~    ~    ~


The poem is an anagram of the names of fifty United States of America. All of the letters that make up the names of the fifty states have been used, once and only once, in the composition of this poem. No letters have been added and no letters have been left out. The title, section title, and section dividers are not to be considered part of the anagram.

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