Poem: “Tender”

By Camille Rankine

Dear patriot
Dear catastrophe
               None of this means what we thought it did
–

Dear bone fragments
Dear displacement
Dear broken skin
               I am in over my head
–

Dear prisoner
Dear, dear wounded
              You have earned our respect
–

Dear glad hands, curbed dog
Dear perfect object
             The same night awaits us
–

Dear put upon
             The day folds over and begins again
–

Dear bad animal
Dear caged thing
             There was something about you

“Tender”  from Incorrect Merciful Impulses. Copyright © 2016 by Camille Rankine. Reprinted by permission of Copper Canyon Press. See coppercanyonpress.org.