Dan Chiasson’s The Math Campers, to come this fall, is a book in part about fatherhood and
Dan Chiasson’s The Math Campers, to come this fall, is a book in part about fatherhood and adolescence—his own, his kids’, and the new freedoms as well as existential threats that shape their world. Today’s poem, from a multipart piece entitled “Over & Over,” is dedicated to his sons.
from “Over & Over”
my awareness seems to extend this day
past the trap my body set for me
past its small, pitiful adjustments
of head here wings here antennae here
what does it matter, the head and wings
and antennae if my awareness
soars over the tops of the pines
with their spiny flowers still green
like a drone flown by a teenage pilot
over the rooftops, silent yawp
past near meadows over the stop and shop
its dragonfly landing gear ready
now it zooms in on the roots which grip
the soil and feed on its decay
your hand and mine at the same angle
you there, in the future, fleeing me
More on this book and author:
- Learn more about Dan Chiasson’s forthcoming collection, The Math Campers
- Browse other books by Dan Chiasson and catch up with him on Twitter, @dchiasso
- Share this poem and peruse other poems, audio recordings, and broadsides in the Knopf poem-a-day series
- To share the poem-a-day experience with friends, pass along this link
Tue, 28 Apr 2020 08:00:44