new Split This Rock poem: Nicholas Samaras' "Anxiety Attack at 27,000 Feet"

May 23, 2014    Latest Updates Blog         Poem of the Week: Gretchen Primack 05-16-2014 3:18 PM Twitter   "You are the conscience of this world."  -- Wang Ping on Split This Rock 05-15-2014 9:04 AM  Quick Links     Poem of the Week:    Nicholas Samaras                     Anxiety Attack at 27,000 Feet What is that red throbbing over the sound of engines? Why is a distant war still being talked about in the media? I can't see my home or Iraq or the Middle East outside this bowed rectangle of blue altitude. Who brought these children here? How will this raven-haired girl grow into her life? There is no way I can die with this room full of Bostonians. Why is the serrated coast of New York approaching so.....rapidly? How many of these faces will separate before the plane.....lands? We go blind in this whiteness as my stomach descends and, somewhere far in the back, I can hear an animal.....wailing. Why am I wearing this black suit of my comfortable life? Into what country will we even touch down? What if we.....splinter and explode upon landing, the moment of our most hope and .....relief? How will my body feel enjoined to metal, shrouded in.....upholstery? I wish everyone peace, as we slam into the earth of our.....making. But what is that red throbbing and these murmurs building? What are all these stern looks of kindness and concern as hands hold my hands and place the mask over my.....breathing face?      -Nicholas Samaras        Used by permission.       Nicholas Samaras won The Yale Series of Younger Poets Award for his first book, Hands of the Saddlemaker. His new book, American Psalm, World Psalm, is now out withAshland Poetry Press (2014). He lives in West Nyack, New York.     ***    We strive to preserve the text formatting of poems over e-mail, but certain e-mail programs may distort how characters, fonts, indents, and line wraps appear. View the poem on our site.   Please feel free to forward Split This Rock Poem of the Week widely. We just ask you to include all of the information in this email, including this request. Thanks!    If you are interested in reading past poems of the week, feel free to visit the blog archive.   Poem of the Week Open Call Closed  Split This Rock's Poem of the Week series is currently closed. We will be re-opening submissions later this spring. Keep an eye out. Thanks for understanding! Support Split This Rock  Be part of Split This Rock's new vision in American letters-- Donate Today!   Our goal is to raise $10,000 by the end of our fiscal year,June 30th. Be one of the first 11 to give a gift of $250 or more and we'll send you a copy of the March issue of Poetrymagazine, which includes a special portfolio of the 2014 festival featured poets, signed by all 16 poets. A collectors' item!   Click here to donate. Or send a check payable to "Split This Rock" to: Split This Rock, 1112 16th Street NW, Suite 600, Washington, DC 20036. Many thanks! Contact info@splitthisrock.org for more details or to become a sponsor. Split This Rock  www.SplitThisRock.org  202-787-5210  info@splitthisrock.org