Poem of the Day: The Trust Territory III

III. Koi Carp
by Andy Brown

This week and next, Poem of the Day is presenting Andy Brown's 10-part poem, The Trust Territory. I think there's much to enjoy in each individual segment, and even more so when all ten pieces are put together. Also, at least some parts of it are especially suited to this time of year.

Please see after today's piece for information on where to find the poem in print.

This pollen-honeyed evening
your parting gift of Koi carp
rise to the gilded surface.

They flash their dog-brown eyes
beneath the pond's lens;
twitch a muscle and disappear.

But tight in the kernel
of night, they cut through
the dream's meniscus,

stirring the pool's surprises;
quick insects; slow molluscs
down in the muck & the silt.

The Trust Territory was originally published as a poetry chapbook, now out of print. It's currently available in Fall of the Rebel Angels: Poems 1996-2006 (find the best prices online here). The versions posted here are taken from the latter. From the author's acknowledgements for that volume: "Many [poems in this collection] appear as they were first published in individual volumes, others have been edited over the years and it is these final versions I wish to preserve."

Andy Brown's latest book is Goose Music, co-authored with John Burnside.

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