Poem-a-Day - "Mentor" by Rachel McKibbens

Facebook
Twitter
Instagram
May 19, 2023 

Mentor

Rachel McKibbens
           “death cannot harm me
            more than you have harmed me,
            my beloved life.”
                       
Louise Glück 

I tell my daughter first, because her knowing  
forces it to become true. I have to leave dad.  

Nothing is going to change. She nods  
like a priest in a booth, the last fifteen years

staring down at us. Explains, softly, 
how she’s spoken of me to her therapist.

Her worry of becoming my mirror. Tells me, 
I remember you, mom, before him. You were happy.

Oh. Oh. To surrender to your death by someone else’s
hand is still a kind of suicide. Slower. I stand naked

on the porch as she recounts in perfect detail,
(in a poet’s detail) the very things I’d hoped

to disguise. My careful little spectator. Diligent neighbor 
to my unnamed agonies. It is not ungrateful to resist

the tyrannies of obsession. It is no selfish act 
to want, suddenly, to stay alive. My dear girl.

She is teaching and I am learning. I not only  
want to be seen, I want to be seen through.

I return to my house, haunted and waiting. 
I look into the mirror and notice the door.

Copyright © 2023 by Rachel McKibbens. Originally published in Poem-a-Day on May 19, 2023, by the Academy of American Poets. 

Subscribe to the Poem-a-Day Podcast 

  

“This poem was written several months after ending a long-term relationship. Poetry has always been a tool for me to shoulder my way out of an emotional trench. So many writers who came before me have unknowingly become my surrogate guides. Having grown up in a chaotic household, there was never a blueprint for grace or forgiveness or the simple acknowledgment of a difficult subject. ‘Mentor’ is about recognizing the transformative shift between a parent and their adult child, where stating something plainly is the best option, and listening closely is the best escape plan. This poem is for anyone looking for permission to get free.”
Rachel McKibbens

Rachel McKibbens

Rachel McKibbens is a queer Chicana poet and the author of the collections blud (Copper Canyon, 2017), Into the Dark & Emptying Field (Small Doggies Press, 2013), and Pink Elephant, to be re-released by Button Poetry. In 2012, McKibbens founded The Pink Door Writing Retreat, an annual retreat held exclusively for non-men writers of color. 

blud

blud
(Copper Canyon Press, 2017) 

 


“A water woman has no body” by Lisa Ciccarello
read more
“The Imperishable and Perishable Family” by Prageeta Sharma
read more

Thanks to Hieu Minh Nguyen, author of Not Here (Coffee House Press, 2018), who curated Poem-a-Day for this month’s weekdays. Read or listen to a Q&A about Nguyen’s curatorial approach and find out more about our guest editors for the year.
“Poem-a-Day is brilliant because it makes space in the everyday racket for something as meaningful as a poem.” —Tracy K. Smith

If this series is meaningful to you, join the community of Poem-a-Day supporters by making a gift today. Now serving more than 320,000 daily subscribers, this publication is only possible thanks to the contributions of readers like you.
 
Copyright © 2023 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
STE #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 all Academy messages.

For any other questions, please visit the Poem-a-Day FAQ page.

Older messages

"To the Sea" by Anis Mojgani

Thursday, May 18, 2023

Sometimes when you start to ramble Facebook Twitter Instagram Support Poem-a-Day May 18, 2023 To the Sea Anis Mojgani Sometimes when you start to ramble or rather when you feel you are starting to

"Selkie Weaning Young (Redux)" by Diana Khoi Nguyen

Wednesday, May 17, 2023

Finding her hide we trailed / fingers down then against Facebook Twitter Instagram Support Poem-a-Day May 17, 2023 Selkie Weaning Young (Redux) Diana Khoi Nguyen Finding her hide we trailed fingers

"I should have left our names on that bridge."

Tuesday, May 16, 2023

May 16, 2023 Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month Read poems by Asian/Pacific American poets reflecting on home and identity: “Ghareeb” by Fatimah Asghar “I Invite My Parents to a Dinner Party” by

"Evening" by Jeremy Radin

Tuesday, May 16, 2023

Another word I love is evening / for the balance it implies, balance Facebook Twitter Instagram Support Poem-a-Day May 16, 2023 Evening Jeremy Radin Another word I love is evening for the balance it

"My Mom’s Been Asking for a Happy Poem All My Life" by Jennifer Givhan

Monday, May 15, 2023

So I fight all my destructive urges to give her one. A tiny globe Facebook Twitter Instagram Support Poem-a-Day May 15, 2023 My Mom's Been Asking for a Happy Poem All My Life Jennifer Givhan So I

You Might Also Like

The Best Thing: November 5, 2024

Tuesday, November 5, 2024

The Best Thing is our weekly discussion thread where we share the one thing that we read, listened to, watched, did, or otherwise enjoyed recent… ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏

Reading Aurelian Craiutu’s “Why Not Moderation?” in a moment of uncertain polarisation and partisanship

Tuesday, November 5, 2024

Or, 'Political labels be damn' ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏

The Revolution Will Be Normalized

Tuesday, November 5, 2024

Why demonstrating success is psychologically tricky ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏

Letterheads 50: Save the Dates

Tuesday, November 5, 2024

The 50th anniversary Letterheads meet takes place from 20–22 June 2025 at the American Sign Museum in Cincinnati, Ohio. This is set to be a very special event at a very special venue, and I'll use

How to Watch Tonight's Results and Stay Somewhat Sane

Tuesday, November 5, 2024

Here's my guide on what to watch - and not watch - as the votes start getting counted. ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏

Do you need to cuddle a puppy?

Tuesday, November 5, 2024

— Check out what we Skimm'd for you today November 5, 2024 Subscribe Read in browser But first: tell us what's on your mind on Election Day Update location or View forecast Quote of the Day “

"I am the daughter my mother raised to confront them" by Margo Tamez

Tuesday, November 5, 2024

with grievance's command. // I am the daughter she trains / to translate lightning. Facebook Twitter Instagram Support Poem-a-Day November 5, 2024 I am the daughter my mother raised to confront

Kim Kardashian Stunned In Princess Diana’s Necklace On The Red Carpet

Tuesday, November 5, 2024

The LACMA Art + Film Gala looks were epic. The Zoe Report Daily The Zoe Report 11.4.2024 As soon as the calendar switches over to September, I usually go all in on the autumnal vibes. That means

5 Reasons to Ditch Your Bank and Join a Credit Union

Monday, November 4, 2024

My Favorite Apple Intelligence Feature Is Notification Management. A credit union is better for your bottom line and offers you something banks never will: A voice. Not displaying correctly? View this

Coal CEOs are the new crypto bros

Monday, November 4, 2024

Alliance Resource Partners isn't just mining coal anymore. It's also mining Bitcoin. ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏