Poem from the Russian
Published in Poem Of The Day
In a circle of 12 winter trees
I'm hunched
Remembering being fled from
-Who gave me this wool sweater?
So it please you life, we won't go alone-
Next year will be better.
Remember that white tree?
The white underpaint of the government.
The country of bone.
-In memory of Michael Brown
About this poem
"These are terrible days in this country. I honor Claudia Rankine and Jacqueline Woodson, everyone who writes deeply about these times, and every act of nonviolence. I wanted here to remember Michael Brown."
-Jean Valentine
About Jean Valentine
Jean Valentine is the author of "Shirt in Heaven," forthcoming from Copper Canyon Press in April of 2015. She lives in New York City.
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The Academy of American Poets is a nonprofit, mission-driven organization, whose aim is to make poetry available to a wider audience. Email The Academy at poem-a-day[at]poets.org.
(c) 2014 Jean Valentine. Originally published by the Academy of American Poets, www.poets.org. Distributed by King Features Syndicate
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