The Milk Hours - John James

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      THE

      MILK

      HOURS

      THE

      MILK

      HOURS

      POEMS BY JOHN JAMES

      MAX RITVO POETRY PRIZE | SELECTED BY HENRI COLE

      MILKWEED EDITIONS

      © 2019, Text by John James

      All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations in critical articles or reviews, no part of this book may be reproduced in any manner without prior written permission from the publisher: Milkweed Editions, 1011 Washington Avenue South, Suite 300, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55415.

      (800) 520-6455

       milkweed.org

      Published 2019 by Milkweed Editions

      Printed in Canada

      Cover design by Mary Austin Speaker

      Cover art is in the public domain

      Author photo by Gina Collecchia

      19 20 21 22 23 5 4 3 2 1

       First Edition

      Milkweed Editions, an independent nonprofit publisher, gratefully acknowledges sustaining support from the Ballard Spahr Foundation; the Jerome Foundation; the McKnight Foundation; the National Endowment for the Arts; the Target Foundation; and other generous contributions from foundations, corporations, and individuals. Also, this activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a Minnesota State Arts Board Operating Support grant, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund. For a full listing of Milkweed Editions supporters, please visit milkweed.org.

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      Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

      Names: James, John (Poet), author.

      Title: The milk hours : poems / John James.

      Description: First edition. | Minneapolis, Minnesota : Milkweed Editions, 2019. | Includes bibliographical references.

      Identifiers: LCCN 2019001447 (print) | LCCN 2019003544 (ebook) | ISBN 9781571317247 (ebook) | ISBN 9781571315083 (pbk. : alk. paper) Classification: LCC PS3610.A4296 (ebook) | LCC PS3610. A4296 A6 2019 (print) |

      DDC 811/.6--dc23

      LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019001447

      Milkweed Editions is committed to ecological stewardship. We strive to align our book production practices with this principle, and to reduce the impact of our operations in the environment. We are a member of the Green Press Initiative, a nonprofit coalition of publishers, manufacturers, and authors working to protect the world’s endangered forests and conserve natural resources. The Milk Hours was printed on acid-free 100% postconsumer-waste paper by Friesens Corporation.

       Contents

       The Milk Hours

       History (n.)

       Metamorphoses

       April, Andromeda

       Poem for the Nation, 2016

       Klee’s Painting

       Le Moribond

       Spaghetti Western

       Materia

       Scarecrow

       Driving Arizona

       Catalogue Beginning with a Line by Plato

       After Guatemala

       Delaware, I-95

       At Assateague

       End

       Kentucky, September

       Clock Elegy

       Years I’ve Slept Right Through

       Fig. 1: Botany

       Chthonic

       Poem Around Which Everything Is Structured

       Fig. 2: Roots | Tumble

       Sonata

       Erosion

       Heirloom (Wreck)

       Other Adam

       Fig. 3: Colonialisme

       Beneath the Trees at Ellingsworth

       Forget the Song

       Notes

       Acknowledgments

      THE

      MILK

      HOURS

       The Milk Hours

       for J.E.J., 1962–1993

       and C.S.M.J., 2013–

      We lived overlooking the walls overlooking the cemetery.

      The cemetery is where my father remains. We walked

      in the garden for what seemed like an hour but in reality must

      have been days. Cattail, heartseed—these words mean nothing to me.

      The room opens up into white and more white, sun outside

      between steeples. I remember, now, the milk hours, leaning

      over my daughter’s

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