Animal / Anima
Published in Poem Of The Day
all of us all but us only
(but not us) the mammals or only
us: animal in us or only
the male of us: brute
no animals in the Bible
only beasts as of the field
not us: it says breathed
into in our image of the dust
anima breath to anima
soul but all animals
breathe the same one
long song the same air
About this poem
"'Animal / Anima' is one of a number of similar poems that appear throughout my book 'Admit One: An American Scrapbook,' to be published by the University of Pittsburgh Press in 2016. Beginning with the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair and highlighting other dates, events and places (including the Bronx Zoo) that extend into and beyond the 1920s, the book addresses racism, eugenics, immigration and other related issues through a collage of documentary materials and lyrical explorations."
-Martha Collins
About Martha Collins
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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) 2015 Martha Collins. Originally published by the Academy of American Poets, www.poets.org. Distributed by King Features Syndicate