written in his own blood, December 28, 1925
And when he says furrowed brow
he means all the fields of Kostantinovo, open
and waiting for rain. And when he says breast
he means the little boat he slept in
where the Volga meets the Oka
and the wrens were gone. And when
he says love he means
dust, means years, means
seasons, means
how dare you take this hushed young blood
I hold out like a thing you cannot sing of
and say that it is not already song.
Joseph Fasano is the author of the novel The Dark Heart of Every Wild Thing (Platypus Press, 2020), which was named one of the “20 Best Small Press Books of 2020” by Maudlin House. His books of poetry are Fugue for Other Hands (2013), Inheritance (2014), Vincent (2015), and The Crossing (2018). His honors include the Rattle Poetry Prize, the Cider Press Review Book Award, and a nomination for the Poets’ Prize, awarded annually for the “best book of verse published by a living American poet two years prior to the award year.” He teaches at Columbia University and Manhattanville College, and he is the Founder of the Poem For You Series, which can be found online. Twitter: @Joseph_Fasano_ Instagram: @joseph.fasano