"My Second Angel" by James Galvin

[View this email on a browser]( [Forward to a friend]( [facebook-icon]( [tumblr-icon]( [twitter-icon]( June 27, 2018 [My Second Angel]( [James Galvin]( Do you want to come in? Take a deep breath. The repo man is gone. All I had to do was show him My favorite gun And tell him about My conviction That a shame-faced galaxy Mutters a homily of return. The repo man will return With back-up So I promoted the orphan To vagabond. Why do you think they call it The chain of command? Writing out of fear— That razzle-dazzle Of shackles and manacles Makes angels cry, And, admit it, That’s what you wanted. My first angel came In a haze of Alice blue That emanated From a dulcimer she cradled But did not play. She did a little angel jig And turned away. I guess all angels are sad-eyed, Like you. Do you want to come in? Take a deep breath. Everything is about to happen. [Like this on Facebook]( [Share via Twitter]( Copyright © 2018 James Galvin. Used with permission of the author. [James Galvin reads "My Second Angel."]( About This Poem “The poem appears to have two memories and one hesitation. One memory is of the first time I saw a girl and instantly fell in love with her. I am still in love with her. Another memory is having been sent, as a child, to meet the repo man at the door and give him the car keys. This happened more than once. The hesitation has to do with taking on more life near the end of one’s life, knowing what one knows by now.” —James Galvin [James Galvin]( James Galvin is the author of eight books of poetry, most recently Everything We Always Knew Was True (Copper Canyon Press, 2016). He teaches at the Iowa Writers’ Workshop and divides his time between Laramie, Wyoming, and Iowa City, Iowa. Photo credit: Kirk S. Murray [more-at-poets]( [Everything We Always Knew Was True]( Poetry by Galvin [Everything We Always Knew Was True]( (Copper Canyon Press, 2016) "In Each Look Our Years" by Edwin Torres [read-more]( "All I Ever Wanted" by Katie Ford [read-more]( "Poem to First Love" by Matthew Yeager [read-more]( June Guest Editor: D. A. Powell Thanks to D. A. Powell, author of Repast: Tea, Lunch, and Cocktails (Graywolf Press, 2014), who curated Poem-a-Day this month. Read more about [Powell]( and our [guest editors for the year.]( Help Support Poem-a-Day If you value Poem-a-Day, please consider a [monthly donation]( or [one-time gift]( to help make it possible. Poem-a-Day is the only digital series publishing new, previously unpublished work by today’s poets each weekday morning. The free series, which also features a curated selection of classic poems on weekends, reaches 450,000+ readers daily. Thank you! [Small-Blue-RGB-poets.org-Logo]( Thanks for being a part of the Academy of American Poets community. To learn about other programs, including National Poetry Month, Poem in Your Pocket Day, the annual Poets Forum, and more, visit [Poets.org](. You are receiving this e-mail because you elected to subscribe to our mailing list. If you would like to unsubscribe, please click [here](. © Academy of American Poets 75 Maiden Lane, Suite 901, New York, NY 10038 From Our Sponsors [Advertisement](