Poem-a-Day - "My Hole. My Whole." by Sam Sax

Facebook
Twitter
Instagram
August 19, 2024 
 

My Hole. My Whole.

Sam Sax

what to call you who i’ve slept beside through so many apocalypses

the kind that occur nightly in this late stage of the collapsing west

boyfriend was fine even though we are neither boys nor men but love 

how it makes us sudden infants in the eyes of any listener—how 

it brings us back to some childhood we never got to live. that was, 

at the time, unlivable. my sweetheart. my excised sheep’s-heart. 

my fled garden. my metal garter. after yet another man calls his wife 

his partner at the dog park it’s clearly time to find another name for you—

he says it’s my partner’s birthday we’re going to buca di beppo then key largo—

and wild how quick a name becomes yet another vehicle 

through which to reproduce violence. partner fit like a skin and then 

that skin tightened and tore off—you who are neither my chain 

italian restaurant nor my all-inclusive vacation spot. not my owner

or my only or my own. not my down payment or my dowery

of sheep and crop. not lost. not loss. apophasis is a way of naming 

what is by what is not—but what is? my boutonniere. my goofy queer. 

my salt. my silk. my silt. my slit. my top and my basement. my vanquished 

prostate. my battered apostate. my memory. my memory. my meteor. 

all these names for what exactly? to introduce what is to those 

who don’t know. this is my whole. this is my hole. take part of me. 

Copyright © 2024 by Sam Sax. Originally published in Poem-a-Day on August 19, 2024, by the Academy of American Poets. 

Subscribe to the Poem-a-Day Podcast 

  

“This poem began, as many do, struggling with the limitations of language. Being in a long-term, queer, poly, nonbinary relationship, we often find ourselves pushing against the terminology we inherited for how to name ourselves and our love(s), how to become legible to ourselves and to others. Both queerness and poetry can offer ways of breaking with the past and searching for strange syntax and improper nouns, not just to define an already lived experience but to eke out a space to imagine new possible futures. This poem struggles with this question of naming, of possibility, of fluidity. It offers up one way of honoring the flexibility and specificity of our loves.”
—Sam Sax

Sam Sax is a queer Jewish writer and educator. Sax is the author of Pig (Scribner, 2023) and Bury It (Wesleyan University Press, 2018), which received the 2017 James Laughlin Award. They live in Oakland, on Ohlone land. 

Pig
Pig
(Scribner, 2023)

“Broken Retablo for Being on My Back, My Feet Bare & in the Air” by Joe Jiménez
read more
“Tries the Grammar of the Arabic to Fit the Language the English” by Noor Jaber
read more

Thanks to Danez Smith, author of Bluff (Graywolf Press, 2024), who curated Poem-a-Day for this month’s weekdays. Read or listen to a Q&A about Smith’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 © 2024 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

"There Was No Sun in the Room" by Tish Jones

Tuesday, August 13, 2024

I imagined her / stretched out and weeping Facebook Twitter Instagram Support Poem-a-Day August 13, 2024 There Was No Sun in the Room Tish Jones I imagined her stretched out and weeping over her womb

"The Hymn" by Bernardo Wade

Monday, August 12, 2024

Last night, the boy— / you've already grieved—crawls Facebook Twitter Instagram Support Poem-a-Day August 12, 2024 The Hymn Bernardo Wade after Marie Howe Last night, the boy— you've already

"The Hymn" by Bernardo Wade

Monday, August 12, 2024

Last night, the boy— / you've already grieved—crawls Facebook Twitter Instagram Support Poem-a-Day August 12, 2024 The Hymn Bernardo Wade after Marie Howe Last night, the boy— you've already

Revisiting Summer Songs

Sunday, August 11, 2024

Breathe life into your summer writing with these poetry prompts from Diane Seuss Don't let summer slip away without writing a new poem. Summer Songs is a series of generative prompts inspired by

"Acceptance" by Robert Frost

Sunday, August 11, 2024

When the spent sun throws up its rays on cloud Facebook Twitter Instagram Poem-a-Day is reader-supported. Your gift today will help the Academy of American Poets continue to publish the work of 260

You Might Also Like

Book Talk III

Monday, November 25, 2024

Final thoughts from Takoma Park's housing book talk ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏

Alphabet City, Christmas Orders, and More Shop News

Monday, November 25, 2024

Support your local sign painting book shop [https://shop.bl.ag/] this season by grabbing some new printed goodness for yourself. Or for a friend. Or forward this email to a friend that might want to

"Delayza’s Necklace" by Max Early

Monday, November 25, 2024

We enter to sounds of bells. / The hall's warmth evokes / an imprint of my small self Facebook Twitter Instagram Support Poem-a-Day November 25, 2024 Delayza's Necklace Max Early We enter to

Sparkle sponge, meet Scrub Daddy

Monday, November 25, 2024

— Check out what we Skimm'd for you today November 25, 2024 Subscribe Read in browser Together with paypal But first: start earning rewards from hundreds of brands Update location or View forecast

Do a Majority of Americans Really Support Trump's Mass Deportation Plan?

Monday, November 25, 2024

The polling on Trump's deportation doesn't tell the full story ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏

Lindsay Lohan’s Semi-Sheer Dress Shut Down The Red Carpet

Monday, November 25, 2024

The holiday queen is back. The Zoe Report Daily The Zoe Report 11.24.2024 Lindsay Lohan's Semi-Sheer Dress Shut Down The Red Carpet (Celebrity) Lindsay Lohan's Semi-Sheer Dress Shut Down The

'Agatha All Along' is a Major Moment for Sapphic Fandom

Sunday, November 24, 2024

The season of the gay witch ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏

Home and Car Insurance Rates Too High? Try This

Sunday, November 24, 2024

Anyone Can Make This Simple Roast Turkey. If your home or auto insurance premiums too high, get a copy of your CLUE Report to find out why—and maybe get them lowered. Not displaying correctly? View

The Weekly Wrap #188

Sunday, November 24, 2024

11.24.2024 ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏

Weekend: Welcome Back, Vera Bradley 😎

Sunday, November 24, 2024

— Check out what we Skimm'd for you today November 24, 2024 Subscribe Read in browser Header Image Together with New York Life But first: don't let money mess with your marriage Update location