The Milk Hours. John James
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THE
MILK
HOURS
THE
MILK
HOURS
POEMS BY JOHN JAMES
MAX RITVO POETRY PRIZE | SELECTED BY HENRI COLE
MILKWEED EDITIONS
© 2019, Text by John James
All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations in critical articles or reviews, no part of this book may be reproduced in any manner without prior written permission from the publisher: Milkweed Editions, 1011 Washington Avenue South, Suite 300, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55415.
(800) 520-6455
Published 2019 by Milkweed Editions
Printed in Canada
Cover design by Mary Austin Speaker
Cover art is in the public domain
Author photo by Gina Collecchia
19 20 21 22 23 5 4 3 2 1
First Edition
Milkweed Editions, an independent nonprofit publisher, gratefully acknowledges sustaining support from the Ballard Spahr Foundation; the Jerome Foundation; the McKnight Foundation; the National Endowment for the Arts; the Target Foundation; and other generous contributions from foundations, corporations, and individuals. Also, this activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a Minnesota State Arts Board Operating Support grant, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund. For a full listing of Milkweed Editions supporters, please visit milkweed.org.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: James, John (Poet), author.
Title: The milk hours : poems / John James.
Description: First edition. | Minneapolis, Minnesota : Milkweed Editions, 2019. | Includes bibliographical references.
Identifiers: LCCN 2019001447 (print) | LCCN 2019003544 (ebook) | ISBN 9781571317247 (ebook) | ISBN 9781571315083 (pbk. : alk. paper) Classification: LCC PS3610.A4296 (ebook) | LCC PS3610. A4296 A6 2019 (print) |
DDC 811/.6--dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019001447
Milkweed Editions is committed to ecological stewardship. We strive to align our book production practices with this principle, and to reduce the impact of our operations in the environment. We are a member of the Green Press Initiative, a nonprofit coalition of publishers, manufacturers, and authors working to protect the world’s endangered forests and conserve natural resources. The Milk Hours was printed on acid-free 100% postconsumer-waste paper by Friesens Corporation.
Contents
Le Moribond
Catalogue Beginning with a Line by Plato
Kentucky, September
Years I’ve Slept Right Through
Fig. 1: Botany
Poem Around Which Everything Is Structured
Fig. 2: Roots | Tumble
Fig. 3: Colonialisme
Beneath the Trees at Ellingsworth
Forget the Song
THE
MILK
HOURS
The Milk Hours
for J.E.J., 1962–1993
and C.S.M.J., 2013–
We lived overlooking the walls overlooking the cemetery.
The cemetery is where my father remains. We walked
in the garden for what seemed like an hour but in reality must
have been days. Cattail, heartseed—these words mean nothing to me.
The room opens up into white and more white, sun outside
between steeples. I remember, now, the milk hours, leaning
over my daughter’s