from “A Test of Company” by Chris Tonelli

[View this email on a browser]( [Forward to a friend]( [facebook-icon]( [tumblr-icon]( [twitter-icon]( September 16, 2019 [from “A Test of Company”]( [Chris Tonelli]( I small victories small wars a famous person played chess in the woods whatever repeats whatever input we have a disappearing that knows how to proceed local realities made up exclusively of their own grammar but only if their grammar is voluntary victorious feelings without victory sam calls our teams are playing we are getting older can only hope for a beautiful result II activity is a truth that conveys no information a local threat a distant possibility autoplay tabs on tabs on tabs I buy the hat that my bitmoji had in a threat of forests a savant of anger a savant of nothing to be angry about a hierarchy of satisfactions the next activity the best distraction it’s never too late to stay the same III very few things are not warnings cultural touchstones parlor tricks the body reacts to what reacts to it a sort of leverage a kind of loyalty [Like this on Facebook]( [Share via Twitter]( Copyright © 2019 by Chris Tonelli. Originally published in Poem-a-Day on September 16, 2019, by the Academy of American Poets. [from "A Test of Company" by Chris Tonelli]( About This Poem “‘A Test of Company’ is a kind of tribute to Emmanuel Hocquard, whose recent passing was a big loss. His A Test of Solitude (Burning Deck, 2000) has meant a lot to me over the years, and this manuscript I'm working on is a response to that—my way of eulogizing and expressing gratitude. And also a weird way of communing with him—applying his style and form to my own—like wearing a tie or a brooch of someone you miss very much.” —Chris Tonelli Chris Tonelli is a founding editor of the independent poetry press Birds, LLC. He is the author of two collections of poetry, most recently Whatever Stasis (Barrelhouse Books, 2018). Chris is the co-director of the NC Book Festival, works in the Libraries at NC State, and co-owns So & So Books in Raleigh, where he lives. [more-at-poets]( Poetry by Chris Tonelli [Whatever Stasis]( (Barrelhouse Books, 2018) "After Catullus" by Matthew Rohrer [read-more]( "The Forest" by Susan Stewart [read-more]( "Big Game" by Brenda Shaughnessy [read-more]( September Guest Editor: Eduardo C. Corral Thanks to [Eduardo C. Corral](, author of Guillotine, forthcoming from Graywolf Press in 2020, who curated Poem-a-Day for this month’s weekdays. Read a [Q&A with Corral]( about his curatorial approach this month and find out more about our [guest editors for the year.]( Your Support Makes Poem-a-Day Possible Poem-a-Day is the only digital series publishing new, previously unpublished work by today’s poets each weekday morning. This free series, which also features a curated selection of classic poems on the weekends, reaches 450,000+ readers daily. [make a one-time donation]( [illustration]( [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