December 14, 2023

Baseline

Caleb Femi

^{after “The First Time You Hold a Gun”}

My mother’s heartbeat
the first time I heard a baseline.
Her womb, the first room I danced in.
How did it go again?
Kick cloud-soft twirl
stretch
dark gulf
neon on my clay brain.
Kick . . . Then
the melody drops
& her vocals come in.

[VERSE 1]

There will be strife,
burnt days, a God
besides me
sex & crueler colours
than the abyss
but there will be this.

Subscribe to the Poem-a-Day Podcast

“I wrote this poem at a house party.”
—Caleb Femi

Caleb Femi is the author of Poor (Penguin, 2020), winner of the 2021 Forward Prize for Best First Collection. He lives in London.

Poor
(Penguin, 2020)

“Blind Boone’s Apparitions” by Tyehimba Jess
read more

“We, Made of Bone” by Mahtem Shiferraw
read more

Thanks to Claudia Rankine, author of Just Us: An American Conversation (Graywolf Press, 2021), who curated Poem-a-Day for this month’s weekdays. Read or listen to a Q&A about Rankine’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.

donate

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.

Poem-a-Day - "Baseline" by Caleb Femi

Baseline

Subscribe to the Poem-a-Day Podcast

Older messages

"suffering succotash" by LaTasha N. Nevada Diggs

Dear Poet 2024 Poems and Videos Now Available

"Family Secret" by Nancy Kuhl

Where Poem-a-Day takes us each morning

What Poets.org gives to millions of readers

You Might Also Like

Where are you now?

WIN $2,500 to put toward your very own warm weather getaway!

Tinee, But Part Of The Story

treehouse

Why Didn't Voters Care About Biden's Many Accomplishments?

What I’m Re-Reading, No.1

Duck face walked so this pout could run

“Centaur over Tomer Butte” by Robert Wrigley

#66: What The Notches Said – No. 06

Katie Holmes’ Monochrome Outfit Debuts Winter’s New It Color