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  2. Poetry
2 November 2016

Poem: “Triple Witching”

That’s not smog sitting on the lake . . .

By ZoA« Hitzig

That’s not smog sitting on the lake

But smoke blown south from the fires

In Saskatchewan. The sky never asks

Our opinion and yet we charge all manner

Of missive through it, casual as the first

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Man (surely it was “man”) who cried

“This is mine” or the man who believed him.

I do not know whose smoke-curtain

This is, falling now to subdue,

Pressing down over humming

Flesh and interaction.

But I think my chest is a pocket of sky –

Slow, heart. Speed, up and up.

Find. Cadence, frequency at which to

Resist, enclosure. Oppose motion.

Suspend of ever-maddening.

Frenzy, maddening for want of

Space, volatility implied by the threat of

Expiration. The nothing-and-every-

thing-to-lose. As we turn down to sleep

The nocturnal crowds in bushes and

Trees play from where we have paused.

A gnat traps himself in my left ear.

Options – drone, hum, buzz – expire.

Zoë Hitzig is an American poet living in Cambridge.

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This article appears in the 25 Oct 2016 issue of the New Statesman, American Rage

Select and enter your email address Your weekly guide to the best writing on ideas, politics, books and culture every Saturday. The best way to sign up for The Saturday Read is via saturdayread.substack.com The New Statesman's quick and essential guide to the news and politics of the day. The best way to sign up for Morning Call is via morningcall.substack.com Our Thursday ideas newsletter, delving into philosophy, criticism, and intellectual history. The best way to sign up for The Salvo is via thesalvo.substack.com Stay up to date with NS events, subscription offers & updates. Weekly analysis of the shift to a new economy from the New Statesman's Spotlight on Policy team. The best way to sign up for The Green Transition is via spotlightonpolicy.substack.com
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