This poem is taken from PN Review 255, Volume 47 Number 1, September - October 2020.
Palinodes in the Voice of My Dead Father
‘A palinode or palinody is an ode in which the writer retracts a view or sentiment expressed in an earlier poem. The first recorded use of a palinode is in a poem by Stesichorus in the 7th century B.C., in which he retracts his earlier statement that the Trojan War was all the fault of Helen.’ (Wikipedia)
Palinode I
Your mom, look
at her, crying
so piteously,
as my body is
wheeled
into the fire.
There she goes,
collapsing
into herself,
like a burning roof.
Hold her up.
Hold her
close, my
Hecuba.
I’m sorry I
ever thought
of her
as Helen.
Palinode III
All the time
the air sacs
in my lungs
...
Palinode I
Your mom, look
at her, crying
so piteously,
as my body is
wheeled
into the fire.
There she goes,
collapsing
into herself,
like a burning roof.
Hold her up.
Hold her
close, my
Hecuba.
I’m sorry I
ever thought
of her
as Helen.
Palinode III
All the time
the air sacs
in my lungs
...
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