Poem-a-Day - "Document" by Uche Nduka

Facebook
Twitter
Instagram
July 26, 2022 

Document

Uche Nduka

Change the bedding.
          Rescue the last
                                 clean shirt.

Heads on top
of each other.
              Feet unshod.

This genocide 
                   is yet

to tumble into
memory.

Garbage rots, reeks
                             under the sun.

Smoke rises
from
bodies
in
flames.

There's nothing impermissible
in the bunker.

What's the value of this blueprint?

Something quite other than
god-awful rumor,
guns trained on their backs.

Air-raids, rubble, fog.
Evidence heats up again, and again.

Copyright © 2022 by Uche Nduka. Originally published in Poem-a-Day on July 26, 2022, by the Academy of American Poets.

Subscribe to the Poem-a-Day Podcast 

  

“I can’t stand the idiocy of war. This poem speaks to war, violence, and displacement with clarity and urgency. It disagrees with war as a blueprint for anything. I wrote it to castigate those who use force and intimidation to get their way; to earn influence. I am angered at the disruption visited upon peoples’ lives each time war erupts in any part of the world. The writing of this poem was compelled by the outbreak of war in Ukraine and the ongoing, vicious aggression of Russia in that country. ‘Document’ highlights and rejects military destruction.”
Uche Nduka

Uche Nduka is the author of Fretwire, forthcoming from Griots Lounge in 2022, among other titles. The recipient of fellowships and prizes from the Goethe-Institut, the Heinrich Böll House, the Association of Nigerian Authors, and the New York State Council on the Arts/New York Foundation for the Arts, he lives in Brooklyn, New York. 
 
Fretwire
(Griots Lounge Publishing, 2022)

“In Time of War” by Carolyn Forché
read more
“mountain language” by Öykü Tekten
read more

Thanks to Erica Hunt, author of Jump the Clock (Nightboat Books, 2020), who curated Poem-a-Day for this month’s weekdays. Read or listen to a Q&A about Hunt’s curatorial approach and find out more about our guest editors for the year
Love Poem-a-Day?

Help the Academy of American Poets share daily poems by joining our monthly sustainers program or by making a one-time gift.

Become a  monthly sustainer.

Make a gift.

From Our Advertisers
Copyright © 2022 The Academy of American Poets, All rights reserved.
You are receiving this email because you opted in via our website.

Our mailing address is:
The Academy of American Poets
75 Maiden Lane
St #901
New York, NY 10038

Add us to your address book


View this email in your browser

Want to change how you receive these emails?
You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list.

Older messages

"Uvalde Shooting Highlights Role of Doors in Security Plans" by Deborah Paredez

Monday, July 25, 2022

The teacher remembers pulling the door / closed. Facebook Twitter Instagram July 25, 2022 Support Poem-a-Day “Uvalde Shooting Highlights Role of Doors in Security Plans” Deborah Paredez —AP News

"The Sheaves" by Edwin Arlington Robinson

Sunday, July 24, 2022

Where long the shadows of the wind had rolled, Facebook Twitter Instagram July 24, 2022 Made possible thanks to readers like you. The Sheaves Edwin Arlington Robinson Where long the shadows of the wind

"Fireworks" by Edith Sitwell

Saturday, July 23, 2022

Pink faces—(worlds or flowers or seas or stars), Facebook Twitter Instagram July 23, 2022 Made possible thanks to readers like you. Fireworks Edith Sitwell Pink faces—(worlds or flowers or seas or

"Dissent and the Hydra" by Jena Osman

Friday, July 22, 2022

We turn our collars up against the chill of raw judicial power Facebook Twitter Instagram July 22, 2022 Support Poem-a-Day Dissent and the Hydra Jena Osman “[G]uided by the history and tradition that

"stilettos in a rifle range" by Tyrone Williams

Thursday, July 21, 2022

She and she / said switch / so swish Facebook Twitter Instagram July 21, 2022 Support Poem-a-Day stilettos in a rifle range Tyrone Williams She and she said switch so swish he did, having misheard,

You Might Also Like

New and Old #189

Friday, November 22, 2024

Friday roundup and commentary ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏

"I was built by inherited hungers. This is not a poem that names them." by Kimberly Blaeser

Friday, November 22, 2024

As a body politic we take up space in their ledgers. / Yes, my relatives are the salvage bodies of history. Facebook Twitter Instagram Support Poem-a-Day November 22, 2024 I was built by inherited

"Women in male fields" is sadly relatable

Friday, November 22, 2024

— Check out what we Skimm'd for you today November 22, 2024 Subscribe Read in browser But first: the best sales to shop this week Update location or View forecast Quote of the Day "You should

What Gaetz's Flameout Means for the Rest of Trump's Cabinet

Friday, November 22, 2024

A top pick being forced to drop out this fast is a real warning sign for the incoming Trump administration. ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏

Souvenirs of gratitude

Friday, November 22, 2024

10 things worth sharing this week ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏

the savour present list

Friday, November 22, 2024

lovely things that people will actually want to open this year ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏

And The #1 Handbag Trend For Winter 2025 Will Be...

Friday, November 22, 2024

Stunning. The Zoe Report Daily The Zoe Report 11.21.2024 And The #1 Handbag Trend For Winter 2025 Will Be... (Trends) And The #1 Handbag Trend For Winter 2025 Will Be... Stunning. Read More Demi Moore

RESEND - 3x3: November 21, 2024

Friday, November 22, 2024

I kept thinking this week was Thanksgiving... ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏

3x3: November 21, 2024

Friday, November 22, 2024

I kept thinking this week was Thanksgiving... ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏

6 Unexpected Household Uses for Dry-Erase Markers

Thursday, November 21, 2024

Green Bubble Chats on iPhone Have a Major Security Issue. The temporary tool we've all been sleeping on. Not displaying correctly? View this newsletter online. TODAY'S FEATURED STORY Six