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By CAConrad

For Kazim Ali

                                    sometimes I strain
                                         to hear one
                                             natural
                                          sound
            when gender blurs in a
         poem my world sets a
              tooth in the gear
               if god is in me
       when will I ask for
     my needs to be met
    every god is qualified
       it is not such a secret
       when I was afraid of the
            road I learned to drive
               map says name of
            your city in ocean
            line drawn to it
          towing behind
          the big party
   history of life on
      earth might be
      interesting to a
        visitor one day
 chewing parsley and
cilantro together is for
           me where forest
               meets meadow
                    in a future life
                   would we like to
                 fall in love with the
                    world as it is with
                       no recollection
                       of the beauty
                       we destroy
                             today


Source: Poetry (January 2020)

  • Nature
  • Religion
  • Social Commentaries

Poet Bio

CAConrad
Poet CAConrad grew up in Pennsylvania, where they helped to support their single mother during Conrad's difficult youth. CAConrad is the author of nine books of poetry and essays, and a documentary about their work, The Book of Conrad (Delinquent Films), is viewable online on their website. CAConrad has also received a 2019 Creative Capital grant as well as a Pew Fellowships in the Arts, a Lambda Award, a Believer Magazine Book Award, and a Gil Ott Book Award. They regularly teach at Columbia University in New York City, and at Sandberg Art Institute in Amsterdam. See More By This Poet

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